Re: Useful in the installer
On Sun, Aug 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM Van Snyder <van.snyder@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> I keep my /home directory in a partition separate from root, not in a directory in root. This makes it easier to install a new OS.
> Just to make sure the installer doesn't damage /home/me, and to make it obvious it won't, if /home/* isn't an empty list, the installer should provide a checkbox list to select the ones that should be added to /etc/passwd* and /etc/group* with uid and gid taken from /home/*.
If you want to be more sure installer won't damage or alter
your /home filesystem on its separate partition,
when installing, using the standard Debian installer,
(not Calamares from booted "Live" - it may lack these options),
and might have to select "advanced" when booting, to access
all these options,
when it gets to the drive partitioning portion, it should well have
visibility of the existing partitions. In the installer, select the
partition of your existing /home filesystem, and configure the
option there to tell it "do not use" - then it won't even touch it.
Then after you've completed your installations, manually deal
with it, e.g. update /etc/fstab (and/or do whatever systemd
wants for that), such that your /home filesystem is then
automatically mounted on /home upon (re)boot.
> It would also be nice if it would ask "are there backup /etc/passwd* and /etc/group* from which those users info ought to be added to /etc/passwd* and /etc/group*?" That way, users wouldn't need to re-enter their passwords and change their default shells.
I've often very much done that - just a slightly manual procedure.
Notably, do the most minimal install feasible, at least initially,
and also, relatively early in that process, use a separate
virtual terminal (e.g. <Ctrl><Alt><F2>), and get a shell there.
At the earliest opportunity after the installer has /target mounted,
and it has /etc/passwd, etc. within that, and isn't in the process
of making other change (e.g. installing components) - do it
between steps when it pauses, then go in and modify
/etc/password, etc. (e.g. also /etc/group, /etc/shadow, /etc/gshadow)
as relevant - carefully merging in saved data from before.
As long as one does so in a manner that doesn't conflict with anything
that Debian would do during installation (e.g. conflict with some
reserved IDs that need be tied to specific UIDs and/or GIDs),
one can generally put stuff in those configuration files.
After that, continue per normal with the installation, and
Debian will fully honor and continue to use whatever
one added in there. I've done this quite a number of
times, notably when I'm installing a new system, and I
have other existing systems, and I want the UIDs and GIDs
for all the accounts to be matched up. So, yes, the
Debian installer is highly capable, but it won't do
everything for you - it's pretty smart/capable,
but it's not a mind reader. :-)
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