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#1 2023-04-03 20:34:20

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

[SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

Hi

I would like to try the re installation of Devuan Ceres using debootstrap.
The reason: I will made a very minimal installation but with X11 and JWM,
one minimal browser (the actual luakit browser is probably the must minimal
one, gv (or some other PDF reader if smaller as gv, and nothing else).

I did "search" now, if some actual way is proposed.
I live in Germany so I would prefer a Gernan or Netherland's depository.

My PC is an average laptop i7 from Dell (I use 3 different pieces of them).
Concerning debootstrap, I know only following information from Debian:

https://wiki.debian.org/de/Debootstrap

but it is very old now.

Can some one knowing debootstrap help to modify / actualize the indications
found in the Debian wiki page and extend the installation to the definition
+ x11 + jwm + luakit + didiwiki (didiwiki ist probably the most smaller smart
writer and can easily include drawings (see "help" within running didiwiki!) +
tools for xli and jpeg's + minimal sound tools plus 3 refracta tools (bases only -
it's enough). Files manager: clex is enough. I would prefer install in German if
possible without installing English too, but it is not important if not possible!

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#2 2023-04-03 21:41:11

fsmithred
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 2,409  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

If you're running Refracta, look for a file in your home directory called debootstrap_devuan for simple instructions. There's also a script you can run to prepare the chroot. If you're running plain Devuan, you can do that manually.

Here are those instructions:

---

If you want to install pure Devuan instead of Refracta, use this procedure
instead of running refractainstaller.

Create partition
Format partition

mount /dev/sd?? /mnt
debootstrap --arch amd64 ceres /mnt http://deb.devuan.org/merged   
# Note: change deb.devuan.org to your favorite mirror if you want.
# change amd64 to i386 if you want 32-bit.

Copy files to the new system. (example):

cp /boot/grub/splash.png /mnt/boot/grub/

Chroot into the new system to make additions and changes.
You can use the shortcut method or run all the commands manually.

---------
Shortcut:

/usr/local/bin/bind-mounts /mnt
(answer yes to enter the chroot)

Install kernel and other packages

apt update
apt install linux-image-amd64 (or linux-image-686-pae)  grub-pc (or grub-efi-amd64) xorg jwm (plus whatever else you want)

Install grub or other bootloader  (run grub-install and update-grub)
Edit configs
Create root password
Create user

exit

/usr/local/bin/unbind-mounts /mnt

---------

Manual method:

mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts

chroot /mnt

#Install stuff, edit configs, *create root password*, create user

grub-install
update-grub

exit

umount -l /mnt/dev/pts
umount -l /mnt/dev/
umount -l /mnt/sys
umount -l /mnt/proc
umount -l /mnt

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#3 2023-04-04 06:31:23

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

Thank you very much for this best and clear info!

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#4 2023-04-12 21:06:15

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

Hi
I did try today to install. Devuan is now it's own partition. But the system didn't find some /usr/local/bin/bind-mounts (this ../bin dir exists but is empty in the existing full Devuan system as well as in the new target. I would of course prefer to use it better than enter the sequence of the commands through the keyboard manually. Where can I douwnload it?
Kind regards

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#5 2023-04-13 17:20:57

fsmithred
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 2,409  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

These scripts are in Refracta isos, but a debootstrap install only gives you packages from the repository. Any custom files you want must be copied to the chrooted system or added after you boot into the new system.

bind-mounts

#!/usr/bin/env bash

#set -x

if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
    echo "
  Name the directory/mountpoint you want to chroot.
  It should already be mounted.
  You need to be root.

  USAGE
  $0 <chroot_dir>
"
    exit 0
fi

chroot_dir="$1"

mount --bind /sys ${chroot_dir}/sys
mount --bind /proc ${chroot_dir}/proc
mount --bind /dev ${chroot_dir}/dev
mount --bind /dev/pts ${chroot_dir}/dev/pts

while true ; do
    echo "chroot $1 now?"
    read ans
    case "$ans" in
	[Yy]*)	chroot "$1"
		break ;;
	    *)	exit 0 ;;
    esac
done

exit 0

unbind-mounts

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# unbind-mounts

if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
    echo "
  Name the root directory/mountpoint 
  of the chroot you just exited.
  You need to be root.

  USAGE
  $0 <chroot_dir>
"
    exit 0
fi

mountpoint="$1"

umount "${mountpoint}"/dev/pts
umount "${mountpoint}"/dev
umount "${mountpoint}"/proc
umount "${mountpoint}"/sys

exit 0

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#6 2023-04-13 23:47:25

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

Hi

Thank you very much!
I will of course also install snapshot-base, installer-base and refracta2usb.

Are other tools from refracta or / and from star recommendable (from start in all cases /mnt/sda1/etc/apt/sources.list. When I am installing a package, I do it always with apt in 3 pass: PASS 1 for ex.
# sudo apt install deborphan clex links didiwiki # after that I answer always "N" to get to pass 2
# sudo apt install deborphan clex links didiwiki > ./i/iDeborphanClexLinksDidiwiki # after that I continue to answer "N" to get to pass 3
and I press Cursor Up twice to get the line pass 1 unchanged again and execute. So I have in the ./i/iXxYyZz files all the details concerning the recommendations and can sometimes immediately extend a bit the content of the first pass to add some known recommendable package like "lame" for sounds packages etc.

important for me is also an ~/.Xresources files because I am old and the resolution of my laptop is for me extreme...

is the use of  the option --include linux-image-amd64,grub-pc in the line:
debootstrap --arch amd64 ceres /mnt http://deb.devuan.org/merged   
also following new line:

debootstrap --include linux-image-amd64,sudo,grub-pc,xorg,menu,jwm,slim,didiwiki,links --arch amd64 ceres /mnt http://deb.devuan.org/merged  

because

if I can do that (perhaps before I add /etc/apt/sources.list amd the other recommend scripts in chroot), I can highly standardise my own debootstrap proceedering and so eliminate reason to forget somewhat! Later is all the installation documented in .bash_history as well as in my iXxYxZz-files of installation steps including time. No need from some "changes"-file (note:it would be of course possible, to prepare/add .bash_history with mark lines with details of steps made in chroot!). As user, I don't continue tu use user / user any more: you must walk on divers places and lines of the keyboard. Why not x / x or x / . directly? It is on the space bar line at the keyboard!

Last question:

Debian/Devuan (?) includes in it's debootstrap list heavy localisation's packages I don't need: I know where I am. I find not good that the system helps to trace the user. This is the reason and force of the Puppy Linux (*1 community ;-) . A lot of members don't use some "save-file" or system: They save conscienciously their works in the system hierarchy or for ex. in emails to themselves being in the web... Can the debootstrap index amended before start?

(*1 as Puppy Linux is getting as big, is the combination Refracta + Refracta snapshot or Devuan + Refracta snapshot or Star Linux + Refracta snapshot an high quality substitute for Puppy-Linux!

Kind regards

Last edited by oui (2023-04-13 23:58:33)

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#7 2023-04-14 12:51:51

fsmithred
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 2,409  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

You can use "--include" and/or "--exclude" with debootstrap. See the man page for more options.

You could also make a script with "apt install <package1> <package2>..." that you copy to the installed system and run when you enter the chroot.

I don't understand your question about localization. You could exclude the locales package, but then you won't be able to set a different language.

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#8 2023-04-14 20:55:28

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

Thank you very much again!

fsmithred wrote:

You can use "--include" and/or "--exclude" with debootstrap. See the man page for more options.

pretty!

You could also make a script with "apt install <package1> <package2>..." that you copy to the installed system and run when you enter the chroot.

I always include a prepared .bash_history file in my isos! the first lines do resume the origins and changes, both for example like this:

# build from binaries from Devuan Ceres April 2024; debootstrap installation
# /etc/apt/apt.conf contains no recommands no suggest no languages fix-missings yes

The last next line contains

sudo apt install sudo gpm

(this is the minimal one if I will start in bash without some xorg. But this line will continue to grow during the complete installation to see witch recommands and suggest apt would have installed in case of maximal automatic installation. I never erase the begin of that line. The line inform about all the details of the installation through "apt" (but not through "dpkg")

and  a minimal quantity of lines I would often use later according to my own kind to work:

alsamixer
xrandr -o normal
xrandr -o left
setxkbmap fr
setxkbmap us intl
sudo rmdir /mnt/sda5
sudo mount /dev/sda5 /mnt/sda5
sudo mkdir /mnt/sda5
[etc]

in a new system with that prepared bash_history I can see how the system did be born, and which are the installed packages in the last instance of the line with sudo apt install etc. etc., and fine useful of my prefered bash command so I have nothing to write else go backward in the file using "cursor up»! And I can later clean from time to time the content of .bash_history. That file ~/.bash_history is really a power full help to start super fast with the new system! My real "home" is always sda5 as it is always possible to have it an all my actual PC's (I use a lot of different PC's in the house) as sda5 is always the first logic partition within the extended partition on DOS hard drives.
you will see that the last entry is always the first entry to use in chains of bash commands. so first Setxkbmap us intl before you commute the keyboard to for ex. Korean or Tamil writing where you perhaps do not know how to come back with occidental characters!

I don't understand your question about localization. You could exclude the locales package, but then you won't be able to set a different language.

I will English only! The only usefull variant are unities, date writting etc.

(I consider it is more easy to add only ONE next language as to pull all languages of the world! It is a conceptional error!)

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#9 2023-04-14 21:35:46

oui
Member
Registered: 2017-09-02
Posts: 300  

Re: [SOLVED] ceres installation through debootstrap

For other users of the community:

As I did explain in a long post at the Puppy Linux forum, I will build my own pupy-linux-kind system on Devuan. And I will only install that, what I did use in the last 5 years with a few quantity extra of packages for children and youth people (in order of importance, there are: granule, nted, the go game, xsane-tesseractOCR-gimagereader to practice foreign language without to really speak them, diverse hunspell's, kturtle, UCBLogo, scratch2 (needs wine and the old free version of Adobe AIR, a 32 bit stuff!), and sometime marble or marbleQT)

I will use nano and erase vim. in X, I can use Xedit as it is always present (also in Puppy Linux!) excepted in SliTaz. Same thing for Xcalc (Why a cow if I only need a glass milk!).

My office is of course
- at beginning time during installations period didiwiki in a browser like "link" if outside xorg (yes, you can smart writing in only char web browser with didiwiki!!! You have normal, fat, italic and underlined. You can manage titels. You can easily manage sheets with columns. And you can include place for pictures and print out through cups, as also samba, cups does not require Xorg! The didiwiki pages are very small text pages in ~/.didiwiki . It is easy to build and manage a calender in didiwiki sheet! And all the contains can be bound with links together!

- later, in Xorg, I use mgp (the presentation MaGicPoint)+abiword+gnumeric+a group of 3 internet browsers (luakit+midori (sorry, is not at the Devuan depository)+epiphany web) as the need of place is unsignificativ different for one or all 3+mTpaint+viewnior+mHwaveedit. didiwiki is good to bring the house budget in columns to the paper and can be enough if using dedicated pages, easy to realize using the HTML links.

This is a very small basis equipment.

Concerning sound, I really prefer pulse audio but alsa stuff can be enough.

Concerning player, I continue to search. I don't like all the new versions! I continue to use old Debian-Dogs versions (see Puppy linux forum) if I need some one (as they did have very precise tools in the past, to select parts of video to see or repeat, other did have tools to play progressively slower or faster etc. I simply miss realy those tools today!)

MaGicPoint: the probably most tiny linux really good realized, the BASLIN on 2 old 1,5 GB floppy's, 1 floppy for Linux, 1 floppy for the few preinstalled app's did propose a version of MaGicPoint where it was possible to draw , yes, handing to draw with the mouse! It was the only one really graphic app of the microscopic distribution! But it did show which potential is in MGP! Also BASLIN did use JWM, my prefered screen manager (you don't need some "slim" if you will mostly directly start from the ISO for ex. through the RAM. but if you want, you can install it to give a standard feeling to your work and will always start in graphic mode.

Write with 2 very different writting systems:

- us and hindi or us and tamil or us and korean: all above stuff supports it if you can use the keyboard directly (I do so!).
you can try to install a /etc/X11/xorg.conf like in Puppy Linux (see there!) to commute from language to language f. ex. with SHIFT+CTRL!

- us and chinese or japanese: go to https://inputking.com, an excellent editor for far east and other languages with integrated keayboard view. But no save tools: you have to mark and save yourself with the mouse into an opening extra editor, can probably each other editor supporting the language.

But you have to add adequate fonts! Not forget it or nothing happens...

Last edited by oui (2023-04-14 22:01:04)

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