The Kickstart File

Now that you have some background information on kickstart installations, let's take a look at the kickstart file itself. The kickstart file is a simple text file, containing a list of items, each identified by a keyword. You can create it by editing a copy of the sample.ks file found in the /doc directory of the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM, or you can create it from scratch. You should be able to edit it with any text editor or word processor that can save files as ASCII text.

First, some ground rules to keep in mind while creating your kickstart file:

• Items must be specified in order. That order is:

  <command section> <any combination of %pre, %post, %packages> <installclass>

• Items that aren't required can be omitted.

• Omitting any required item will result in the installation program prompting the user for an answer to the related item, just as during a typical installation. Once the answer is given the installation will continue unattended (unless it comes across another missing item).

• Lines starting with a pound sign ("#") are treated as comments, and are ignored.

• For kickstart upgrades, the following items are required:

  • language

  • installation method

  • device specification (if device is needed to perform installation)

  • keyboard setup

  • the upgrade keyword

  • LILO configuration

  If any other items are specified for an upgrade, those items will be ignored (note that this includes package selection).

• Kickstart files are split into three sections: commands, package list, and scripts. The file must be of the form:

  • <kickstart commands>

  • %packages

  • <package list>

  • %post

  • <post script>

The order matters; it can't be random. The post section goes to the end of the file and ends the file, no marker is necessary to end the file other than the post section itself.