path: root/install.txt

                    ________________________________

                     CARBS LINUX INSTALLATION GUIDE

                               Cem Keylan
                    ________________________________


These are the step-by-step instructions for installing Carbs Linux. It
can be acquired as plain-text to be viewed offline with a pager from
<https://carbslinux.org/install.txt>.

,----
| curl -sL https://carbslinux.org/install.txt | less
`----

1. Preparing Environment
.. 1. Download
.. 2. Signature verification
.. 3. Extracting the tarball
2. Chroot
.. 1. Setting up repositories
..... 1. Obtaining from git
..... 2. Obtaining from rsync
..... 3. Making the package manager use the repositories
.. 2. Updating packages
.. 3. Installing packages
.. 4. Essential Software
.. 5. Obtaining the documentation
3. System Configuration
.. 1. Configuring hostname
.. 2. Hosts file
.. 3. Creating a user
4. Kernel
.. 1. Obtaining the kernel sources
.. 2. Kernel dependencies
.. 3. Building the kernel
5. Making your system bootable
.. 1. Bootloader
..... 1. GRUB BIOS installation
..... 2. GRUB UEFI installation
.. 2. Init scripts
.. 3. Fstab
6. Post-installation
.. 1. IRC
.. 2. KISS repositories


1 Preparing Environment
=======================

  To install Carbs Linux, you will need a Live Linux ISO. For that
  purpose, you can obtain a Gentoo or Void Linux live image. You can
  follow their instructions to boot and setup your network.

  You will need the following programs in order to install Carbs Linux:

  - tar
  - wget
  - xz
  - some form of base utilities (coreutils, sbase, busybox, etc.)

  Rest of these instructions will assume that you have set all of these
  up, and will continue on that point.


1.1 Download
~~~~~~~~~~~~

  First, we need to download the rootfs tarball. You can do the
  following in order to obtain the rootfs. If you are using an i686
  machine, replace the `x86_64' with `i686'. We are setting this in a
  URL variable so that we don't have to write it every time.

  ,----
  | URL=https://dl.carbslinux.org/releases/x86_64
  | wget $URL/carbs-rootfs.tar.xz.sha256
  | sha256sum -c carbs-rootfs.tar.xz.sha256
  `----


1.2 Signature verification
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It is highly recommended to verify the signature of the tarball. You
  will need the OpenBSD tool `signify(1)' for this. Many distributions
  provide a package for it, if you are using a Carbs Linux host, you can
  also install the package `otools' which provides `signify'. Download
  the signature first.

  ,----
  | wget $URL/carbs-rootfs.tar.xz.sig
  `----

  The signature file should say something similar to

  ,----
  | untrusted comment: verify with carbslinux-2023.02.pub
  | RWTe38zmx+iyuKEL5T84MJ5Y24jqenkTtQLJxbaMzOBS/NkGVl5J+Vn2B6vTV/gJK7LYBPS+IOXV5sEf+YLGCMcBYAGHCcP4xQ8=
  `----


  Grab the key (which probably should be the latest one) that is written
  on the file from <https://dl.carbslinux.org/keys/> so you can verify
  the signature. The latest Signify public key is also available on the
  [package repository], so you can check the validity of the public key
  from multiple locations, or just copy paste that portion to a file and
  use that instead.

  ,----
  | PUBKEY=carbslinux-2023.02.pub
  | wget https://dl.carbslinux.org/keys/$PUBKEY
  `----

  You can now verify the distribution tarball with signify.

  ,----
  | signify -V -m carbs-rootfs.tar.xz -p $PUBKEY
  `----

  If everything went alright, this should output:

  ,----
  | Signature Verified
  `----


[package repository] <https://git.carbslinux.org/repository>


1.3 Extracting the tarball
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  You will need to extract the tarball to your desired location. For
  partitioning, you can follow [this guide]. This will assume that you
  will be mounting your root partition to `/mnt'.

  ,----
  | mount /dev/sdx1 /mnt
  | tar xf carbs-rootfs.tar.xz -C /mnt
  `----


[this guide] <https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning>


2 Chroot
========

  Chroot into Carbs Linux by running the chroot helper inside the
  rootfs!

  ,----
  | /mnt/bin/cpt-chroot /mnt
  `----


2.1 Setting up repositories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Newest tarballs do not come with repositories, so you will need to
  manually obtain them, and set your `CPT_PATH' environment
  variable. Carbs Linux repositories can either be obtained by `git' or
  `rsync'. While rsync repositories are overall faster and smaller, git
  offers the whole history of the repository and a means to manipulate
  your repository as you like it. If you want to obtain the git
  repository, you will need to install `git' itself.

  The following guide will assume that you put the repositories into
  `~/repos/' directory, but you can put the repositories into any
  directory you want. So go ahead and create that directory:

  ,----
  | mkdir -p $HOME/repos
  `----


2.1.1 Obtaining from git
------------------------

  Carbs Linux git repositories can be found both from the main server
  and GitHub (mirror). Here are both their repository links. You can
  clone any of them.

  - <https://git.carbslinux.org/repository>
  - <https://git.sr.ht/~carbslinux/repository>

  ,----
  | git clone git://git.carbslinux.org/repository $HOME/repos/carbs
  `----


2.1.2 Obtaining from rsync
--------------------------

  Carbs Linux rsync repositories live in rsync://carbslinux.org/repo. In
  order to obtain it, run the following:

  ,----
  | rsync -avc rsync://vaylin.carbslinux.org/repo $HOME/repos/carbs
  `----


2.1.3 Making the package manager use the repositories
-----------------------------------------------------

  In your shell's configuration file, or in your `~/.profile' file, add
  the following lines:

  ,----
  | CPT_PATH=$HOME/repos/carbs/core
  | CPT_PATH=$CPT_PATH:$HOME/repos/carbs/extra
  | CPT_PATH=$CPT_PATH:$HOME/repos/carbs/wayland
  | CPT_PATH=$CPT_PATH:$HOME/repos/carbs/community
  | export CPT_PATH
  `----


2.2 Updating packages
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It is good practice to make sure your system is up to date, especially
  before building new packages. If there is an update for the package
  manager you will need to update twice.

  ,----
  | cpt-update && cpt-update
  `----


2.3 Installing packages
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Since you are operating on a really small base, you might need to
  build and install new programs to extend the functionality of your
  system. In order to build and install packages new packages in Carbs,
  you need to execute the following. "Package" is not actually a package
  and is given as an example.

  ,----
  | cpt-build   package
  | cpt-install package
  `----


2.4 Essential Software
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Here is a small list of software that you might want to have on your
  system as you are setting up. You might want to check the *Software*
  section in the full documentation to learn more about other packaged
  software.

  *BOOTLOADERS*

  - efibootmgr
  - grub

  *FILESYSTEMS*

  - e2fsprogs
  - dosfstools
  - ntfs-3g

  *NETWORKING*

  - dhcpcd
  - wpa_supplicant

  *TEXT EDITORS*

  - nano
  - vim

  *DOCUMENTATION*

  - carbs-docs
  - man-pages
  - man-pages-posix


2.5 Obtaining the documentation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  All the documentation for Carbs Linux can be found on a single info
  manual to be viewed offline. You can obtain either `texinfo' or the
  `info' packages in order to view the documentation.

  ,----
  | # Install the documentation.
  | cpt b carbs-docs && cpt i carbs-docs
  | 
  | # Install either texinfo or the info package. We will be installing standalone info
  | # as it doesn't need perl.
  | cpt b info && cpt i info
  | 
  | # You can then run info and navigate through the documentation.
  | info carbslinux
  `----


3 System Configuration
======================

  After you have finished installing some extra packages, you can
  configure your system to your liking.


3.1 Configuring hostname
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  You might want to add a hostname, especially in a networked
  environment. Your hostname will default to 'carbslinux' unless you set
  this.

  ,----
  | echo your-hostname > /etc/hostname
  `----


3.2 Hosts file
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  You can edit your /etc/hosts file, which is the static lookup table
  for host names. By default, there are two entries for localhost which
  are OKAY. You can replace the 'localhost' part of these entries to
  your hostname.

  ,----
  | 127.0.0.1  localhost.localdomain localhost
  | ::1        localhost.localdomain localhost ip6-localhost
  `----


3.3 Creating a user
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Creating a new user is not strictly necessary, but it is highly
  recommended.  Especially for building packages, it is the safest
  option to create an unprivileged user and using `doas' for doing
  operations that require `root' privileges. The code block below
  describes how to create a user (named `foo'), add them to the wheel
  group, and to give doas permissions to the wheel group

  ,----
  | # Create the new user
  | adduser foo
  | 
  | # Add the user to the wheel group
  | addgroup foo wheel
  | 
  | # Give root permission to the wheel group using doas
  | echo permit persist :wheel >> /etc/doas.conf
  `----

  You are also advised to take a look at the doas configuration file and
  the manual page of doas.

  After you are finished you can switch to the new user by running

  ,----
  | su foo
  `----


4 Kernel
========

  Kernel isn't managed under the main repositories, even though you
  could package one for your personal use. Here is an [example kernel
  package], which you will need to reconfigure for your specific setup
  if you want to make use of it.


[example kernel package]
<https://github.com/cemkeylan/kiss-repository/tree/master/personal/linux>

4.1 Obtaining the kernel sources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  You can visit the <https://kernel.org> website to choose a kernel that
  you want to install. Though only the latest stable and longterm (LTS)
  versions are supported. Note that kernel releases are quite rapid, and
  the version below is likely outdated, so don't run it verbatim.

  ,----
  | # Download the kernel and extract it
  | wget https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.19.4.tar.xz
  | tar xJf linux-5.19.4.tar.xz
  | 
  | # Change directory into the kernel sources
  | cd linux-5.19.4
  `----

  *NOTE:* If you want to validate the kernel signature, install the
  `gnupg2' package, and follow the instructions provided at
  <https://kernel.org/category/signatures.html>.


4.2 Kernel dependencies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In order to compile the kernel you will need to install some
  dependencies. You will need `libelf', and `bison' to compile the
  kernel. If you want to configure using the menu interface you will
  also need `ncurses'.

  ,----
  | # The package manager asks to install if you are building more than one package,
  | # so no need to run 'cpt i ...'
  | cpt b libelf ncurses
  `----

  In the vanilla kernel sources, you need perl to compile the kernel,
  but it can be easily patched out. You will need to apply the following
  patch. Patch was written by [E5ten]. You will need to obtain and apply
  the patch in the kernel source directory.

  ,----
  | wget https://dl.carbslinux.org/distfiles/kernel-no-perl.patch
  | patch -p1 < kernel-no-perl.patch
  `----


[E5ten] <https://github.com/E5ten>


4.3 Building the kernel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Next step is configuring and building the kernel. You can check
  Gentoo's [kernel configuration guide] to learn more about the
  matter. Overall, Gentoo Wiki is a good place to learn about
  configuration according to your hardware. The following will assume a
  monolithic kernel.

  ,----
  | make menuconfig
  | make
  | install -Dm755 $(make -s image_name) /boot/vmlinuz-linux
  `----


[kernel configuration guide]
<https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Kernel/Configuration>


5 Making your system bootable
=============================

  In order to be able to boot your fresh system, wou will need an
  init-daemon, init-scripts and a bootloader. The init daemon is already
  provided by busybox, but you can optionally change it.


5.1 Bootloader
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In the main repository, there is efibootmgr and grub to serve as
  bootloaders.  efibootmgr can be used as a standalone bootloader, or
  can be used to install grub in a UEFI environment. efibootmgr is
  needed unless you are using a device without UEFI support (or you
  really want to use BIOS for a reason).


5.1.1 GRUB BIOS installation
----------------------------

  ,----
  | cpt b grub && cpt i grub
  | grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdX
  | grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  `----


5.1.2 GRUB UEFI installation
----------------------------

  ,----
  | cpt b efibootmgr && cpt i efibootmgr
  | cpt b grub && cpt i grub
  | 
  | grub-install --target=x86_64-efi \
  |              --efi-directory=esp \
  |              --bootloader-id=CarbsLinux
  | 
  | grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  `----


5.2 Init scripts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Only thing left to do is installing the init-scripts, and now you are
  almost ready to boot your system!

  ,----
  | cpt b carbs-init && cpt i carbs-init
  `----


5.3 Fstab
~~~~~~~~~

  You can now manually edit your fstab entry, or you can use the
  genfstab tool.  If you want to use the tool, exit the chroot and run
  the following:

  ,----
  | wget https://github.com/cemkeylan/genfstab/raw/master/genfstab
  | chmod +x genfstab
  | ./genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
  `----


6 Post-installation
===================

  The base installation is now complete, you can now fine tune your
  system according to your needs. Rest of these instructions are
  completely optional.  You can check the rest of the documentation to
  learn more about the system.


6.1 IRC
~~~~~~~

  The IRC channel for Carbs Linux is located in `#carbslinux' on
  [libera.chat]. You can install the `catgirl' package from the
  repository, or use a client of your preference to join. Feel free to
  ask for help, or have a general chat.


[libera.chat] <https://libera.chat>


6.2 KISS repositories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  There have been recent changes to the `kiss' package manager that
  breaks compatibility with `cpt'. These changes throw away the entire
  premise of their "static" packaging system. `cpt' will never implement
  those changes, so don't expect any KISS package that was changed
  during or after July 2021 to work with `cpt'.