DESCRIPTION

live-config contains the components that configure a live system during the boot process (late userspace).

CONFIGURATION

live-config can be configured through boot parameters or configuration files. If both mechanisms are used for a certain option, the boot parameters take precedence over the configuration files. When using persistency, live-config components are only run once.

If live-build(7) is used to build the live system, the live-config parameters used by default can be set through the --bootappend-live option, see lb_config(1) manual page.

Boot Parameters (components)

live-config is only activated if 'boot=live' is used as a boot parameter. Additionally, live-config needs to be told which components to run through the 'live-config.components' parameter or which components to not run through the 'live-config.nocomponents' parameter. If both 'live-config.components' and 'live-config.nocomponents' are used, or, if either one is specified multiple times, always the later one takes precedence over the previous one(s).

live-config.components | components

All components are run. This is what live images use by default.

live-config.components=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn | components=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn

Only the specified components are run. Note that the order matters, e.g. 'live-config.components=sudo,user-setup' would not work since the user needs to be added before it can be configured for sudo. Look at the filenames of the components in /lib/live/config for their ordering number.

live-config.nocomponents | nocomponents

No component is run. This is the same as not using any of 'live-config.components' or 'live-config.nocomponents'.

live-config.nocomponents=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn | nocomponents=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn

All components are run, except the specified ones.

Boot Parameters (options)

Some individual components can change their behaviour upon a boot parameter.

live-config.debconf-preseed=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn | debconf-preseed=medium|filesystem|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn

Allows to fetch and apply one or more debconf preseed files to be applied to the debconf database. Note that the URLs must be fetchable by wget (http, ftp or file://).
If the file is placed on the live medium, it can be fetched with file:///lib/live/mount/medium/FILE, or with file:///FILE if it is in the root filesystem of the live system itself.
All preseed files in /lib/live/config-preseed/ in the root filesystem of the live system can be automatically enabled with the keyword 'filesystem'.
All preseed files in /live/config-preseed/ of the live medium can be automatically enabled with the keyword 'medium'.
If several mechanisms are combined, then filesystem preseed files are applied first, then medium preseed files, and last the network preseed files.

live-config.hostname=HOSTNAME | hostname=HOSTNAME

Allows to set the hostname of the system. The default is 'debian'.

live-config.username=USERNAME | username=USERNAME

Allows to set the username that gets created for autologin. The default is 'user'.

live-config.user-default-groups=GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn | user-default-groups=GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn

Allows to set the default groups of the users that gets created for autologin is member of. The default is 'audio cdrom dip floppy video plugdev netdev powerdev scanner bluetooth'.

live-config.user-fullname="USER FULLNAME" | user-fullname="USER FULLNAME"

Allows to set the fullname of the users that gets created for autologin. On Debian the default is 'Debian Live user'.

live-config.locales=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ... LOCALEn | locales=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ... LOCALEn

Allows to set the locale of the system, e.g. 'de_CH.UTF-8'. The default is 'en_US.UTF-8'. In case the selected locale is not already available on the system, it is automatically generated on the fly.

live-config.timezone=TIMEZONE | timezone=TIMEZONE

Allows to set the timezone of the system, e.g. 'Europe/Zurich'. The default is 'UTC'.

live-config.keyboard-model=KEYBOARD_MODEL | keyboard-model=KEYBOARD_MODEL

Allows to change the keyboard model. There is no default value set.

live-config.keyboard-layouts=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn | keyboard-layouts=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn

Allows to change the keyboard layouts. If more than one is specified, the tools of the desktop environment will allow to switch it under X11. There is no default value set.

live-config.keyboard-variants=KEYBOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn | keyboard-variants=KEYBOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn

Allows to change the keyboard variants. If more than one is specified, the same number of values as keyboard-layouts values should be specified as they will be matched one-to-one in the order specified. Blank values are allowed. The tools of the desktop environment will allow to switch between each layout and variant pair under X11. There is no default value set.

live-config.keyboard-options=KEYBOARD_OPTIONS | keyboard-options=KEYBOARD_OPTIONS

Allows to change the keyboard options. There is no default value set.

live-config.sysv-rc=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn | sysv-rc=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn

Allows to disable sysv services through update-rc.d.

live-config.utc=yes|no | utc=yes|no

Allows to change if the system is assuming that the hardware clock is set to UTC or not. The default is 'yes'.

live-config.x-session-manager=X_SESSION_MANAGER | x-session-manager=X_SESSION_MANAGER

Allows to set the x-session-manager through update-alternatives.

live-config.xorg-driver=XORG_DRIVER | xorg-driver=XORG_DRIVER

Allows to set xorg driver instead of autodetecting it. If a PCI ID is specified in /usr/share/live/config/xserver-xorg/DRIVER.ids within the live system, the DRIVER is enforced for these devices. If both a boot parameter and an override are found, the boot parameter takes precedence.

live-config.xorg-resolution=XORG_RESOLUTION | xorg-resolution=XORG_RESOLUTION

Allows to set xorg resolution instead of autodetecting it, e.g. 1024x768.

live-config.wlan-driver=WLAN_DRIVER | wlan-driver=WLAN_DRIVER

Allows to set WLAN driver instead of autodetecting it. If a PCI ID is specified in /usr/share/live/config/broadcom-sta/DRIVER.ids within the live system, the DRIVER is enforced for these devices. If both a boot parameter and an override are found, the boot parameter takes precedence.

live-config.hooks=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn | hooks=medium|filesystem|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn

Allows to fetch and execute one or more arbitrary files. Note that the URLs must be fetchable by wget (http, ftp or file://), the files are executed in /tmp of the running live system, and that the files needs their dependencies, if any, already installed, e.g. if a python script should be executed the system needs python installed. Some hooks for some common use-cases are available at /usr/share/doc/live-config/examples/hooks/ and <http://live-systems.org/other/hooks>.
If the file is placed on the live medium, it can be fetched with file:///lib/live/mount/medium/FILE, or with file:///FILE if it is in the root filesystem of the live system itself.
All hooks in /lib/live/config-hooks/ in the root filesystem of the live system can be automatically enabled with the keyword 'filesystem'.
All hooks in /live/config-hooks/ of the live medium can be automatically enabled with the keyword 'medium'.
If several mechanisms are combined, then filesystem hooks are executed first, then medium hooks, and last the network hooks.

Boot Parameters (shortcuts)

For some common use cases where it would require to combine several individual parameters, live-config provides shortcuts. This allows both to have full granularity over all the options, as well keep things simple.

live-config.noroot | noroot

Disables sudo and policykit, the user cannot gain root privileges on the system.

live-config.noautologin | noautologin

Disables both the automatic console login and the graphical autologin.

live-config.nottyautologin | nottyautologin

Disables the automatic login on the console, not affecting the graphical autologin.

live-config.nox11autologin | nox11autologin

Disables the automatic login with any display manager, not affecting tty autologin.

Boot Parameters (special options)

For special use cases there are some special boot paramters.

live-config.debug | debug

Enables debug output in live-config.

Configuration Files

live-config can be configured (but not activated) through configuration files. Everything but the shortcuts that can be configured with a boot parameter can also alternatively be configured through one or more files. If configuration files are used, the 'boot=live' parameter is still required to activate live-config.

Note: If configuration files are used, either (preferably) all boot parameters should be put into the LIVE_CONFIG_CMDLINE variable, or individual variables can be set. If individual variables are used, the user is required to ensure that all the necessary variables are set to create a valid configuration.

Configuration files can be placed either in the root filesystem itself (/etc/live/config.conf, /etc/live/config.conf.d/*.conf), or on the live media (live/config.conf, live/config.conf.d/*.conf). If both places are used for a certain option, the ones from the live media take precedence over the ones from the root filesystem.

Although the configuration files placed in the configuration directories do not require a particular name, it is suggested for consistency reasons to either use 'vendor.conf' or 'project.conf' as a naming scheme (whereas 'vendor' or 'project' is replaced with the actual name, resulting in a filename like 'progress-linux.conf').

The actual content of the configuration files consists of one or more of the following variables.

LIVE_CONFIG_CMDLINE=PARAMETER1 PARAMETER2 ... PARAMETERn

This variable corresponds to the bootloader command line.

LIVE_CONFIG_COMPONENTS=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.components=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn' parameter.

LIVE_CONFIG_NOCOMPONENTS=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.nocomponents=COMPONENT1,COMPONENT2, ... COMPONENTn' parameter.

LIVE_DEBCONF_PRESEED=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.debconf-preseed=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn' parameter.

LIVE_HOSTNAME=HOSTNAME

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.hostname=HOSTNAME' parameter.

LIVE_USERNAME=USERNAME

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.username=USERNAME' parameter.

LIVE_USER_DEFAULT_GROUPS=GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.user-default-groups="GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn"' parameter.

LIVE_USER_FULLNAME="USER FULLNAME"

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.user-fullname="USER FULLNAME"' parameter.

LIVE_LOCALES=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ... LOCALEn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.locales=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ... LOCALEn' parameter.

LIVE_TIMEZONE=TIMEZONE

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.timezone=TIMEZONE' parameter.

LIVE_KEYBOARD_MODEL=KEYBOARD_MODEL

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.keyboard-model=KEYBOARD_MODEL' parameter.

LIVE_KEYBOARD_LAYOUTS=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.keyboard-layouts=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn' parameter.

LIVE_KEYBOARD_VARIANTS=KEYBOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.keyboard-variants=KEYBOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn' parameter.

LIVE_KEYBOARD_OPTIONS=KEYBOARD_OPTIONS

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.keyboard-options=KEYBOARD_OPTIONS' parameter.

LIVE_SYSV_RC=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.sysv-rc=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn' parameter.

LIVE_UTC=yes|no

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.utc=yes|no' parameter.

LIVE_X_SESSION_MANAGER=X_SESSION_MANAGER

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.x-session-manager=X_SESSION_MANAGER' parameter.

LIVE_XORG_DRIVER=XORG_DRIVER

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.xorg-driver=XORG_DRIVER' parameter.

LIVE_XORG_RESOLUTION=XORG_RESOLUTION

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.xorg-resolution=XORG_RESOLUTION' parameter.

LIVE_WLAN_DRIVER=WLAN_DRIVER

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.wlan-driver=WLAN_DRIVER' parameter.

LIVE_HOOKS=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.hooks=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn' parameter.

LIVE_CONFIG_DEBUG=true|false

This variable corresponds to the 'live-config.debug' parameter.

CUSTOMIZATION

live-config can be easily customized for downstream projects or local usage.

Adding new config components

Downstream projects can put their components into /lib/live/config and do not need to do anything else, the components will be called automatically during boot.

The components are best put into an own debian package. A sample package containing an example component can be found in /usr/share/doc/live-config/examples.

Removing existing config components

It is not really possible to remove components itself in a sane way yet without requiring either to ship a locally modified live-config package or using dpkg-divert. However, the same can be achieved by disabling the respective components through the live-config.nocomponents mechanism, see above. To avoid to always need specifing disabled components through the boot parameter, a configuration file should be used, see above.

The configuration files for the live system itself are best put into an own debian package. A sample package containing an example configuration can be found in /usr/share/doc/live-config/examples.

COMPONENTS

live-config currently features the following components in /lib/live/config.

debconf

allows to apply arbitrary preseed files placed on the live media or an http/ftp server.

hostname

configures /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts.

user-setup

adds a live user account.

sudo

grants sudo privileges to the live user.

locales

configures locales.

locales-all

configures locales-all.

tzdata

configures /etc/timezone.

gdm3

configures autologin in gdm3.

kdm

configures autologin in kdm.

lightdm

configures autologin in lightdm.

lxdm

configures autologin in lxdm.

nodm

configures autologin in nodm.

slim

configures autologin in slim.

xinit

configures autologin with xinit.

keyboard-configuration

configures the keyboard.

systemd

configures systemd autologin.

sysvinit

configures sysvinit.

sysv-rc

configures sysv-rc by disabling listed services.

login

disables lastlog.

apport

disables apport.

gnome-panel-data

disables lock button for the screen.

gnome-power-manager

disables hibernation.

gnome-screensaver

disables the screensaver locking the screen.

kaboom

disables KDE migration wizard (squeeze and newer).

kde-services

disables some unwanted KDE services (squeeze and newer).

policykit

grant user privilegies through policykit.

ssl-cert

regenerating ssl snake-oil certificates.

anacron

disables anacron.

util-linux

disables util-linux' hwclock.

login

disables lastlog.

xserver-xorg

configures xserver-xorg.

broadcom-sta

configures broadcom-sta WLAN drivers.

openssh-server

recreates openssh-server host keys.

xfce4-panel

configures xfce4-panel to default settings.

xscreensaver

disables the screensaver locking the screen.

hooks

allows to run arbitrary commands from a file placed on the live media or an http/ftp server.

FILES

/etc/live/config.conf

/etc/live/config.conf.d/*.conf

live/config.conf

live/config.conf.d/*.conf

/lib/live/config.sh

/lib/live/config/

/var/lib/live/config/

/var/log/live/config.log

/live/config-hooks/*

live/config-hooks/*

/live/config-preseed/*

live/config-preseed/*

HOMEPAGE

More information about live-config and the Live Systems project can be found on the homepage at <http://live-systems.org/> and in the manual at <http://live-systems.org/manual/>.

AUTHOR

live-config was written by Daniel Baumann <[email protected]>.