--- name: "di-netboot-assistant" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "di-netboot-assistant" version: "0.79" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/di-netboot-assistant" --- # di-netboot-assistant(1) Debian-Installer netboot assistant ## NAME di-netboot-assistant - Debian-Installer netboot assistant ## SYNOPSIS **di-netboot-assistant** {install \| uninstall \| uncache \| purge \| fw-toggle} *image*... \[**--alias=***alias*\] \[**--arch=***arch*\] \[**--di-args=***ARGS*\] \[**--ignore-sig**\] \[**--target-args=***ARGS*\] \[**--offline**\] \[**--verbose**\] **di-netboot-assistant** {rebuild-grub \| rebuild-menu} \[**--verbose**\] **di-netboot-assistant** {**-h** \| **--help**} \| {**-V** \| **--version**} ## DESCRIPTION **di-netboot-assistant** is a tool to download and extract Debian Installer netboot images. Unless the **-h**, **--help**, **-V**, or **--version** option is given, one of the following commands must be present. install install is followed by a repository name desired for installation. The repository name has to be one of those declared in */etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list*. The image will be installed/extracted in the default location (declared in */etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf*). uninstall uninstall is followed by the name of the repository to be uninstalled (or the repository's alias if you used **--alias=**). The netboot files related to that distribution will be removed from the TFTP server. uncache uncache will clean the cached files for the given netboot image. You must specify a repository name (not an **--alias=** name). purge purge is followed by a repository name desired for installation. *purge* is identical to running *uninstall* then *uncache* for a given repository. rebuild-grub rebuild-grub will rebuild the grub EFI netboot image. The configuration itself is set up by *rebuild-menu*. This command takes no argument. rebuild-menu rebuild-menu will rebuild the top level menu. It is useful if you have modified *di-netboot-assistant.conf* or added a Live ISO image. The installer images need to have a top level menu (like i386, amd64). This command takes no argument. fw-toggle fw-toggle is followed by a repository name and adds respectively removes non-free firmware. The non-free firmware will be downloaded if not available from cache. Use **n-pkg** as repository to add the firmware to packaged installer images. ## OPTIONS **-h**, **--help** Print short help and exit - **-V**, **--version** Print script version and exit - **--alias=***alias* Specify the alias name under which this repository will be saved. Alias names can only contain alphanumeric, "\_" and "-" characters. This is especially useful for daily images. By default, the alias name is the same as the repository name. - **--arch=***arch* Specify the architecture to operate on. The architecture used for the install action must be declared in */etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list*. Architectures available for the purge action are those previously installed. Available architectures can be listed by leaving **--arch=** empty. If absent, the system's architecture (as reported by **dpkg --print-architecture) is used.** - **--verbose** Verbose messages - **--di-args=**"*ARGS*" Debian-Installer boot arguments. The specified arguments will be \*appended\* to the one provided in the downloaded image, before the "--". (You can also define **DI\_ARGS=** in **di-netboot-assistant.conf**). - **--tftproot=**"*DIR*" Overwrite the TFTP\_ROOT variable given in the configuration. Use *DIR* as the TFTP server's root directory instead. Not recommended and to be used with care, as only a single TFTP root directory is supported. - **--ignore-sig** Ignore failing image signature checks. Useful when run non-interactively in scripts and images are known to be not signed. - **--target-args=**"*ARGS*" Boot arguments for the target (installed) system. The specified arguments will be \*appended\* to the one provided in the downloaded image, at the very end of the line. (You can also define **TARGET\_ARGS=** in **di-netboot-assistant.conf**). - **--offline** Don't download the files (use the files cached previously). ## EXAMPLES To install a netboot image for the *stable* repository, for the default architecture:\ **di-netboot-assistant install stable**\ To list the installed netboot images that can be removed:\ **di-netboot-assistant purge**\ To remove a netboot image for the *stable* repository, for the default architecture:\ **di-netboot-assistant purge stable**\ To toggle firmware for the *stable* repository, for the default architecture:\ **di-netboot-assistant fw-toggle stable**\ To toggle firmware for packaged debian-installer netboot images, all architectures:\ **di-netboot-assistant fw-toggle n-pkg --arch=all**\ ## EXIT CODE - **0** Successful program execution. - **1** An error occurred. (Note that *purge* doesn't fail if the specified repository doesn't exists). ## FILES **/etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf** The default system-wide configuration file. The file syntax must be [bash(1)](/bash/1.md) compatible. **~/.di-netboot-assistant/di-netboot-assistant.conf** User's own configuration file. The file syntax must be [bash(1)](/bash/1.md) compatible. (See file peruser.di-netboot-assistant.conf, in /usr/share/doc/di-netboot-assistant/examples/). **/etc/di-netboot-assistant/di-sources.list** This file contains the list of downloadable netboot images. **/etc/di-netboot-assistant/pxelinux.HEAD** The content of this file is prepended to the generated PXElinux config file (i.e boot menu). PXElinux bootloader is used on BIOS based i386 and amd64 systems. **/var/lib/di-netboot-assistant/** The folder where hints about installed netboot images are stored. Do not edit those files, re-use **install** to modify the settings of installed image. **/var/cache/di-netboot-assistant/** The folder where downloaded files are stored (cached) before "installing" them. Use the action **uncache** to remove cached files. ## SECURITY Do not use sudo to grant execution right to di-netboot-assistant (see the README file). ## PROXY di-netboot-assistant uses wget or curl to actually download the files. You can set the environnement variables accordingly. ## AUTHOR di-netboot-assistant was written by Frank Lin PIAT \.