20 KiB
The build.ini
File
This file is where you can specify some of the very basics of BDisk building. It allows you to specify/define certain variables and settings used by the build process. It uses ConfigParser for the parsing engine, and you can do some more advanced things with it than I demonstrate in the default.
It’s single-level, but divided into "sections". This is unfortunately a limitation of ConfigParser, but it should be easy enough to follow.
Blank lines are ignored, as well as any lines beginning with #
and ;
. There are some restrictions and recommendations for some values, so be sure to note them when they occur. Variables referencing other values in the build.ini
are allowed in the format of ${value}
if it’s in the same section; otherwise, ${section:value}
can be used.
We’ll go into more detail for each section below.
Example
[bdisk] name = BDISK uxname = bdisk pname = BDisk ver = dev = A Developer email = dev@domain.tld desc = A rescue/restore live environment. uri = https://domain.tld root_password = user = yes [user] username = ${bdisk:uxname} name = Default user password = $$6$$t92Uvm1ETLocDb1D$$BvI0Sa6CSXxzIKBinIaJHb1gLJWheoXp7WzdideAJN46aChFu3hKg07QaIJNk4dfIJ2ry3tEfo3FRvstKWasg/ [build] mirror = mirror.us.leaseweb.net mirrorproto = https mirrorpath = /archlinux/iso/latest/ mirrorfile = mirrorchksum = ${mirrorpath}sha1sums.txt mirrorgpgsig = gpgkey = 7F2D434B9741E8AC gpgkeyserver = gpg = no dlpath = /var/tmp/${bdisk:uxname} chrootdir = /var/tmp/chroots basedir = /opt/dev/bdisk isodir = ${dlpath}/iso srcdir = ${dlpath}/src prepdir = ${dlpath}/temp archboot = ${prepdir}/${bdisk:name} mountpt = /mnt/${bdisk:uxname} multiarch = yes ipxe = no i_am_a_racecar = no [gpg] mygpgkey = mygpghome = [sync] http = no tftp = no git = no rsync = no [http] path = ${build:dlpath}/http user = http group = http [tftp] path = ${build:dlpath}/tftpboot user = root group = root [ipxe] iso = no uri = https://domain.tld ssldir = ${build:dlpath}/ssl ssl_ca = ${ssldir}/ca.crt ssl_cakey = ${ssldir}/ca.key ssl_crt = ${ssldir}/main.crt ssl_key = ${ssldir}/main.key [rsync] host = user = path = iso = no
[bdisk]
This section controls some basic branding and information having to do with the end product.
name
This value is a "basic" name of your project. It’s not really shown anywhere end-user visible, but we need a consistent name that follows some highly constrained rules:
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Alphanumeric only
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8 characters total (or less)
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No whitespace
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ASCII only
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Will be converted to uppercase if it isn’t already
uxname
This value is used for filenames and the like. I highly recommend it be the same as name
(in lowercase) but it doesn’t need to be. It also has some rules:
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Alphanumeric only
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No whitespace
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ASCII only
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Will be converted to lowercase if it isn’t already
pname
This string is used for "pretty-printing" of the project name; it should be a more human-readable string.
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Can contain whitespace
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Can be mixed-case, uppercase, or lowercase
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ASCII only
ver
The version string. If this isn’t specified, we’ll try to guess based on the current git commit and tags in build:basedir
.
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No whitespace
dev
The name of the developer or publisher of the ISO, be it an individual or organization. For example, if you are using BDisk to build an install CD for your distro, this would be the name of your distro. The same rules as pname
apply.
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Can contain whitespace
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Can be mixed-case, uppercase, or lowercase
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ASCII only
email
An email address to use for git syncing messages, and/or GPG key generation.
desc
What this distribution/project is used for.
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Can contain whitespace
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Can be mixed-case, uppercase, or lowercase
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ASCII only
uri
What is this project’s URI (website, etc.)? Alternatively, your personal site, your company’s site, etc.
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Should be a valid URI understood by curl
root_password
The escaped, salted, hashed string to use for the root user.
Please see the section on passwords for information on this value. In the example above, the string 6t92Uvm1ETLocDb1D$$BvI0Sa6CSXxzIKBinIaJHb1gLJWheoXp7WzdideAJN46aChFu3hKg07QaIJNk4dfIJ2ry3tEfo3FRvstKWasg/
is created from the password test
. I cannot stress this enough, do not use a plaintext password here nor just use a regular /etc/shadow
file/crypt(3)
hash here. Read the section. I promise it’s short.
user
Default: no
This setting specifies if we should create a regular (non-root) user in the live environment.
Note
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If enabled, this user has full sudo access. |
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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[user]
This section of build.ini
controls aspects about bdisk:user
. It is only used if bdisk:user
is enabled.
username
What username should the user have? Standard *nix username rules apply:
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ASCII only
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32 characters or less
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Alphanumeric only
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Lowercase only
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No whitespace
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Cannot start with a number
name
What comment/description/real name should be used for the user? For more information on this, see the passwd(5) man page's section on GECOS.
-
ASCII only
password
The escaped, salted, hashed string to use for the non-root user.
Please see the section on passwords for information on this value. In the example above, the string 6t92Uvm1ETLocDb1D$$BvI0Sa6CSXxzIKBinIaJHb1gLJWheoXp7WzdideAJN46aChFu3hKg07QaIJNk4dfIJ2ry3tEfo3FRvstKWasg/
is created from the password test
. I cannot stress this enough, do not use a plaintext password here nor just use a regular /etc/shadow
file/crypt(3)
hash here. Read the section. I promise it’s short.
[build]
This section controls some aspects about the host and things like filesystem paths, etc.
mirror
A mirror that hosts the bootstrap tarball. It is highly recommended you use an Arch Linux bootstrap tarball as the build process is highly specialized to this (but patches/feature requests are welcome for other built distros). You can find a list of mirrors at the bottom of Arch’s download page.
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No whitespace
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Must be accessible remotely/via a WAN-recognized address
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Must be a domain/FQDN only; no paths (those come later!)
mirrorproto
What protocol should we use for the mirror?
Must be (case-insensitive) one of: |
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mirrorpath
What is the path to the tarball directory on the mirror
?
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Must be a complete path (e.g.
/dir1/subdir1/subdir2
) -
No whitespace
mirrorfile
What is the filename for the tarball found in the path specified in <<code_mirrorpath_code,mirrorpath
>>? If left blank, we will use the sha1 <<code_mirrorchksum_code,checksum>> file to try to guess the most recent file.
mirrorchksum
The path to a sha1 checksum file of the bootstrap tarball.
-
No whitespace
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Must be the full path
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Don’t include the mirror domain or protocol
mirrorgpgsig
If the bootstrap tarball file has a GPG signature, we can use it for extra checking. If it’s blank, GPG checking will be disabled.
If you specify just .sig
(or use the default and don’t specify a <<code_mirrorfile_code,mirrorfile
>>), BDisk will try to guess based on the file from the sha1 <<code_mirrorchksum_code,checksum>> file. Note that this must evaluate to a full URL. (e.g. ${mirrorproto}://${mirror}${mirrorpath}somefile.sig
)
gpgkey
requires: gpg/gnupg
What is a key ID that should be used to verify/validate the mirrorgpgsig
?
-
Only used if
mirrorgpgsig
is set -
Can be in "short" form (e.g. 7F2D434B9741E8AC) or "full" form (4AA4767BBC9C4B1D18AE28B77F2D434B9741E8AC), with or without the 0x prefix.
gpgkeyserver
default: blank (GNUPG-bundled keyservers)
requires: gpg/gnupg
What is a valid keyserver we should use to fetch gpgkey
?
-
Only used if
mirrorgpgsig
is set -
The default (blank) is probably fine. If you don’t specify a personal GPG config, then you’ll most likely want to leave this blank.
-
If set, make sure it is a valid keyserver URI (e.g.
hkp://keys.gnupg.net
)
gpg
Should we sign our release files? See the gpg section.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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dlpath
Where should the release files be saved? Note that many other files are created here as well.
Warning
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If you manage your project in git, this should not be checked in as it has many large files that are automatically generated! |
-
No whitespace
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Will be created if it doesn’t exist
chrootdir
Where the bootstrap tarball(s) extract to, where the chroots are built and prepped for filesystems on the live media.
Warning
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If you manage your project in git, this should not be checked in as it has many large files that are automatically generated! |
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No whitespace
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Will be created if it doesn’t exist
basedir
Where your extra/
and overlay/
directories are located. If you checked out from git, this would be your git worktree directory.
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No whitespace
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Must exist and contain the above directories populated with necessary files
isodir
This is the output directory of ISO files when they’re created (as well as GPG signatures if you enabled them).
Warning
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If you manage your project in git, this should not be checked in as it has many large files that are automatically generated! |
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No whitespace
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Will be created if it doesn’t exist
srcdir
This is where we save and compile source code if we need to dynamically build components (such as iPXE for mini ISOs).
-
No whitespace
-
Will be created if it doesn’t exist (and is needed)
prepdir
This is the directory we use for staging.
-
No whitespace
-
Will be created if it doesn’t exist
archboot
This directory is used to stage boot files.
Warning
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This directory should not be the exact same path as other directives! If so, you will cause your ISO to be much larger than necessary. A subdirectory of another directive’s path, however, is okay. |
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No whitespace
-
Will be created if it doesn’t exist
mountpt
The path to use as a mountpoint.
-
No whitespace
-
Will be created if it doesn’t exist
multiarch
default: yes
Whether or not to build a "multiarch" image- that is, building support for both x86_64 and i686 in the same ISO.
In order to… | Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | ||
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build a multiarch ISO |
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build a separate ISO for each architecture |
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only build an i686-architecture ISO |
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only build an x86_64-architecture ISO |
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ipxe
default: no
Enable iPXE ("mini ISO") functionality.
Note
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This has no bearing on the [sync] section, so you can create an iPXE HTTP preparation for instance without needing to sync it anywhere (in case you’re building on the webserver itself).
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Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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i_am_a_racecar
default: no
This option should only be enabled if you are on a fairly powerful, multicore system with plenty of RAM. It will speed the build process along, but will have some seriously adverse effects if your system can’t handle it. Most modern systems should be fine with enabling it.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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[gpg]
This section controls settings for signing our release files. This is only used if build:gpg
is enabled.
mygpgkey
A valid key ID that BDisk should use to sign release files.
-
You will be prompted for a passphrase if your key has one/you don’t have an open and authorized gpg-agent session. Make sure you have a working pinentry configuration set up!
-
If you leave this blank we will use the key we generate automatically earlier in the build process.
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We will generate one if this is blank and you have selected sign as yes.
mygpghome
The directory should be used for the above GPG key if specified. Make sure it contains your private key. (e.g. /home/username/.gnupg
)
[sync]
This section controls what we should do with the resulting build and how to handle uploads, if we choose to use those features.
http
default: no
If enabled, BDisk will generate/prepare HTTP files. This is mostly only useful if you plan on using iPXE.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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tftp
default: no
If enabled, BDisk will generate/prepare TFTP files. This is mostly only useful if you plan on using more traditional (non-iPXE) setups and regualar PXE bootstrapping into iPXE.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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git
default: no
Enable automatic Git pushing for any changes done to the project itself. If you don’t have upstream write/push access, you’ll want to disable this.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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rsync
default: no
Enable rsync pushing for the ISO (and other files, if you choose- useful for iPXE over HTTP(S)).
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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[http]
This section controls details about HTTP file preparation/generation. Only used if sync:http
is enabled.
path
This directory is where to build an HTTP webroot.
Warning
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MAKE SURE you do not store files here that you want to keep! They will be deleted! |
-
No whitespace
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If blank, HTTP preparation/generation will not be done
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If specified, it will be created if it doesn’t exist
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Will be deleted first
user
What user the HTTP files should be owned as. This is most likely going to be either 'http', 'nginx', or 'apache'.
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No whitespace
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User must exist on build system
Can be one of: |
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group
What group the HTTP files should be owned as. This is most likely going to be either 'http', 'nginx', or 'apache'.
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No whitespace
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Group must exist on build system
Can be one of: |
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[tftp]
This section controls details about TFTP file preparation/generation. Only used if sync:tftp
is enabled.
path
The directory where we want to build a TFTP root.
Warning
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MAKE SURE you do not store files here that you want to keep! They will be deleted! |
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No whitespace
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Will be created if it doesn’t exist
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Will be deleted first
user
What user the TFTP files should be owned as. This is most likely going to be either 'tftp', 'root', or 'nobody'.
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No whitespace
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User must exist on build system
Can be one of: |
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group
What group the TFTP files should be owned as. This is most likely going to be either 'tftp', 'root', or 'nobody'.
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No whitespace
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Group must exist on build system
Can be one of: |
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[ipxe]
This section controls aspects of iPXE building. Only used if build:ipxe
is enabled.
iso
default: no
requires: git
Build a "mini-ISO"; that is, an ISO file that can be used to bootstrap an iPXE environment (so you don’t need to set up a traditional PXE environment on your LAN). We’ll still build a full standalone ISO no matter what.
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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uri
What URI iPXE’s EMBED script should use. This would be where you host an iPXE chainloading script on a webserver, for instance. See iPXE’s example of dynamic scripts for an example of the script that would be placed at this URI.
Note
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If you require HTTP BASIC Authentication or HTTP Digest Authentication (untested), you can format it via https://user:password@bdisk.square-r00t.net/boot.php .
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Note
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This currently does not work for HTTPS with self-signed certificates. |
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Required if
iso
is enabled
ssldir
Directory to hold SSL results, if we are generating keys, certificates, etc.
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No whitespace
-
Will be created if it does not exist
ssl_ca
Path to the (root) CA certificate file iPXE should use. See iPXE’s crypto page for more information.
Note
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You can use your own CA to sign existing certs. This is handy if you run a third-party/"Trusted" root-CA-signed certificate for the HTTPS target. |
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No whitespace
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Must be in PEM/X509 format
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Required if
iso
is enabled -
If it exists, a matching key (ssl_cakey) must be specified
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However, if left blank/doesn’t exist, one will be automatically generated
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ssl_cakey
Path to the (root) CA key file iPXE should use.
ssl_crt
Path to the client certificate iPXE should use.
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No whitespace
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Must be in PEM/X509 format
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Required if
iso
is enabled -
If specified/existent, a matching CA cert (<<code_ssl_ca_code,
ssl_ca
>>) and key (<<code_ssl_cakey_code,ssl_cakey
>>) must be specified-
However, if left blank/doesn’t exist, one will be automatically generated
-
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Must be signed by <<code_ssl_ca_code,
ssl_ca
>>/<<code_ssl_cakey_code,ssl_cakey
>> if specified and already exists
[rsync]
This section controls aspects of rsync pushing. Only used if sync:rsync
is enabled.
host
The rsync destination host.
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Must resolve from the build server
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Can be host, FQDN, or IP address
user
This is the remote user we should use when performing the rsync push.
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User must exist on remote system
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SSH pubkey authorization must be configured
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The destination’s hostkey must be added to your local build user’s known hosts
path
This is the remote destination path we should use for pushing via rsync.
Note
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You’ll probably want to set http:user and group to what it’ll need to be on the destination.
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No whitespace
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The path must exist on the remote host
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The path MUST be writable by
user
iso
Should we rsync over the ISO files too, or just the boot files?
Accepts (case-insensitive) one of: | |
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