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Installation

You install Core Linux from Core Live, the install medium: write it to a USB stick, boot from it, and build the new system with corefs. Run the commands on Core Live as root.

1. Download Core Live​

Download core-live-0.1.iso and SHA256SUMS into the same directory, then check the image before you write it:

sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS
To do

Link the Core Linux download page here.

2. Write it to a USB stick​

danger

This erases everything on the USB stick. Check the device name twice: writing to the wrong disk destroys its data.

Find the stick with lsblk, then write the image to the whole device, like /dev/sdb, not a partition like /dev/sdb1:

lsblk
sudo dd if=core-live-0.1.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Restart the computer and boot from the USB stick.

3. Prepare the disk​

Partition the target disk, format the root partition as ext4 and mount it at /mnt. The initramfs Core Linux boots with has drivers for virtio, NVMe and SATA disks and for ext4; see Boot process to add others.

To do

Describe partitioning on Core Live: which tool, the recommended layout, UEFI or BIOS.

4. Install the base system​

corefs install base /mnt

corefs creates the directory layout, fetches every package the base profile lists and verifies them all. Only then does it unpack them, so a failed download or a bad checksum leaves nothing half-installed.

tip

corefs installs from COREFS_REPO, or http://localhost:8000/core if that isn't set. Add --mirror <url> to use another repository. See the corefs reference.

5. Generate fstab​

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

-U names filesystems by UUID, so the entries still work if the disk shows up under a different device name. Check the result with cat /mnt/etc/fstab.

6. Configure the new system​

Enter the new system with core-chroot:

core-chroot /mnt

Then, inside it, set the root password, pick a host name and build the initramfs:

(chroot)
passwd
echo corebox > /etc/hostname
mkinitfs

mkinitfs writes /boot/initramfs-virt for the linux-virt kernel.

7. Install a boot loader​

To do

Describe installing and configuring a boot loader.

8. Reboot​

Leave the chroot (core-chroot unmounts what it mounted), unmount the new system and restart:

exit
umount /mnt
reboot

Remove the USB stick so the machine boots from its disk, and log in as root with the password you set.