README
1README for debootstrap
2======================
3
4See the manpage for (some) documentation.
5
6Running debootstrap from source
7-------------------------------
8
9You can run debootstrap from its source tree without installing it. This
10can be useful if you want a quick way to make a Debian chroot on another
11system, or if you are testing modifications to debootstrap.
12
13First, get the source.
14
15* Either by using git
16 git clone https://salsa.debian.org/installer-team/debootstrap.git
17
18* Or by visiting <https://packages.debian.org/source/sid/debootstrap>
19 and downloading the tar.gz file
20
21Then in the debootstrap source directory:
22
23 export DEBOOTSTRAP_DIR=`pwd`
24 sudo ./debootstrap stable my-stable-dir
25
26If you are running a multi-stage boot strap (for example for a QEMU
27rootfs) you don't even need root:
28
29 export DEBOOTSTRAP_DIR=`pwd`
30 fakeroot ./debootstrap --foreign --arch=armhf testing my-testing-dir http://deb.debian.org/debian
31
32Of course you will need to execute the second stage as root to finish the bootstrap:
33
34 (on foreign hardware)
35 /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
36
37
38Future
39------
40
41 * Cross-strap support - so you can bootstrap a filesystem to the
42 point where it will successfully boot, and finish installing itself
43 without having to be running the target architecture or OS yourself.
44 This means you should be able to run
45
46 debootstrap --arch powerpc sarge ./sarge-ppc-chroot ...
47
48 on an i386 system, boot a powerpc box with sarge-ppc-chroot as its
49 root files system, and have it "work". The cross-hurd package does
50 something similar, and should be replaced by this feature.
51
52 * There should be some (better) way of telling debootstrap what "base"
53 packages you want to install -- this varies between making a chroot,
54 doing an install, and doing a buildd. Also, some installs want
55 different base packages (to setup networking, or kernels, eg)
56
57
58NMUing
59------
60
61If there's a problem with debootstrap that you need fixed, feel free to do
62an NMU to fix it. Usual rules: try not to break anything, and mail the
63patch to the BTS. Don't worry about asking first though.
64
65However, note that debootstrap is now team maintained. Anyone in d-i can do
66a release without the bother of a NMU.
67