Debian Bootc Simple

This is a less complex way to create bootc images than the deb-bootc-compose method that mirrors how Fedora does it.

Prerequisites

• Debian-based system (tested on Debian 13 Trixie)
• podman or docker for container operations
• qemu-utils for image format conversion
• grub-pc-bin for bootloader installation
• kpartx for partition management
• just command runner (install with cargo install just)

Quick Start

1. Build a QCOW2 Image

# Create QCOW2 image from container (default)
just qcow2

# Create QCOW2 image from chroot
just qcow2-chroot

2. Build Different Formats

# ISO image
just iso

# Raw disk image
just img

# VMware format
just vmdk

# VirtualBox format
just vdi

# All formats at once
just all

3. Customize Image Size

# Create 20GB QCOW2 image
just custom 20 qcow2

# Create 15GB ISO from chroot
just custom-chroot 15 iso

4. Choose Debian Release

# Use Debian 14 (Forky)
just qcow2-chroot-release forky

# Use Debian Sid
just qcow2-chroot-release sid

# Use environment variable
DEBIAN_RELEASE=sid just qcow2-chroot

Build Types

Container Method (Default)

Extracts filesystem from a container image:

just qcow2

Chroot Method

Builds from a chroot environment:

just qcow2-chroot

Output Formats

• QCOW2: QEMU Copy-On-Write (default)
• ISO: Bootable ISO image
• IMG: Raw disk image
• VMDK: VMware disk format
• VDI: VirtualBox disk format

Debian Releases

• trixie: Debian 13 (Testing) - Default
• forky: Debian 14 (Unstable)
• sid: Debian Sid (Always Unstable)

VM Testing

Create and boot a VM with the generated image:

just vm

Configuration

View current configuration:

just config

Check available options:

./create-bootc-image.sh --help

Cleanup

# Clean output files
just clean

# Clean work directories
just clean-work

# Clean everything
just clean-all

Advanced Usage

Build Container Only

just build

Setup apt-cacher-ng for faster builds

just setup-cache

Test container functionality

just test

File Structure

• create-bootc-image.sh - Main orchestration script
• modules/ - Modular components for different build stages
• config/defaults.sh - Configuration defaults
• justfile - Command shortcuts and examples
• debian_bootc_dockerfile.txt - Container definition
• debian-bootc-vm.xml - VM configuration template

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Check disk space: df -h
2. Clean work directories: just clean-work
3. Verify prerequisites: which podman qemu-img grub-install
4. Check logs in the output directory

Examples

# Basic workflow
just qcow2
just vm

# Chroot workflow with custom size
just custom-chroot 25 qcow2
just vm

# Multiple formats from chroot
just all-chroot

# Debian 14 with custom size
just custom-chroot-release 30 iso forky