jackos1998
43cf35d54e
Document the module architecture, deployment workflows, installer, and high-level box map.
42 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# installer
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The custom NixOS installer image used to bootstrap new boxes.
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- **Source:** [`nixos/installer.nix`](../../nixos/installer.nix)
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- **Host:** — (a build target, not a deployed box)
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## Role
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- Defines `nixos.systems.installer`, a minimal server system rendered as a bootable ISO via
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`config.my.buildAs.iso` (`my.asISO`); the same base can also be built as a kexec or netboot
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tree.
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- Build it with the devshell commands: `build-iso installer` (or `build-kexec installer` /
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`build-netboot installer`). The `update-installer` command force-tags `installer` to
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trigger a release rebuild in CI.
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## Image contents
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- Broad hardware support (`my.build.allHardware` pulls in the nixpkgs all-hardware profile);
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EFI- and USB-bootable, zstd-compressed squashfs. Volume ID
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`jackos-<release>-<arch>`, menu label "/dev/player0 Installer", image base name
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`jackos-installer`.
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- Root SSH with the deploy key authorized (`PermitRootLogin prohibit-password`); a random
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`installer-<hex>` hostname is set at boot.
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- `INSTALL_ROOT=/mnt` in the session environment, plus a `show-hw-config` alias wrapping
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`nixos-generate-config --show-hardware-config --root $INSTALL_ROOT`.
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- NixOS documentation enabled, `wpa_supplicant` available but not started, GC and memory-overcommit
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tuning for low-memory targets, LVM thin and NFS support.
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- No regular user (`my.user.enable = false`), no tmpfs-root management, no NAT, and not a
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deploy target (`my.deploy.enable = false`).
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## Installing a box
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The devshell's installer commands ([`devshell/install.nix`](../../devshell/install.nix)) drive
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an install over SSH against a booted installer reachable at `$INSTALLER`:
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- `installer-shell` — get a shell on the installer.
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- `do-install <system>` — builds the system's toplevel, `nix copy`s the closure to the
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installer's `$INSTALL_ROOT` remote store, sets the system profile, touches `/etc/NIXOS`,
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and runs `switch-to-configuration boot` with `NIXOS_INSTALL_BOOTLOADER=1` (skip the
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bootloader with `--no-bootloader`, skip substitution with `--no-substitute`).
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