mkarchiso

Build Arch Linux ISO images from a profile

TLDR

Build an ISO from the official releng profile

$ sudo mkarchiso -v /usr/share/archiso/configs/releng

Use custom working and output directories

$ sudo mkarchiso -v -w [path/to/work] -o [path/to/out] [path/to/profile]

Delete the working directory when the build finishes

$ sudo mkarchiso -r -o [path/to/out] [path/to/profile]

Build a bootstrap tarball and netboot artifacts instead of an ISO

$ sudo mkarchiso -m "bootstrap netboot" [path/to/profile]

Set the volume label, publisher and application name

$ sudo mkarchiso -L [LABEL] -P "[publisher]" -A "[application]" [path/to/profile]

Add extra packages to the image

$ sudo mkarchiso -p "[package1 package2]" [path/to/profile]

Build with a different pacman configuration

$ sudo mkarchiso -C [path/to/pacman.conf] [path/to/profile]

SYNOPSIS

mkarchiso [options] profiledirectory_

mkarchiso is the build tool of the archiso project. It reads a profile directory and produces a bootable ISO, netboot artifacts or a bootstrap tarball, and can optionally sign them. It is the tool behind the official Arch Linux installation media.A profile describes the image. The usual files are profiledef.sh (image name, boot modes and file permissions), packages.x86_64 (packages to install), pacman.conf (repositories used during the build) and the airootfs/ directory, whose contents are copied into the live system.The archiso package ships two profiles in /usr/share/archiso/configs/: releng, which is used for the monthly installation ISO, and baseline, a minimal live system. To customize one, copy it to a directory of your own and edit the copy.

PARAMETERS

-A application

Application name for the ISO. Default: mkarchiso iso.

-C file

pacman configuration file. Default: /etc/pacman.conf.

-D installdir_

Directory on the image where all files are placed. Default: arch. For iso and netboot use only a-z0-9, and for iso at most 30 characters.

-L label

ISO volume label. Default: MKARCHISO.

-P publisher

ISO publisher. Default: mkarchiso.

-c certandkey

Certificates for codesigning netboot artifacts and the rootfs, as a quoted, space-delimited list of certificate, key and optional certificate authority.

-g gpgkey_

PGP key ID for signing the rootfs image. Passed to gpg as --default-key.

-G mbox

PGP signer, which must include an email address. Passed to gpg as --sender.

-m mode

Build modes as a quoted, space-delimited list: bootstrap, iso, netboot. Default: iso.

-o outdir_

Output directory. Default: ./out.

-p packages

Packages to install, as a quoted, space-delimited list.

-r

Delete the working directory at the end.

-v

Verbose output.

-w workdir_

Working directory. Default: ./work.

-h

Show the help message.

INSTALL

sudo pacman -S archiso

CAVEATS

Packages are downloaded through pacman, so the build needs an Arch Linux host or a container with pacman. Running as a non-root user requires unshare(1) and user namespace support in the kernel.The working directory is reused between runs, which can leave changes to a profile unapplied. Use -r or delete the directory before rebuilding.

RESOURCES

Source code · Documentation