Closed
Opened by dev1fanboy @dev1fanboy

debootstrap variants install systemd

If running the installer (and sometimes debootstrapping from an installed system) using other variants such as debootstrap --variant=minbase from a shell causes systemd packages to be installed. For whatever reason the debootstrap scripts in /usr/share/debootstrap/scripts treat systemd as a required package in this case.

It's even harder to avoid systemd as init is a required package and pulls in systemd-sysv as a dependency, but looking at the init package it should work with just sysvinit-core but doesn't with debootstrap.

  • Frits Daalmans
    Frits Daalmans @fritsd ·

    Hi, 2 things:

    1. does it work properly if you use debootstrap --variant=minbase --exclude=systemd-sysv
    2. what is the program that calls debootstrap with the wrong parameters, the installer?
  • dev1fanboy
    dev1fanboy @dev1fanboy ·

    When dropping to a shell from within the installer (after partitioning) and invoking debootstrap --variant=minbase systemd will come in, and using --exclude=systemd-sysv doesn't help. I think it can't be excluded due to being resolved as a require package for variants still. Invoking debootstrap without --variant=variant will not include systemd and the base install from the installer dialogs doesn't install systemd by default so it's just an issue with the variants.

    I am able to work-around the issue by editing /usr/share/debootstrap/scripts/jessie and replacing

    required="$(get_debs Priority: required)"

    Near the beginning of the script with

    required="list of required packages, e.g pkg1 pkg2 minus systemd stuff and the 'init' package"

    Testing this again on an installed system using debootstrap version 1.0.72-1+devuan1 I can exclude systemd with --exclude=systemd-sysv, so I guess it gets resolved as a required package in the installer version by required="$(get_debs Priority: required)" in /usr/share/scripts/debootstrap/[distname], but --exclude won't work against systemd-sysv for some reason.

    Edited
  • Daniel Reurich
    Daniel Reurich @CenturionDan ·

    what release are we talking about?

    I've checked and confirmed that systemd-sysv and systemd have the priority "extra" and libsystemd has the priority of "optional". So something else with the priority of "required" must be depending on it...

    ah, package init is likely the culprit...

    I might have to fork that

  • dev1fanboy
    dev1fanboy @dev1fanboy ·

    The alpha 2 release is the one I was using, but yeah I thought the init package was partly responsible so the installer couldn't exclude the package (but --exclude doesn't help in the installer). Noticed today that init and debootstrap were updated, I tried debootstrap from the latest version and it doesn't want systemd components at all for --variant=minbase and init doesn't have any dependency on systemd stuff either so I'll try to have another go in the alpha 2 installer soon to see if that's working. Cheers :)

    Edited
  • dev1fanboy @dev1fanboy Status changed to closed ·

    Status changed to closed

  • dev1fanboy
    dev1fanboy @dev1fanboy ·

    Fixed now that init has no dependency on systemd.

    Edited