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HOW-TO: Install Debian using debootstrap.

Using a live cd or existing Linux install to install Debian GNU/Linux using debootstrap.
Updated: 2015-01-11

debootstrap is used to create a Debian base system from scratch, without requiring the availability of dpkg or apt. It does this by downloading .deb files from a mirror site, and carefully unpacking them into a directory which can eventually be chrooted into.

This guide is intended to be a basic installation for those who wish to run Debian's unstable branch, or run a minimal system. It does not cover partitioning schemes, file system details, or proprietary drivers. For this guide, we will assume the following:

Branch: unstable (codename 'Sid')
Architecture: amd64
Boot Style: BIOS / MBR
Target partition: /dev/sda1
Filesystem: ext4
Network Interface: eth0
Debian Mirror: http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian - (Mirror List: http://www.debian.org/mirror/list)
debootstrap version: 1.0.66
Dependencies: binutils, perl, tar, wget (if not using a Debian based distro)

Installing debootstrap from a Debian based distribution
For Debian based distributions, this will be as simple as:

Code:

root@host# apt-get update

root@host# apt-get install debootstrap

Installing debootstrap from a non-Debian based distribution
If you are installing from a non-Debian based distribution, you distribution may or may not have debootstrap available. To get debootstrap, you can download it directly from a Debian mirror.

To view the packages available, use a web browser, or use this command:

Code:

root@host# wget --no-remove-listing -O /tmp/deboot.html -q http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/d/debootstrap && grep 'all.deb' /tmp/deboot.html | awk -F 'href' '{print $2}' | cut -d '"' -f2

Look for the latest version listed, and download:

Code:

root@host# wget -P /tmp/debootstrap http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/d/debootstrap/debootstrap_1.0.66_all.deb

Unpacking the .deb file:

Code:

root@host# cd /tmp/debootstrap

root@host# ar vx debootstrap_1.0.66_all.deb

root@host# tar -xf data.tar.gz

Temporary setup:

Code:

root@host# ln -s /tmp/debootstrap/usr/sbin/debootstrap /usr/sbin/debootstrap

root@host# ln -s /tmp/debootstrap/usr/share/debootstrap /usr/share/debootstrap

Setup the target partition for install
Create your filesystem, your mount point, and mount your partition:

Code:

root@host# mkfs.ext4 -L Debian /dev/sda1

root@host# mkdir /mnt/deboot

root@host# mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /mnt/deboot

Installing the base system with network access
Here, debootstrap will download, extract and install the base system packages to our target partition. debootstrap only fetches the base system without a kernel or bootloader, so we'll use the --include option to fetch those too. If you need packages not found in the main repository, you can include packages from contrib and non-free with this option --components main,contrib,non-free

Usage: debootstrap --include <additional_packages,comma-separated> --arch <architecture> <release> <target> <mirror>

Code:

root@host# debootstrap --include linux-image-amd64,grub-pc,locales --arch amd64 unstable /mnt/deboot http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian

debootstrap can also be used to install Ubuntu (ex. Raring Ringtail):

Code:

root@host# debootstrap --arch amd64 raring /mnt/deboot http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu

Installing the base system without network access, or to a different architecture
If you do not have network or Internet access, you can use the --foreign option to start installation on a machine with network access, and finish on the machine that does not. This is also useful if your target machine is a different architecture than your host machine. Since your target won't have network access, make sure to use the --include option to have debootstrap fetch your kernel, bootloader, and any other packages you will want installed.

Create a temporary directory, and use debootstrap to fetch the packages for the first stage of the install.

Code:

root@host# mkdir /home/<user-name>/deboot

root@host# debootstrap --foreign --include linux-image-amd64,grub-pc,locales --arch amd64 unstable /home/<user-name>/deboot http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian

If we were installing to a PowerPC...

Code:

root@host# debootstrap --foreign --include linux-image-powerpc,yaboot,locales --arch powerpc unstable /home/<user-name>/deboot http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian

Next we'll change to our temporary directory and create a tarball for use on the target machine.

Code:

root@host# cd /home/<user-name>/deboot

root@host# tar czf ../debian-stage2.tgz .

Copy the debian-stage2.tgz file to the target machine. Assuming your target partition is ready, change to the target directory and extract the tarball.

Code:

root@host# cd /mnt/deboot

root@host# tar xzf /path/to/debian-stage2.tgz

Next we'll enter the chroot environment for a moment to complete the second stage of the install.

Code:

root@host# chroot /mnt/deboot /bin/bash

root@chroot# /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage

root@chroot# exit

Preparing the chroot environment
Copy the mounted file systems table. It keeps the df command happy. (Will be overwritten upon boot.)

Code:

root@host# cp /etc/mtab /mnt/deboot/etc/mtab

Binding the virtual filesystems. Until your new install is booting on it's own, we'll borrow these from the host.

Code:

root@host# mount -o bind /dev /mnt/deboot/dev

root@host# mount -o bind /proc /mnt/deboot/proc

root@host# mount -o bind /sys /mnt/deboot/sys

Continuing the installation within chroot
Entering the chroot environment:

Code:

root@host# chroot /mnt/deboot /bin/bash

Since we used the --include option to get grub, it was installed, but not configured.

Code:

root@chroot# grub-install /dev/sda

root@chroot# update-grub

Setting up /etc/fstab for the root filesystem. Use the blkid command to get the UUID of /dev/sda1.

Code:

root@chroot# blkid /dev/sda1

Then add this entry to /etc/fstab using the UUID output from the command above:

Code:

UUID=79168060-9d9c-4cf6-8ee9-bb846aee589b / ext4 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1

Give your new install a name. If not, your new install won't have a name, or inherit the name of the host you are installing from.

Code:

root@chroot# echo "<name-your-host>" > /etc/hostname

Configure your locale:

Code:

root@chroot# dpkg-reconfigure locales

Create a password for root:

Code:

root@chroot# passwd

Create a normal user:

Code:

root@chroot# adduser <your-user-name>

Setting up the network (eth0):

Some basic tools are already included to manage your network, but nothing is configured for you yet. If you plan on installing a desktop environment, that may bring in tools such as network-manager or wicd to automatically configure your network.

You can bring up your network manually each boot with the tools dhclient or ifconfig.

For a dynamic IP (DHCP):

Code:

root@host# dhclient -v eth0

For a static IP:

Code:

root@host# ifconfig -v eth0 192.0.2.7 netmask 255.255.255.0 up

You can have this automatically done for you when the system boots by editing the file below.

For DHCP, the /etc/network/interfaces file should look like this:

Code:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system

# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).



# The loopback network interface

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback



# The primary network interface

allow-hotplug eth0

iface eth0 inet dhcp

For a static IP, the /etc/network/interfaces file should look like this:

Code:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system

# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).



# The loopback network interface

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback



# The primary network interface

auto eth0

iface eth0 inet static

  address 192.0.2.7

  netmask 255.255.255.0

  gateway 192.0.2.254

Install a display manager and a window manager
Unless you're using this for a headless server, might be nice to have some sort of desktop to play with.
Don't forget to update the package manager if you wish to install new packages:

Code:

root@chroot# apt-get update

Here are some examples of installing a desktop:

Code:

root@chroot# apt-get install xserver-xorg wdm fluxbox xterm

- or -

root@chroot# apt-get install xserver-xorg lightdm xfce4

- or -

root@chroot# apt-get install gdm3 gnome

- or -

root@chroot# apt-get install kdm kde-standard

You can use also use tasksel to install a desktop for you. To see the available options:

Code:

root@chroot# tasksel --new-install

Finishing the install
Clean the package cache:

Code:

root@chroot# apt-get clean

Update the ramdisk:

Code:

root@chroot# update-initramfs -u -k all

Exit the chroot environment:

Code:

root@chroot# exit

-- Enjoy your fresh install of Debian! --

Additional Info
Approx space used after base install: 491 MiB
Approx bandwidth used: 94 MiB

Approx space used after Fluxbox / wdm install: 714 MiB
Approx bandwidth used including base: 152 MiB

Approx space used after XFCE4 / lightdm install: 1077 MiB
Approx bandwidth used including base: 266 MiB

Approx space used after KDE 4 Standard install: 2036 MiB
Approx bandwidth used including base: 597 MiB

Approx space used after Gnome3 full install: 3329 MiB
Approx bandwidth used including base: 994 MiB

Troubleshooting

Code:

W: Failure trying to run: chroot /mnt/deboot dpkg --force-depends --install /var/cache/apt/archives.....

W: See /mnt/deboot/debootstrap/debootstrap.log

Check that :/sbin is in your PATH, if not:

Code:

root@host# export PATH=$PATH:/sbin

root@host# echo $PATH

/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Code:

E: No pkgdetails available; either install perl, or pkgdetails.c from the base-installer source package

Perl probably isn't installed. Please install Perl.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Debian doesn't boot!

Code:

fsck exited with status code 0

sulogin: cannot open password database!

Segmentation fault

Chances are, your root filesystem isn't configured properly in /etc/fstab. Fix the root entry, then run:

Code:

root@chroot# update-initramfs -u -k all

Now we have it here at LQ.
Cool!
Not too many people use debootstrap but I've tried it & works great. The last time I did it I had to use 2 different tutorials because some of the commands didn't work. I'll try yours later.

Let me know how it works for you. I've tested using Aptosid, Fedora, Arch and Slax.

I will, but I'm sure that it works I have to bookmark it so I don't have to search for it later.

A couple of comments. Firstly, debootstrap won't work from a cdrom/DVDrom; if you've got one and no internet connection, you can do something like

Code:

# mount /dev/sr0 /cdrom

# tar czf /home/Wocky/linux.tgz /cdrom/pool

Then use (for example)

Code:

# debootstrap --unpack-tarball=/home/Wocky/linux.tgz wheezy /mnt/deboot

Secondly, if you're running on a 64-bit machine, having /lib in your LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable can cause problems (because multiarch support also uses /lib64). Before you do any of the above, check that LD_LIBRARY_PATH doesn't contain /lib.

Quote:

Originally Posted by replica9000 (Post 4968093)

Setup the target partition for install:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Create your filesystem, your mount point, and mount your partition:

Code:

root@host# mkfs.ext4 -L Debian /dev/sda1

root@host# mkdir /mnt/deboot

root@host# mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /mnt/deboot

Can the target partition be on a seperate empty hard disk?

For example, I am running debian on live USB. It is /dev/sdg and it's partititon is /dev/sdg1. Will I be able to make my target partition /dev/sda1 which is a seperate hdd which has no OS or anything?

No need for you to deboostrap the live-cd has an installer, but you need to have unallocated space to install to unless you're using the whole hdd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5293523)

Yes. You can use any empty partition for your target.

Thank you for your reply replica9000!

I have just a few more questions:

Quote:

Originally Posted by replica9000 (Post 4968093)

Code:

root@host# mkfs.ext4 -L Debian /dev/sda1

root@host# mkdir /mnt/deboot

root@host# mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /mnt/deboot

I can't see a command for the sizing of the partition. How does that work?
I have a 160gb hdd and I was looking to install a distro to a 40gb partition.

Quote:

Installing the base system:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here, debootstrap will download, extract and install the base system packages to our target partition. Debootstrap only fetches the
base system without a kernel or bootloader, so we'll use the --include option to fetch those too.
Usage: debootstrap --include=<addtional_packages,comma-separated> --arch <architecture> <release> <target> <mirror>
[code]
root@host# debootstrap --include=linux-image-amd64,grub-pc --arch amd64 unstable /mnt/deboot http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian

What would be the command if I want to install the stable debian 7.7?
I imagine I have to substitute 'arch' for something else. I have an amd64 processor.
Incidentally, would I be OK to simply install 'Sid' anyway, even if it is the unstable version?

Quote:

Create a password for root:

Code:

root@chroot# passwd

So is the command to create a password like this:

Code:

root@chroot# passwd mypassword

Is this correct?

Quote:

Install a display manager and a window manager:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unless you're using this for a headless server, might be nice to have some sort of desktop to play with.

Code:

root@chroot# apt-get install xserver-xorg wdm fluxbox xterm

- or -

root@chroot# apt-get install xserver-xorg lightdm xfce4

What is the command for using the gnome shell, please?

Quote:

What would be the command if I want to install the stable debian 7.7?

You can run tasksel. https://wiki.debian.org/tasksel https://wiki.debian.org/DebianDesktop/Tasks

Quote:

I imagine I have to substitute 'arch' for something else. I have an amd64 processor

If I remember correctly it is based on the arch of the system you running debootstrap from.

Quote:

Incidentally, would I be OK to simply install 'Sid' anyway, even if it is the unstable version?

Yes, just beware, you may get breakage from time to time that you will have to fix, but usually doesn't happen very often.

Quote:

So is the command to create a password like this:

Code:

passwd root

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5294000)

Thank you for your reply replica9000!

I have just a few more questions:

I can't see a command for the sizing of the partition. How does that work?
I have a 160gb hdd and I was looking to install a distro to a 40gb partition.

I didn't cover partitioning in this how-to. Maybe next time I update it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5294000)

In this line change unstable to stable:

Code:

debootstrap --include=linux-image-amd64,grub-pc --arch amd64 unstable /mnt/deboot http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5294000)

So is the command to create a password like this:

Code:

root@chroot# passwd mypassword

Is this correct?

Yes. simply entering passwd will prompt to change to root password. Entering passwd <someone's username> will prompt to change the password for that user.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5294000)

What is the command for using the gnome shell, please?

should be apt-get install gnome-shell

Quote:

Originally Posted by replica9000 (Post 5294199)

I didn't cover partitioning in this how-to. Maybe next time I update it.

In fairness, the beginning of your how-to has already mentioned it will not cover partitions.
However, since the example target partition is 'sda1' then I can simply create a partition of my choice on a hdd and use that as the example partition.

Thank you very much!! The debootstrap program is the way to go!

Quote:

Thank you very much!! The debootstrap program is the way to go!

It's actually the way to go when you can't boot to any media cd/dvd/usb other than that you're better off using the installer from the cd/dvd/usb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgsboson (Post 5294224)

Glad I could be some help. Partitioning can get tricky depending on if one was using msdos or gpt with bios or uefi setups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDDY1 (Post 5294442)

It's actually the way to go when you can't boot to any media cd/dvd/usb other than that you're better off using the installer from the cd/dvd/usb.

I suppose this method is good for users who wish to use unstable, or have special setups. I used to use the net-install CDs, but those aren't released for unstable. So after install, I had to update/upgrade the whole system again anyways.

That sounds good but I believe that it's a little advanced for a newbie.