wrolpi/debian-live-config/README.md

Debian Live Config

Build a bootable amd64 ISO that boots into a full WROLPi system on any x86 PC. Users can run WROLPi directly off the USB (a persistence partition is created on the first boot so the database and media directory survive reboots) or install to disk via the Calamares launcher on the desktop.

The chroot-phase build is identical for both modes; the resulting squashfs is what runs in live mode AND what Calamares copies onto the target disk.

See https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/html/live-manual/index.en.html

Build

sudo ./build.sh                # build from 'release' branch
sudo ./build.sh -b master      # build from a specific branch

Requires Debian / Ubuntu with live-build and libarchive-tools (bsdtar) installed. The resulting ISO is written to this directory as WROLPi-v${VERSION}-amd64.iso, and check-iso.sh then checks it for problems that would only appear after the Debian installer runs.

Flash with Raspberry Pi Imager, Rufus, or:

sudo dd if=WROLPi-v${VERSION}-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Upgrading an existing WROLPi USB

A WROLPi USB carries two partitions: the ISO (boot) partition and a persistence partition created on first boot that holds your library, database, and configuration. To move to a newer ISO without losing the persistence partition, use scripts/wrolpi-usb.sh from any Linux host:

sudo ./scripts/wrolpi-usb.sh upgrade WROLPi-v${VERSION}-amd64.iso /dev/sdX

It backs up the partition table, overwrites only the ISO partition, and re-adds the persistence partition entry at its original location. The ISO partition reserves 8 GiB of headroom so a larger future ISO still fits ahead of the persistence partition.

Converting an existing data drive (not supported)

There is no in-place conversion of a drive that already holds your data into a WROLPi USB — flashing the ISO erases the whole drive, and there is no safe, filesystem-agnostic way to graft WROLPi onto a full drive. scripts/wrolpi-usb.sh install only prints this procedure:

1. Back up everything on the drive to another disk.
2. Flash the whole drive with the ISO (Raspberry Pi Imager/Rufus/dd — this erases it).
3. Boot once so WROLPi creates its persistence partition and sets itself up.
4. Copy your data into /media/wrolpi/, then let WROLPi refresh/repair to index the restored files.

Afterwards, future ISO upgrades preserve your library via the upgrade command above.

Layout on disk

The drive carries everything WROLPi needs. The SQLite database lives alongside the user's library so a drive moved between hosts keeps its full state:

/media/wrolpi/
  videos/                                ← user-facing media
  archives/
  zims/
  map/
  tags/
  config/
    wrolpi.yaml
    controller.yaml
    fstab.yaml
    ssl/
    wrolpi.db                            ← SQLite database (created by the
                                           API on first start; -wal/-shm
                                           sidecars appear while running)

Booting via Ventoy or other multiboot USBs

Booting WROLPi via Ventoy, YUMI, Easy2Boot, AIO Boot, GLIM, or any other tool that loop-mounts the ISO works, but only in ephemeral mode.

When the live medium appears under /dev/loop*, /dev/dm-*, or /dev/mapper/* (the kernel's tell-tale for a loop/device-mapper-backed file rather than a real partition), wrolpi-bootstrap.sh refuses to create a persistence partition. The underlying disk in that case is the user's Ventoy stick, not a blank target — appending a new ext4 partition to it would risk corrupting the user's other ISOs and data.

Instead the script mounts a tmpfs at /media/wrolpi (sized to half of RAM by default), and the rest of the boot is unchanged. The config layout and SQLite database are created as usual, just into RAM. The user sees a "Running ephemerally…" notice in the first-boot dialog.

Everything written to the WROLPi library — downloads, archives, video metadata, the database — is lost on reboot. This mode is intended for trying WROLPi out without committing a USB stick; for any real use, flash the ISO directly to its own drive with Raspberry Pi Imager or dd.

Direct (Raspberry Pi Imager/dd) boot is distinguished by the live medium living under /dev/sd*, /dev/nvme*, or /dev/mmcblk*; this is the only shape where wrolpi-bootstrap.sh will touch the partition table.

(Future work: integrate with Ventoy's native persistence.dat flow so the user can opt into a persistent ephemeral-style image without needing a dedicated drive.)

Implementation status

• Phase 1 — merged live + chroot config: Single debian-live-config/ produces a Debian Live ISO with the full WROLPi stack, XFCE auto-login as wrolpi, persistence partition created on first boot.
• Phase 2 — Debian Installer: Standard debian-installer bundled via lb config --debian-installer live --debian-installer-gui true. GRUB exposes "Live", "Install", and "Graphical Install" entries. Live boots into WROLPi; Install/Graphical Install copy the running squashfs onto the target disk via Debian's live-installer flow. (We previously tried Calamares-as-the-installer; the XFCE desktop-icon click path proved unreliable in the wrolpi auto-login session and the upstream d-i path is better-tested.)
• Phase 3 — Ventoy/multiboot safety: wrolpi-bootstrap.sh detects when it's been booted via a loop-mounted ISO (Ventoy and friends) and falls back to a tmpfs-backed /media/wrolpi instead of writing a new partition onto the user's multiboot stick.
• Release: CI on tag, hosting, wrolpi.org docs.

References

• Debian Live Manual: https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/html/live-manual/index.en.html
• Persistence: https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/html/live-manual/customizing-run-time-behaviours.en.html