CRITICAL: Correct dangerous claims about bootc production readiness

EXPERIMENTAL WARNINGS:
- Add prominent warnings that bootc on Debian is HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL
- Clarify that NO reproducible bootc images exist yet
- Warn that everything is still experimental and not production-ready
- Add DO NOT use in production warnings throughout

DEBIAN VERSION CORRECTIONS:
- Use Debian Sid (unstable) for base image building (like Fedora rawhide)
- Correct dangerous claims about 'tested' configurations
- Mark all configurations as experimental, not tested
- Remove false claims about production readiness

SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS:
- Add experimental warnings to all base image documentation
- Clarify that bootc is not stable on Debian yet
- Emphasize testing-only use on virtual machines
- Remove misleading production recommendations

This corrects dangerous misinformation that could lead to
data loss and system instability in production environments.
This commit is contained in:
robojerk 2025-09-15 14:24:27 -07:00
parent 49281ba325
commit 72155be8de
4 changed files with 40 additions and 16 deletions

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@ -97,12 +97,13 @@ sudo apt install -y ostree podman systemd
## Testing Matrix ## Testing Matrix
### Tested Configurations ### Experimental Configurations
- ✅ Debian 13 (Trixie) + bootc v1.1.4 + Podman 4.0 (recommended) - ⚠️ Debian 13 (Trixie) + bootc v1.1.4 + Podman 4.0 (experimental, not fully tested)
- ✅ Debian 14 (Forky) + bootc v1.1.4 + Podman 4.0 (ideal) - ⚠️ Debian 14 (Forky) + bootc v1.1.4 + Podman 4.0 (experimental, not fully tested)
- ⚠️ Debian 12 (Bookworm) + manual installation + bootc management (old OSTree) - ⚠️ Debian 12 (Bookworm) + manual installation + bootc management (old OSTree, experimental)
- ⚠️ Debian 12 (Bookworm) + composefs backend (experimental, old OSTree) - ⚠️ Debian 12 (Bookworm) + composefs backend (experimental, old OSTree)
- ❌ Debian 11 (Bullseye) - Not tested, may have issues - ❌ Debian 11 (Bullseye) - Not tested, may have issues
- ❌ **No reproducible bootc images exist yet** - All configurations are experimental
### Untested Configurations ### Untested Configurations
- Other Debian derivatives (Ubuntu, etc.) - Other Debian derivatives (Ubuntu, etc.)
@ -137,13 +138,15 @@ sudo apt update
## Recommendations ## Recommendations
### For Production Use ### For Production Use
1. **Use Debian 13 (Trixie)** as the minimum recommended version ⚠️ **WARNING: bootc on Debian is EXPERIMENTAL and NOT production-ready**
2. **Consider Debian 14 (Forky)** for latest OSTree libraries
3. **Backport OSTree** from Forky to Trixie if needed 1. **DO NOT use in production** - All configurations are experimental
4. **Use manual installation** methods provided in this documentation 2. **No reproducible bootc images exist** - Everything is still experimental
5. **Test thoroughly** on virtual machines before production deployment 3. **Use only for testing** on virtual machines or test hardware
6. **Keep backups** of critical data and configurations 4. **Keep backups** of critical data and configurations
7. **Monitor bootc releases** for Debian compatibility improvements 5. **Expect failures** - bootc is not stable on Debian yet
6. **Monitor bootc releases** for Debian compatibility improvements
7. **Contribute fixes** back to the bootc project
### For Development ### For Development
1. **Use the hybrid approach**: Manual install + bootc management 1. **Use the hybrid approach**: Manual install + bootc management

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@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
# Create bootc base images without bootc # Create bootc base images without bootc
⚠️ **EXPERIMENTAL WARNING** ⚠️
**bootc on Debian is HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL and NOT production-ready!**
- **No reproducible bootc images exist yet** - Everything is experimental
- **Use only for testing** on virtual machines or test hardware
- **Expect failures** - bootc is not stable on Debian
- **DO NOT use in production** - Data loss and system instability possible
The bootc binary is unreliable under Debian as it's mainly developed for Fedora despite it aiming to be a distro agnostic tool. The bootc binary is unreliable under Debian as it's mainly developed for Fedora despite it aiming to be a distro agnostic tool.
In this doc we'll go over all the little things a base bootc needs to be considered a true bootc image. In this doc we'll go over all the little things a base bootc needs to be considered a true bootc image.
@ -312,7 +321,7 @@ echo "Example: podman build -f examples/nginx/Containerfile -t ${IMAGE_NAME}:ngi
```dockerfile ```dockerfile
# Containerfile.wo-bootc - Build bootc base without bootc binary # Containerfile.wo-bootc - Build bootc base without bootc binary
FROM debian:trixie-slim FROM debian:sid-slim
# Install essential packages for bootc # Install essential packages for bootc
RUN apt update && apt install -y \ RUN apt update && apt install -y \
@ -998,7 +1007,7 @@ CMD ["/lib/systemd/systemd"]
```dockerfile ```dockerfile
# examples/nginx/Containerfile.multistage # examples/nginx/Containerfile.multistage
FROM debian:trixie-slim as base FROM debian:sid-slim as base
# Install base packages # Install base packages
RUN apt update && apt install -y \ RUN apt update && apt install -y \

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@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
# Building Base bootc Images # Building Base bootc Images
⚠️ **EXPERIMENTAL WARNING** ⚠️
**bootc on Debian is HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL and NOT production-ready!**
- **No reproducible bootc images exist yet** - Everything is experimental
- **Use only for testing** on virtual machines or test hardware
- **Expect failures** - bootc is not stable on Debian
- **DO NOT use in production** - Data loss and system instability possible
This document provides detailed instructions for creating base bootc images using two different approaches: This document provides detailed instructions for creating base bootc images using two different approaches:
1. **Method 1**: Building from an existing OCI image 1. **Method 1**: Building from an existing OCI image
@ -33,7 +42,7 @@ Create a `Containerfile.base`:
```dockerfile ```dockerfile
# Containerfile.base - Convert existing Debian image to bootc base # Containerfile.base - Convert existing Debian image to bootc base
FROM debian:trixie-slim FROM debian:sid-slim
# Install essential packages for bootc # Install essential packages for bootc
RUN apt update && apt install -y \ RUN apt update && apt install -y \

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@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ For pre-built base images, any Debian derivative can be converted to use bootc.
### Prerequisites ### Prerequisites
- Debian 13 (Trixie) or later (recommended) - Debian Sid (unstable) - Recommended for base image building (like Fedora rawhide)
- Debian 13 (Trixie) - Stable, but bootc is experimental
- Debian 12 (Bookworm) - oldstable, OSTree packages too old - Debian 12 (Bookworm) - oldstable, OSTree packages too old
- Debian 14 (Forky) - testing, has newer OSTree libraries - Debian 14 (Forky) - testing, has newer OSTree libraries
- Systemd as the init system - Systemd as the init system
@ -76,7 +77,9 @@ Converting an existing Debian system to use bootc requires careful planning:
- **Configuration**: System configuration follows Debian conventions with `/etc` for machine-local settings - **Configuration**: System configuration follows Debian conventions with `/etc` for machine-local settings
- **Services**: systemd services work normally, with bootc managing the base OS layer - **Services**: systemd services work normally, with bootc managing the base OS layer
- **Updates**: OS updates are handled through bootc, while application updates continue to use `apt` - **Updates**: OS updates are handled through bootc, while application updates continue to use `apt`
- **Development Status**: This is experimental software - use with caution in production environments - **Development Status**: This is HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL software - DO NOT use in production
- **No Reproducible Images**: No one has successfully created reproducible bootc images yet
- **Testing Only**: Use only for testing on virtual machines or test hardware
## Other Distributions ## Other Distributions