Automatic Installs

It is possible to install Ragnarok automatically (that is, without user input) using a pre-made install.conf file and passing the -a option to the installer:

In order to do so, simply create a custom install.conf file and save it for later use.

Creating install.conf

You can either create the file manually, or if booted in a live Ragnarok system (or if the ragnarok-installer package is installed) run the mkconf utility and answer all questions.

If you choose to run mkconf, still refer to the users and passwords section near the end of this guide.

Manual creation

With your preferred text editor, open a new file (to be saved as install.conf) and fill in all answers, making sure there are no typographic errors (pay close attention to capital letters).

Example file:

Device = /dev/sda
Bootmode = bios
Swap = 8G
Root = 35G
Home = 
Hostname = ragnarok
Timezone = America/Montreal
Locale = en_CA.UTF-8 UTF-8
KB_Layout = ca
KB_Variant = French (Canada)
Sets = devel virt xserv xfonts xprogs

Notes:

Bootmode: this can be either bios or efi.

Swap, Root and Home: these are the size of each partitions. Home may be left empty if you wish to use the remaining space on the device. Always take into account that the installer will create a 500M boot partition at install time.

KB_Layout: layout for the console and X11. A list of available layouts is located at /usr/share/ragnarok-installer/lists/xkblayout.list. First column lists the layout, the second lists its variant.

KB_Variant can be determined by searching for your KB_Layout in the xkblayout list using grep, e.g.

$ grep "^ca" "/usr/share/ragnarok-installer/lists/xkblayout.list

Sets: metapackages containing extra software. These are optional. The example file shows all available sets. You can pick and choose between them, or install none at all, in which case you would use 'none':

Sets = none

Hostname, Timezone and Locale are self-explanatory.

Username and Passwords

The mkconf utility will not ask for username and passwords. At install time, this is handled by the installer after its call to mkconf is done.

If you do not wish to be asked to set up passwords and username during an automatic install, you may add them to install.conf. However, take note that storing passwords in plain text is not secure. If you wish to store your passwords in install.conf, you should only use temporary passwords and change them as soon as you boot the system for the first time.

To add them to the config file:

Rootpass = your.temporary.rootpass
Username = your.username
Userpass = your.temporary.user.pass

Using install.conf

To install Ragnarok automatically using a pre-made install.conf file using the live ISO, ensure the file is present in the same directory you're running the installer from, e.g. either the home directory of the live user, or of the root user. Then launch the installer with the -a option:

# ragnarok-install -a