live-config.en.7 (3.x)
LIVE-CONFIG(7) Debian Live Project LIVE-CONFIG(7)
NAME
live-config - System Configuration Scripts
DESCRIPTION
live-config contains the scripts that configure a Debian 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 scripts are only run once.
To configure the live-config parameters used by default in a live
image, see the --bootappend-live option in the lb_config(1) manual
page.
Boot Parameters (scripts)
live-config is only activated if 'boot=live' is used as a boot parame‐
ter. Additionally, live-config needs to be told which scripts to run
through the 'live-config' parameter or which scripts to not run through
the 'live-noconfig' parameter. If both 'live-config' and 'live-nocon‐
fig' are used, or, if either one is specified multiple times, always
the later one takes precedence over the previous one(s).
live-config | config
All scripts are run. This is what Debian Live images use by
default.
live-config=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ... SCRIPTn | config=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ...
SCRIPTn
Only the specified scripts are run. Note that the order matters,
e.g. 'live-config=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 scripts in /lib/live/config for their ordering
number.
live-noconfig | noconfig
No script is run. This is the same as not using any of 'live-con‐
fig' or 'live-noconfig'.
live-noconfig=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ... SCRIPTn | noconfig=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2,
... SCRIPTn
All scripts are run, except the specified ones.
Boot Parameters (options)
Some individual scripts can change their behaviour upon a boot parame‐
ter.
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 fetch‐
able 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 filesys‐
tem of the live system can be automatically enabled with the key‐
word '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 FULL‐
NAME"
Allows to set the fullname of the users that gets created for
autologin. 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=KEY‐
BOARD_MODEL
Allows to change the keyboard model. There is no default value set.
live-config.keyboard-layouts=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEY‐
BOARD_LAYOUTn | keyboard-layouts=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ...
KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn
Allows to change the keyboard layouts. If more than one is speci‐
fied, 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_VARI‐
ANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn
Allows to change the keyboard variants. If more than one is speci‐
fied, the same number of values as keyboard-layouts values should
be specified as they will be matched one-to-one in the order speci‐
fied. Blank values are allowed. The tools of the desktop environ‐
ment 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=KEY‐
BOARD_OPTIONS
Allows to change the keyboard options. There is no default value
set.
live-config.sysv-rc=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn | sysv-rc=SER‐
VICE1,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-man‐
ager=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, DRIVER is enforced for these devices. If
both a boot parameter and a override is found, the boot parameter
takes precedence.
live-config.xorg-resolution=XORG_RESOLUTION | xorg-resolution=XORG_RES‐
OLUTION
Allows to set xorg resolution instead of autodetecting it, e.g.
1024x768.
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.debian.net/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 'filesys‐
tem'.
All hooks in /live/config-hooks/ of the live medium can be automat‐
ically enabled with the keyword 'medium'.
If several mechanisms are combined, then filesystem hooks are exe‐
cuted 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 sim‐
ple.
live-config.noroot | noroot
Disables the sudo and policykit, the user cannot gain root privi‐
leges on the system.
live-config.noautologin | noautologin
Disables both the automatic console login and the graphical autolo‐
gin.
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 affect‐
ing 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 be alternatively also be configured through one or more
files. If configuration files are used, the 'boot=live' parameter is
still required to activate live-config.
Configuration files can be placed either in the root filesystem itself
(/etc/live/config.conf, /etc/live/config/*), or on the live media
(live/config.conf, live/config/*). If both places are used for a cer‐
tain option, the ones from the live media take precedence over the ones
from the root filesystem.
Although the configuration files placed in the conf.d directories do
not require a particular name or suffix, it is suggested for consis‐
tency 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 'debian-eeepc.conf').
The actual content of the configuration files consists of one or more
of the following variables.
LIVE_CONFIGS=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ... SCRIPTn
This variable equals the 'live-config=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ... SCRIPTn'
parameter.
LIVE_NOCONFIGS=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ... SCRIPTn
This variable equals the 'live-noconfig=SCRIPT1,SCRIPT2, ...
SCRIPTn' parameter.
LIVE_DEBCONF_PRESEED=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn
This variable equals the 'live-config.debconf-preseed=filesys‐
tem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn' parameter.
LIVE_HOSTNAME=HOSTNAME
This variable equals the 'live-config.hostname=HOSTNAME' parameter.
LIVE_USERNAME=USERNAME
This variable equals the 'live-config.username=USERNAME' parameter.
LIVE_USER_DEFAULT_GROUPS=GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn
This variable equals the 'live-con‐
fig.user-default-groups="GROUP1,GROUP2 ... GROUPn"' parameter.
LIVE_USER_FULLNAME="USER FULLNAME"
This variable equals the 'live-config.user-fullname="USER FULL‐
NAME"' parameter.
LIVE_LOCALES=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ... LOCALEn
This variable equals the 'live-config.locales=LOCALE1,LOCALE2 ...
LOCALEn' parameter.
LIVE_TIMEZONE=TIMEZONE
This variable equals the 'live-config.timezone=TIMEZONE' parameter.
LIVE_KEYBOARD_MODEL=KEYBOARD_MODEL
This variable equals the 'live-config.keyboard-model=KEY‐
BOARD_MODEL' parameter.
LIVE_KEYBOARD_LAYOUTS=KEYBOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEY‐
BOARD_LAYOUTn
This variable equals the 'live-config.keyboard-layouts=KEY‐
BOARD_LAYOUT1,KEYBOARD_LAYOUT2 ... KEYBOARD_LAYOUTn' parameter.
LIVE_KEYBOARD_VARIANTS=KEYBOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEY‐
BOARD_VARIANTn
This variable equals the 'live-config.keyboard-variants=KEY‐
BOARD_VARIANT1,KEYBOARD_VARIANT2 ... KEYBOARD_VARIANTn' parameter.
LIVE_KEYBOARD_OPTIONS=KEYBOARD_OPTIONS
This variable equals the 'live-config.keyboard-options=KEY‐
BOARD_OPTIONS' parameter.
LIVE_SYSV_RC=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ... SERVICEn
This variable equals the 'live-config.sysv-rc=SERVICE1,SERVICE2 ...
SERVICEn' parameter.
LIVE_UTC=yes|no
This variable equals the 'live-config.utc=yes|no' parameter.
LIVE_X_SESSION_MANAGER=X_SESSION_MANAGER
This variable equals the 'live-config.x-session-manager=X_SES‐
SION_MANAGER' parameter.
LIVE_XORG_DRIVER=XORG_DRIVER
This variable equals the 'live-config.xorg-driver=XORG_DRIVER'
parameter.
LIVE_XORG_RESOLUTION=XORG_RESOLUTION
This variable equals the 'live-config.xorg-resolution=XORG_RESOLU‐
TION' parameter.
LIVE_HOOKS=filesystem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn
This variable equals the 'live-config.hooks=filesys‐
tem|medium|URL1|URL2| ... |URLn' parameter.
CUSTOMIZATION
live-config can be easily customized for downstream projects or local
usage.
Adding new config scripts
Downstream projects can put their scripts into /lib/live/config and do
not need to do anything else, the scripts will be called automatically
during boot.
The scripts are best put into an own debian package. A sample package
containing an example script can be found in /usr/share/doc/live-con‐
fig/examples.
Removing existing config scripts
It is not really possible to remove scripts 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 scripts through the live-noconfig mechanism, see above.
To avoid to always need specifing disabled scripts 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 configura‐
tion can be found in /usr/share/doc/live-config/examples.
SCRIPTS
live-config currently features the following scripts in /lib/live/con‐
fig.
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.
gdm configures autologin in gdm.
gdm3
configures autologin in gdm3 (squeeze and newer).
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.
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).
debian-installer-launcher
adds debian-installer-launcher on users desktop.
module-init-tools
automatically load some modules on some architectures.
policykit
grant user privilegies through policykit.
sslcert
regenerating ssl snake-oil certificates.
update-notifier
disables update-notifier.
anacron
disables anacron.
util-linux
disables util-linux' hwclock.
login
disables lastlog.
xserver-xorg
configures xserver-xorg.
ureadahead (ubuntu only)
disables ureadahead.
openssh-server
recreates openssh-server host keys.
xfce4-panel
configures xfce4-panel to default settings.
hooks
allows to run arbitrary commands from a script placed on the live
media or an http/ftp server.
FILES
/etc/live/config.conf
/etc/live/config/*
live/config.conf
live/config/*
/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/*
SEE ALSO
live-boot(7)
live-build(7)
live-tools(7)
HOMEPAGE
More information about live-config and the Debian Live project can be
found on the homepage at <http://live.debian.net/> and in the manual at
<http://live.debian.net/manual/>.
BUGS
Bugs can be reported by submitting a bugreport for the live-config
package in the Debian Bug Tracking System at <http://bugs.debian.org/>
or by writing a mail to the Debian Live mailing list at
<debian-live@lists.debian.org>.
AUTHOR
live-config was written by Daniel Baumann <daniel@debian.org>.
3.0.23-1 2013-04-25 LIVE-CONFIG(7)
