Can I "Puppify" any Debian?

[Luluc]

Suppose I have a regular Debian Stretch or Buster already installed. Is it possible to "convert" that installation to a frugal Debian Dog? Is there any recipe for that somewhere?

[fredx181]

Not a recipe for it out of the box, but it should be possible by creating with mksquashfs 01-filesystem.squashfs from the partition where Debian is installed, but needs to be done from another booted (live) system.
Also you need vmlinuz1 and initrd1.xz (or/and initrd.img) that matches with the kernel from the Debian install (or matches with an additional kernel ,squashfs module).

[Luluc]

Well, I don't have a clue about how to do that, so if anybody has a recipe to share, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

[fredx181]

Well, I don't have a clue about how to do that, so if anybody has a recipe to share, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

It depends on what you call a recipe and how much effort you want to put in (trial and error ).
Anyway, quick and dirty overview of whats required,
First step, create 01-filesystem.squashfs:
- Say that your Debian install is in sda2, then, from a booted Debiandog, mount it (probably then on /mnt/sda2) and e.g.:
mksquashfs /mnt/sda2 /path/to/01-filesystem.squashfs

For the rest, probably the easiest is to borrow a kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz from an existing Debiandog and install porteusbootscripts .deb
The kernel module must match with the Debian install being usr-merged or no-usr-merged
edit: once booted successful, add the custom "dog" repository to /etc/apt/sources.list to be able to install e.g. porteusbootscripts

I've experimented with it in the past and worked, but it's a long time ago, so may not remember the details completely.

[minervaaleisha]

Suppose I have a regular Debian Stretch or Buster already installed. Is it possible to "convert" that installation to a frugal Debian Dog? Is there any recipe for that somewhere?

This process requires some familiarity with Linux commands and filesystem management. If you're not comfortable with these steps, it might be easier to use a distribution like DebianDog, which is designed to be lightweight and similar to Puppy Linux.

[Luluc]

It depends on what you call a recipe and how much effort you want to put in (trial and error ).

I call a recipe something that would begin like this:

First step, create 01-filesystem.squashfs:

• Say that your Debian install is in sda2, then, from a booted Debiandog, mount it (probably then on /mnt/sda2) and e.g.:
  mksquashfs /mnt/sda2 /path/to/01-filesystem.squashfs

That first step is very clear.

For the rest, probably the easiest is to borrow a kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz from an existing Debiandog and install porteusbootscripts .deb
The kernel module must match with the Debian install being usr-merged or no-usr-merged
edit: once booted successful, add the custom "dog" repository to /etc/apt/sources.list to be able to install e.g. porteusbootscripts

"For the rest" is very vague. Not my idea of a recipe.
I have the installation disks of Stretch and Buster plus the installed system so obtaining the kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz combo is not a problem. The problem is, what am I supposed to do with it? Where? How? Where does porteusbootscripts really fit into all this?

This process requires some familiarity with Linux commands and filesystem management. If you're not comfortable with these steps, it might be easier to use a distribution like DebianDog, which is designed to be lightweight and similar to Puppy Linux.

I am plenty familiar with Linux commands and filesystem management. I am not familiar with building frugal installations and nice Puppy menus/tools.

[fredx181]

"For the rest" is very vague. Not my idea of a recipe.
I have the installation disks of Stretch and Buster plus the installed system so obtaining the kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz combo is not a problem. The problem is, what am I supposed to do with it? Where? How?

Sure it's vague (quick and dirty as I said ) because I don't know anything about your situation.

Lets focus on Debiandog Buster, how do you boot it ? (frugal install or boot from cd or ...)
If you have a frugal install already (e.g. by using bootloader grub4dos or grub2), it will make it much easier to explain things for me, but don't expect a full recipe, step by step (depending on the info you give edit: and again, how much effort you want to put in, e.g. by hanging on even if things don't work in the first place).

[Luluc]

Lets focus on Debiandog Buster, how do you boot it ? (frugal install or boot from cd or ...)
If you have a frugal install already (e.g. by using bootloader grub4dos or grub2), it will make it much easier to explain things for me, but don't expect a full recipe, step by step (depending on the info you give edit: and again, how much effort you want to put in, e.g. by hanging on even if things don't work in the first place).

I have a regular Debian Stretch installation on /dev/sda1. You know, files and directories all over the place.

I also have a Bookworm Debian Dog (frugal, of course) on /dev/sda1. That Debian Dog is your creation IIRC.

I have a backup of both on an external HD and a free weekend ahead so I can try it multiple times if necessary. As soon as I know what to do...

[fredx181]

@Luluc

I have a regular Debian Stretch installation on /dev/sda1. You know, files and directories all over the place.

I also have a Bookworm Debian Dog (frugal, of course) on /dev/sda1.

Ok, but on first thought, having the frugal install also on sda1 makes it complicated because then the frugal install directory will be included in 01-filesystem.squashfs

[Luluc]

Yes, that occurred to me. And I can't have it anywhere else because all other partitions are encrypted.

But it's just a directory. Can't it be removed from 01-filesystem.squashfs afterwards? Is it read-only?

[fredx181]

Yes, that occurred to me. And I can't have it anywhere else because all other partitions are encrypted.

But it's just a directory. Can't it be removed from 01-filesystem.squashfs afterwards? Is it read-only?

Yes, with "Edit-SFS" (hopefully installed in your DD Bookworm)

[Luluc]

OK. No real issue there then.

[fredx181]

@Luluc

I have the installation disks of Stretch and Buster plus the installed system so obtaining the kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz combo is not a problem. The problem is, what am I supposed to do with it? Where? How?

To clarify a bit more, I meant the kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz from a DebianDog, your final goal is to create a new frugal install, isn't it ? It should then contain the new 01-filesystem.squashfs and kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz in "live" folder.
But frankly I have no idea if Stretch will work with kernel module + vmlinuz1 + initrd1.xz from Bookworm (much time between these releases), worth trying but perhaps better chance with Buster.
FYI what's important is that the kernel module must match being merged-usr or no-merged-usr with the Debian full install, so check that (if merged-usr then the path to kernel modules is usr/lib/modules, no-merged-usr is lib/modules), if not, it will fail for sure.