C.1. Preconfiguration File Example

This is a complete working example of a preconfiguration file for an automated install. Its use is explained in Section 4.6, “Automatic Installation”. You may want to uncomment some of the lines before using the file.

#### Modifying syslinux.cfg.

# Edit the syslinux.cfg (or similar) file, and add parameters to the end
# of the append line(s) for the kernel.
#
# You'll at least want to add a parameter telling the installer where to
# get its preseed file from.
# If you're installing from USB media, use this, and put the preseed file
# in the toplevel directory of the USB stick.
#   preseed/file=/hd-media/preseed
# If you're netbooting, use this instead:
#   preseed/url=http://host/path/to/preseed
# If you're remastering a CD, you could use this:
#   preseed/file=/cdrom/preseed
# Be sure to copy this file to the location you specify.
# 
# While you're at it, you may want to throw a debconf/priority=critical in
# there, to avoid most questions even if the preseeding below misses some.
# And you might set the timeout to 1 in syslinux.cfg to avoid needing to hit
# enter to boot the installer.
#
# Language, country, and keyboard selection cannot be preseeded from a file,
# because the questions are asked before the preseed file can be loaded.
# Instead, to avoid these questions, pass some more parameters to the kernel:
#
#    preseed/locale=en_US
#    console-keymaps-at/keymap=us
#
# If you need to pick a particular interface when netbooting before reading
# a preseed URL, pass a parameter like this as well:
#
#    netcfg/choose_interface=eth1
#
# Note that the kernel accepts a maximum of 8 command line options and
# 8 environment options (including any options added by default for the
# installer). If these numbers are exceeded, 2.4 kernels will drop any
# excess options and 2.6 kernels will panic. With kernel 2.6.9 or newer,
# you can use 32 command line options and 32 environment options.
# Some of the default options, like 'vga=normal' and 'devfs=mount' may be
# safely removed for most installations, which may allow you to add more
# options for preseeding.

#### Shell commands.

# d-i preseeding is inherently not secure. Nothing in the installer checks
# for attempts at buffer overflows or other exploits of the values of a
# preseed file like this one. Only use preseed files from trusted
# locations! To drive that home, and because it's generally useful, here's
# a way to run any shell command you'd like inside the installer,
# automatically.

# This first command is run as early as possible, just after
# preseeding is read.
#d-i	preseed/early_command		string wget http://url/to/my.udeb -O /tmp/my.udeb ; udpkg -i /tmp/my.udeb
# This command is run just before the install finishes, but when there is
# still a usable /target directory.
#d-i	preseed/late_command		string for deb in /hd-media/*.deb; do cp $deb /target/tmp; chroot /target dpkg -i /tmp/$(basename $deb); done
# This command is run just as base-config is starting up.
#base-config	base-config/early_command	string echo hi mom
# This command is run after base-config is done, just before the login:
# prompt. This is a good way to install a set of packages you want, or to
# tweak the configuration of the system.
#base-config	base-config/late_command	string apt-get install zsh; chsh -s /bin/zsh

#### Network configuration.

# Of course, this won't work if you're loading your preseed file from the
# network! But it's great if you're booting from CD or USB stick. You can
# also pass network config parameters in on the kernel params if you are
# loading preseed files from the network.

# netcfg will choose an interface that has link if possible. This makes it
# skip displaying a list if there is more than one interface.
d-i	netcfg/choose_interface select auto

# To pick a particular interface instead:
#d-i	netcfg/choose_interface	select eth1

# If you prefer to configure the network manually, here's how:
#d-i	netcfg/disable_dhcp	boolean true
#d-i	netcfg/get_nameservers	string 192.168.1.1
#d-i	netcfg/get_ipaddress	string 192.168.1.42
#d-i	netcfg/get_netmask	string 255.255.255.0
#d-i	netcfg/get_gateway	string 192.168.1.1
#d-i	netcfg/confirm_static	boolean true

# Note that any hostname and domain names assigned from dhcp take
# precedence over values set here. However, setting the values still
# prevents the questions from being shown even if values come from dhcp.
d-i	netcfg/get_hostname	string unassigned-hostname
d-i	netcfg/get_domain	string unassigned-domain

# Disable that annoying WEP key dialog.
d-i	netcfg/wireless_wep	string 
# The wacky dhcp hostname that some ISPs use as a password of sorts.
#d-i	netcfg/dhcp_hostname	string radish

#### Mirror settings.

d-i	mirror/country		string enter information manually
d-i	mirror/http/hostname	string archive.ubuntu.com
d-i	mirror/http/directory	string /ubuntu
d-i	mirror/suite		string hoary
d-i	mirror/http/proxy	string 

### Partitioning.

# If the system has free space you can choose to only partition that space.
#d-i	partman-auto/init_automatically_partition	select Use the largest continuous free space
# Alternatively, you can specify a disk to partition. The device name can
# be given in either devfs or traditional non-devfs format.
# For example, to use the first disk devfs knows of:
d-i	partman-auto/disk	string /dev/discs/disc0/disc

# You can choose from any of the predefined partitioning recipes:
d-i	partman-auto/choose_recipe	select All files in one partition (recommended for new users)
#d-i	partman-auto/choose_recipe	select Desktop machine
#d-i	partman-auto/choose_recipe	select Multi-user workstation
# Or provide a recipe of your own...
# The recipe format is documented in the file devel/partman-auto-recipe.txt.
# If you have a way to get a recipe file into the d-i environment, you can
# just point at it.
#d-i	partman-auto/expert_recipe_file	string /hd-media/recipe
# If not, you can put an entire recipe in one line. This example creates
# a small /boot partition, suitable swap, and uses the rest of the space
# for the root partition:
#d-i	partman-auto/expert_recipe	string boot-root :: 20 50 100 ext3 $primary{ } $bootable{ } method{ format } format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 } mountpoint{ /boot } .  500 10000 1000000000 ext3 method{ format } format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 } mountpoint{ / } .  64 512 300% linux-swap method{ swap } format{ } . 
# For reference, here is that same recipe in a more readable form:
# 	boot-root ::
# 	40 50 100 ext3
#		$primary{ } $bootable{ }
#		method{ format } format{ }
#		use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 }
#		mountpoint{ /boot }
#	.
# 	500 10000 1000000000 ext3
#		method{ format } format{ }
#		use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 }
#		mountpoint{ / }
#	.
# 	64 512 300% linux-swap
#		method{ swap } format{ }
#	.

# This makes partman automatically partition without confirmation.
d-i	partman/confirm_write_new_label	boolean true
d-i	partman/choose_partition	select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
d-i	partman/confirm			boolean	true

#### Boot loader installation.

# Grub is the default boot loader (for x86). If you want lilo installed
# instead, uncomment this:
#d-i	grub-installer/skip		boolean true

# This is fairly safe to set, it makes grub install automatically to the MBR
# if no other operating system is detected on the machine.
d-i	grub-installer/only_debian	boolean true
# This one makes grub-installer install to the MBR if if finds some other OS
# too, which is less safe as it might not be able to boot that other OS.
d-i	grub-installer/with_other_os	boolean true
# Alternatively, if you want to install to a location other than the mbr,
# uncomment and edit these lines:
#d-i	grub-installer/bootdev		string (hd0,0)
#d-i	grub-installer/only-debian	boolean false
#d-i	grub-installer/with_other_os	boolean false

##### Finishing up the first stage install.

# Avoid that last message about the install being complete.
d-i	prebaseconfig/reboot_in_progress	note 


##### Preseeding base-config.
# XXX: Note that most of this will not work right until base-config 2.40.4
# is available.

# Avoid the introductory message.
base-config	base-config/intro	note 

# Avoid the final message.
base-config	base-config/login	note 

# If you installed a display manager, but don't want to start it immediately
# after base-config finishes.
#base-config	base-config/start-display-manager	boolean false

###### Time zone setup.

# Controls whether or not the hardware clock is set to GMT.
base-config	tzconfig/gmt		boolean true

# If you told the installer that you're in the United States, then you
# can set the time zone using this variable.
# (Choices are: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, Hawaii,
# Aleutian, Arizona East-Indiana, Indiana-Starke, Michigan, Samoa, other)
base-config	tzconfig/choose_country_zone/US	select Eastern
# If you told it you're in Canada.
# (Choices are: Newfoundland, Atlantic, Eastern, Central,
# East-Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Mountain, Pacific, Yukon, other)
base-config	tzconfig/choose_country_zone/CA	select Eastern
# If you told it you're in Brazil. (Choices are: East, West, Acre,
# DeNoronha, other)
base-config	tzconfig/choose_country_zone/BR	select East
# Many countries have only one time zone. If you told the installer you're
# in one of those countries, you can choose its standard time zone via this
# question.
base-config	tzconfig/choose_country_zone_single boolean true
# This question is asked as a fallback for countries other than those
# listed above, which have more than one time zone. You can preseed one of
# the time zones, or "other".
#base-config	tzconfig/choose_country_zone_multiple select 

###### Account setup.

# To preseed the root password, you have to put it in the clear in this
# file. That is not a very good idea, use caution!
#passwd		passwd/root-password		password r00tme
#passwd		passwd/root-password-again	password r00tme

# If you want to skip creation of a normal user account.
#passwd		passwd/make-user		boolean false
# Alternatively, you can preseed the user's name and login.
#passwd		passwd/user-fullname		string Ubuntu User
#passwd		passwd/username			string ubuntu
# And their password, but use caution!
#passwd		passwd/user-password		password insecure
#passwd		passwd/user-password-again	password insecure

###### Apt setup.

# This question controls what source the second stage installation uses
# for packages. Choices are cdrom, http, ftp, filesystem, edit sources list
# by hand
base-config	apt-setup/uri_type	select http

# If you choose ftp or http, you'll be asked for a country and a mirror.
base-config	apt-setup/country	select enter information manually
base-config	apt-setup/hostname	string archive.ubuntu.com
base-config	apt-setup/directory	string /ubuntu
# Stop after choosing one mirror.
base-config	apt-setup/another	boolean false

# You can choose to install non-free and contrib software.
#base-config	apt-setup/non-free	boolean true
#base-config	apt-setup/contrib	boolean true

# Do enable security updates.
base-config	apt-setup/security-updates	boolean true

###### Package selection.

# You can choose to install any combination of tasks that are available.
# Available tasks as of this writing include: Desktop environment,
# Web server, Print server, DNS server, File server, Mail server, 
# SQL database, manual package selection. The last of those will run
# aptitude. You can also choose to install no tasks, and force the
# installation of a set of packages in some other way.
# XXX: this will not work until tasksel 2.12 is available
tasksel		tasksel/first	multiselect Desktop environment
#tasksel	tasksel/first	multiselect Web server, Mail server, DNS server

###### Mailer configuration.

# During a normal install, exim asks only two questions. Here's how to
# avoid even those. More complicated preseeding is possible.
exim4-config	exim4/dc_eximconfig_configtype	select no configuration at this time
# It's a good idea to set this to whatever user account you choose to
# create. Leaving the value blank results in postmaster mail going to
# /var/mail/mail.
exim4-config	exim4/dc_postmaster		string 

###### X Configuration.

# Preseeding Ubuntu's X config is possible, but you probably need to know
# some details about the video hardware of the machine, since Ubuntu's X
# configurator does not do fully automatic configuration of everything.

# X can detect the right driver for some cards, but if you're preseeding,
# you override whatever it chooses. Still, vesa will work most places.
#xserver-xorg	xserver-xorg/config/device/driver	select vesa

# A caveat with mouse autodetection is that if it fails, X will retry it
# over and over. So if it's preseeded to be done, there is a possibility of
# an infinite loop if the mouse is not autodetected.
#xserver-xorg	xserver-xorg/autodetect_mouse	boolean true

# Monitor autodetection is recommended.
xserver-xorg		xserver-xorg/autodetect_monitor	boolean true
# Uncomment if you have a LCD display.
#xserver-xorg	xserver-xorg/config/monitor/lcd	boolean true
# X has three configuration paths for the monitor. Here's how to preseed
# the "medium" path, which is always available. The "simple" path may not
# be available, and the "advanced" path asks too many questions.
xserver-xorg	xserver-xorg/config/monitor/selection-method	select medium
xserver-xorg	xserver-xorg/config/monitor/mode-list	select 1024x768 @ 60 Hz

###### Everything else.

# Depending on what software you choose to install, or if things go wrong
# during the installation process, it's possible that other questions may
# be asked. You can preseed those too, of course. To get a list of every
# possible question that could be asked during an install, do an
# installation, and then run these commands:
#   debconf-get-selections --installer > file
#   debconf-get-selections >> file

# If you like, you can include other preseed files into this one.
# Any settings in those files will override pre-existing settings from this
# file. More that one file can be listed, separated by spaces; all will be
# loaded. The included files can have preseed/include directives of their
# own as well. Note that if the filenames are relative, they are taken from
# the same directory as the preseed file that includes them.
#d-i	preseed/include	string x.cfg
# More flexably, this runs a shell command and if it outputs the names of
# preseed files, includes those files. For example, to switch configs based
# on a particular usb storage device (in this case, a built-in card reader):
#d-i	preseed/include_command	string if $(grep -q "GUID: 0aec3050aec305000001a003"  /proc/scsi/usb-storage-*/*); then echo kraken.cfg; else echo otherusb.cfg; fi