Installation Handbook

This guide will go into depth on how to install Everest Linux.

If you nedd assistance, feel free to reach out on IRC (#everestlinux), or Discord.

Prerequisites

The following steps will be used to complete the installation:

- Set up the environment by creating proper mountpoints, users, and partitions

- Download the Everest Linux rootfs image

- Unpack the rootfs image onto the previously set up mountpoint

- Chroot into the new system

- Set up Glacier

- Install system software

- Install the Linux kernel

- Set up init scripts/services

- Reboot the system

Note: Everest is highly flexible, and every aspect of the system can be changed.

If you are changing anything, it is assumed you know exactly what you're doing.

Commands prefixed with (user)$ should be run as an unprivileged user.

Commands prefixed with (root)# should be run as the root user.

Commands prefixed with (chroot)# should be run as the root user inside the chroot environment.

Set up the environment

Our environment needs to be set up correctly before any other steps can proceed.

Create the system mountpoint:

(root)# mkdir -v /mnt/everest

Assign the system mounpoint a variable for ease of use:

(root)# export EVEREST=/mnt/everest

Create any necessary partitions:

/boot - 256MB

(optional) swap - RAM * 2

/ - rest of the drive

Mount the root partition to the system mountpoint:

(root)# mount /dev/sdX /mnt/everest

Create the boot directory:


(root)# mkdir -pv /mnt/everest/boot
Mount the boot partition:
(root)# mount /dev/sdX /mnt/everest/boot
Our system is now set up for the installation.
Downloading the Everest image
An Everest Image is an uncomplete root filesystem image which provides a strong base to build off of.
Each image has slight differences to others, some differences may include:
 - The init system
 - The standard C library
 - The architecture
Images are designated in the following ways:
everestlinux-X.X.X-INIT-ARCH(if not x86)-img.tar.xz
For instance, an image targeting x86_64, with the busybox init system would be called:
everestlinux-1.0.0-busybox-img.tar.xz
An image targeting arm64, with systemd would be called:
everestlinux-1.0.0-systemd-aarch64-img.tar.xz
Other designations may be used, such as:
 - no_multilib
Ensure you download the correct image for your system. For most users, images targeting
x86_64 with the busybox init system are what you should use.
To get the image to our destination as easily as possible, use wget
(user)$ wget https://git.everestlinux.org/EverestLinux/everest/raw/branch/main/releases/everestlinux-X.X.X-INIT-img.tar.xz
With the image downloaded, the system can now be installed.
Unpacking the Image
The image can now be unpacked into the system mountpoint.
Ensure the image is located in 
/mnt/everest
, then run the following command to unpack it:
(root)# tar -xpvf everestlinux-img.tar.xz --xattrs-include='*.*' --numeric-owner
The following 2 options are very important. Without them, some binaries may refuse to run due to incorrect file ownership.
Chrooting into the new installation
Our system is now in a partially working state.
If we were to simply call it a day and try to boot into the system now, it would not be possible.
Many parts of the system are missing, including a bootloader and kernel.
Chrooting allows us to access the system and modify it, without actually booting into it.
Before chrooting, we must mount some partitions.
Chroot into the system:
(root)# everest-chroot /mnt/everest
This program will check the following:
 - /mnt/everest exists
 - /bin/sh exists
Once in the chroot environment, run the following commands:
(chroot)# export PS1="(chroot) ${PS1}" && source /etc/profile
We are now fully set up for the rest of the installation.
Set up Glacier
Glacier is the package manager for Everest. It must be installed into the new system.
Download the Glacier release tarball:
(chroot)# wget RELEASE_TARBALL
Unpack the tarball and run the installation:
(chroot)# tar xpvf glacier-release-X.X.X.tar.xz && glacierX.X.X/INSTALL.sh
Edit 
/etc/make.conf
 and change any settings you wish.
Install the Linux kernel
The kernel can now be installed.
Use Glacier to download the source tree:
(chroot)# glacier -f linux
Find the kernel source tree in 
/usr/src/linux