libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance(1)

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NAME

6       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance - Make a "fixed appliance" for
7       libguestfs
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SYNOPSIS

10        libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance [--options] OUTPUTDIR
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12        libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance [--options] --xz
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DESCRIPTION

15       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance lets you make a pre-built binary
16       appliance for libguestfs.
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18       Note that ordinary users should not need to run this tool.
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20       Some reasons why you might want to use this include:
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22       •   You want to make a self-contained libguestfs appliance that can be
23           copied to another machine or platform that doesn't support
24           supermin(1).
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26       •   You have multiple users on the same machine and want to avoid the
27           storage duplication and start-up overhead of having multiple cached
28           copies of the appliance.
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30       •   You want to have very predictable performance from libguestfs (see
31           guestfs-performance(1)).
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33       For deeper understanding of why you might need this tool, read "FIXED
34       APPLIANCE" in guestfs-internals(1).
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36       Instead of running this tool, you can download fixed appliances from
37       http://libguestfs.org/download/binaries/appliance/.  These appliances
38       were made using this tool.
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40       There are two ways to use this tool.
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42       •   Specify an output directory, for example:
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44            libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance /usr/local/lib/guestfs/appliance
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46           The output directory is created if it does not exist.  Four files
47           are created in this directory:
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49            <OUTPUTDIR>/kernel
50            <OUTPUTDIR>/initrd
51            <OUTPUTDIR>/root
52            <OUTPUTDIR>/README.fixed
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54           Note that "OUTPUTDIR/root" is a sparse file, so take care when
55           copying it.
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57           You can then run libguestfs (possibly after copying this directory
58           to another machine) by setting the environment variable
59           LIBGUESTFS_PATH to "OUTPUTDIR".
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61       •   The alternative method is to use the --xz option to create a
62           compressed tarball:
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64            libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance --xz
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66           This creates a tarball in the current directory called:
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68            appliance-<VERSION>.tar.xz
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70           (where "VERSION" is the version of libguestfs).  The tarball
71           contains the four files:
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73            appliance/kernel
74            appliance/initrd
75            appliance/root
76            appliance/README.fixed
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78           Note that "appliance/root" is a sparse file, so take care when
79           copying it.
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OPTIONS

82       --help
83           Display short usage information and exit.
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85       -V
86       --version
87           Display the version number and exit.
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89       --xz
90           Instead of creating the appliance in an output directory, create a
91           compressed tarball of the appliance in the current directory called
92           appliance-VERSION.tar.xz where "VERSION" is the version of
93           libguestfs.
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95           Using --xz can take some time.  If working normally, the tool is
96           completely silent when it is running.
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LICENSING

99       The fixed appliance is a complete Linux binary distro.  If you
100       distribute it, you may need to distribute corresponding source files to
101       remain in legal compliance with the licenses of the software in the
102       appliance (such as the GNU General Public License).
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EXIT STATUS

105       libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance returns 0 if the appliance was built
106       without errors.
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ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

109       For the full list of environment variables which may affect libguestfs,
110       please see the guestfs(3) manual page.
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AUTHORS

117       Richard W.M. Jones ("rjones at redhat dot com")
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COPYRIGHT

120       Copyright (C) 2009-2023 Red Hat Inc.
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LICENSE

123       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
124       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
125       Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
126       option) any later version.
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128       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
129       WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
130       MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
131       General Public License for more details.
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133       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
134       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
135       51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
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BUGS

138       To get a list of bugs against libguestfs, use this link:
139       https://bugzilla.redhat.com/buglist.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
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141       To report a new bug against libguestfs, use this link:
142       https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools
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144       When reporting a bug, please supply:
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146       •   The version of libguestfs.
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148       •   Where you got libguestfs (eg. which Linux distro, compiled from
149           source, etc)
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151       •   Describe the bug accurately and give a way to reproduce it.
152
153       •   Run libguestfs-test-tool(1) and paste the complete, unedited output
154           into the bug report.
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158libguestfs-1.51.9                 2023-12-09libguestfs-make-fixed-appliance(1)