1KIWI(8)                              kiwi                              KIWI(8)
2
3
4

NAME

6       kiwi - Creating Operating System Images
7

SYNOPSIS

9          kiwi [global options] service <command> [<args>]
10
11          kiwi -h | --help
12          kiwi [--profile=<name>...]
13               [--type=<build_type>]
14               [--logfile=<filename>]
15               [--debug]
16               [--color-output]
17              image <command> [<args>...]
18          kiwi [--debug]
19               [--color-output]
20              result <command> [<args>...]
21          kiwi [--profile=<name>...]
22               [--shared-cache-dir=<directory>]
23               [--type=<build_type>]
24               [--logfile=<filename>]
25               [--debug]
26               [--color-output]
27              system <command> [<args>...]
28          kiwi compat <legacy_args>...
29          kiwi -v | --version
30          kiwi help
31

DESCRIPTION

33       KIWI  is an imaging solution that is based on an image XML description.
34       Such a description is represented by  a  directory  which  includes  at
35       least  one config.xml or .kiwi file and may as well include other files
36       like scripts or configuration data.
37
38       A collection of example image descriptions can be found on  the  github
39       repository here: https://github.com/SUSE/kiwi-descriptions. Most of the
40       descriptions provide a so called JeOS image.  JeOS  means  Just  enough
41       Operating  System. A JeOS is a small, text only based image including a
42       predefined remote source setup to allow installation of  missing  soft‐
43       ware components at a later point in time.
44
45       KIWI  operates  in  two  steps.  The system build command combines both
46       steps into one to make it easier to start with KIWI. The first step  is
47       the  preparation  step and if that step was successful, a creation step
48       follows which is able to create different image output types.
49
50       In the preparation step, you prepare a directory including the contents
51       of  your new filesystem based on one or more software package source(s)
52       The creation step is based on the result of the  preparation  step  and
53       uses  the  contents  of  the  new  image root tree to create the output
54       image.
55
56       KIWI supports the creation of the following image types:
57
58       · ISO Live Systems
59
60       · Virtual Disk for e.g cloud frameworks
61
62       · OEM Expandable Disk for system deployment from ISO or the network
63
64       · File system images for deployment in a pxe boot environment
65
66       Depending on the image type a variety of  different  disk  formats  and
67       architectures are supported.
68

GLOBAL OPTIONS

70       --color-output
71              Use  Escape Sequences to print different types of information in
72              colored output. The underlaying terminal has to understand those
73              escape  characters.  Error messages appear red, warning messages
74              yellow and debugging information will be printed light grey.
75
76       --debug
77              Print debug information on the commandline.
78
79       --logfile=<filename>
80              Specify log file.  the  logfile  contains  detailed  information
81              about the process.
82
83       --profile=<name>
84              Select profile to use. The specified profile must be part of the
85              XML description. The option can be specified multiple  times  to
86              allow using a combination of profiles
87
88       --shared-cache-dir=<directory>
89              Specify  an alternative shared cache directory. The directory is
90              shared via bind mount between the build host and image root sys‐
91              tem  and  contains  information  about  package repositories and
92              their cache and meta  data.  The  default  location  is  set  to
93              /var/cache/kiwi
94
95       --type=<build_type>
96              Select  image  build type. The specified build type must be con‐
97              figured as part of the XML description.
98
99       --version
100              Show program version
101

EXAMPLE

103          $ git clone https://github.com/SUSE/kiwi-descriptions
104
105          $ kiwi --type vmx system build \
106              --description kiwi-descriptions/suse/x86_64/suse-leap-42.3-JeOS \
107              --target-dir /tmp/myimage
108

RUNTIME CONFIG FILE

110       To control custom paramters of the tool chain used by KIWI a user  spe‐
111       cific configuration file can be provided as:
112
113       ~/.config/kiwi/config.yml
114
115       The  contents  of the file is in YAML format and supports the following
116       setup parameters:
117
118          xz:
119            - options: -a -b -c
120
121              # Specifies XZ-compression-options
122              # For details see man xz
123
124          obs:
125            - download_url: url
126
127              # Specifies download server url of an open buildservice instance
128              # defaults to: http://download.opensuse.org/repositories
129
130            - public: true|false
131
132              # Specifies if the buildservice instance is public or private
133              # defaults to: true
134

COMPATIBILITY

136       This version of KIWI uses a different caller syntax compared to  former
137       versions.  However  there is a compatibility mode which allows to use a
138       legacy KIWI commandline as follows:
139
140          $ kiwi compat \
141              --build kiwi-descriptions/suse/x86_64/suse-leap-42.3-JeOS \
142              --type vmx -d /tmp/myimage
143

AUTHOR

145       Marcus Schäfer
146

148       2016, Marcus Schäfer
149
150
151
152
1539.17.38                          Apr 22, 2019                          KIWI(8)
Impressum