MIC Reference

7 mins read

MIC Reference

MIC supports the following image formats:

  • Loop
    • Each loop corresponds to 1 partition.
    • A file system is created inside the image.
    • For a configuration with multiple partitions (specified in the kickstart file), MIC generates multiple loop images.
    • Multiple loop images can be packed into a single archive file.
  • Raw
    • “Raw” format basically means hard disk dumping.
    • It includes a partition table and all the partitions.
    • The image is bootable directly.
  • Livecd and liveusb
    • It is mainly used for an ia32 build.
    • It can be burned to a CD or USB stick, which can be booted into a live system or installation UI.
  • fs
    • “fs” means file-system.
    • MIC can install all the Tizen files to a specified directory, which can be used directly as a chroot environment.

Creating an Image

To create a basic image, use the following command syntax:

$ mic create(cr) SUBCOMMAND <ksfile> [OPTION]

In the command:

  • SUBCOMMAND specifies the image format:

    fs                 create fs image, which is also a chroot directory
livecd             create live CD image, used for CD booting
liveusb            create live USB image, used for USB booting
loop               create loop image, including multi-partitions
raw                create raw image, containing multi-partitions

  • <ksfile> specifies the kickstart file.

    The kickstart file is a simple text file, containing a list of items about, for example, image partition, setup, Bootloader, and packages to be installed. Each item is identified by a key word.

  • OPTION can be used to specify various details:

    -h, --help          Show this help message and exit
--logfile=LOGFILE   Path of logfile
-c CONFIG, --config=CONFIG
                    Specify config file for MIC
-k CACHEDIR, --cachedir=CACHEDIR
                    Cache directory to store downloaded files
-o OUTDIR, --outdir=OUTDIR
                    Output directory
-A ARCH, --arch=ARCH
                    Specify repo architecture
--release=RID       Generate a release of RID with all necessary files.
                    When @BUILD_ID@ is contained in kickstart file, it
                    will be replaced by RID.
--record-pkgs=RECORD_PKGS
                    Record the info of installed packages. Multiple values
                    can be specified which joined by ",", valid values:
                    "name", "content", "license", "vcs".
--pkgmgr=PKGMGR     Specify backend package manager
--local-pkgs-path=LOCAL_PKGS_PATH
                    Path for local pkgs(rpms) to be installed
--pack-to=PACK_TO   Pack the images together into the specified archive,
                    extension supported: .zip, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2,
                    etc. by default, .tar will be used
--copy-kernel       Copy kernel files from image /boot directory to the
                    image output directory.
--install-pkgs=INSTALL_PKGS
                    Specify what type of packages to be installed, valid:
                    source, debuginfo, debugsource

    Other options include:

    --runtime=RUNTIME_MODE
                    Sets runtime mode, the default is bootstrap mode, valid
                    values: "native", "bootstrap". "native" means mic uses
                    localhost environment to create image, while "bootstrap"
                    means mic uses one tizen chroot environment to create image.
--compress-image=COMPRESS_IMAGE (for loop & raw)
                    Sets the disk image compression. Note: The available
                    values might depend on the used filesystem type.
--compress-disk-image=COMPRESS_IMAGE
                    Same with --compress-image
--shrink (for loop)
                    Whether to shrink loop images to minimal size
--generate-bmap (for raw)
                    Generate the block map file
--fstab-entry=FSTAB_ENTRY (for raw)
                    Set fstab entry, 'name' means using device names,
                    'uuid' means using filesystem uuid

For example, to create a loop image, use the following command:

$ mic cr loop tizen.ks

Example of Creating a Loop Image

To create a loop image:

  1. Prepare the kickstart file.

    To create an image, you need a proper .ks file:

    # filename: tizen-min.ks
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
timezone --utc America/Los_Angeles

part / --size 1824 --ondisk sda --fstype=ext3

rootpw tizen
bootloader  --timeout=0  --append="rootdelay=5"

desktop --autologinuser=tizen
user --name tizen  --groups audio,video --password 'tizen'

repo --name=Tizen-base --baseurl=http://download.tizen.org/snapshots/trunk/common/latest/repos/base/ia32/packages/
repo --name=Tizen-main --baseurl=http://download.tizen.org/snapshots/trunk/common/latest/repos/main/ia32/packages/

%packages --ignoremissing
@tizen-bootstrap
%end

%post
rm -rf /var/lib/rpm/__db*
rpm --rebuilddb
%end

%post --nochroot
%end

    The above file can be used to create a minimum Tizen image. For other repositories, replace the URL. For example:

    $ repo --name=REPO-NAME --baseurl=https://username:passwd@yourrepo.com/ia32/packages/ --save  --ssl_verify=no

  2. Create the loop image with the following command in the terminal:

    $ sudo mic create loop tizen-min.ks

Example of Creating an Image with a Local RPM Package

If you want to install your own RPM into the image, to be able to test your package with the image, using a local package path can be helpful. For example, if your hello.rpm file is under the localpath directory, use the following command:

$ sudo mic create loop test.ks --local-pkgs-path=localpath

The command output states Marked 'hello.rpm' as installed, and the hello.rpm file is installed in the image. Make sure that your RPM is not in the .ks file’s repository and that your RPM version is newer or equal to the repository RPM version.

Example of Creating an Image with a Specific Archive Format

You can use MIC to archive the image with a specific format, such as .zip, .tar (default), .tar.gz, or .tar.bz2.

To use a specific archive format:

$ sudo mic create loop test.ks --pack-to=@NAME@.tar.gz

Chrooting Inside an Image

The MIC chroot command is a great enhancement over the basic chroot command in the Linux system.

To chroot inside the image, use the following command syntax:

$ mic chroot(ch) [OPTION] <imgfile>

In the command:

  • OPTION can be used to specify various details: 
    -h, --help          Show this help message and exit
-s SAVETO, --saveto=SAVETO
                    Save the unpacked image to a specified dir
  • <imgfile> specifies the image file.

For example:

$ mic ch loop.img
$ mic ch tizen.iso
$ mic ch -s tizenfs tizen.usbimg

Converting an Image

To convert an image to another format, use the following command syntax:

mic convert(cv) [OPTION] <imagefile> <destformat>

In the command:

  • OPTION can be used to specify various details: 
    -h, --help   Show this help message and exit
-S, --shell  Launch shell before packaging the converted image
  • <imgfile> specifies the image file.
  • <destformat> specifies the destination format.

For example:

$ mic cv tizen.iso liveusb
$ mic cv tizen.usbimg livecd
$ mic cv --shell tizen.iso liveusb

Setting a Proxy

You can set a proxy in various ways:

  • Proxy variable in bash

    It is common to use a proxy variable in bash. In general, you can set the following environment variables to enable proxy support:

    export http_proxy=http://proxy.com:port
export https_proxy=http://proxy.com:port
export ftp_proxy=http://proxy.com:port
export no_proxy=localhost,127.0.0.0/8,.company.com

    You do not need all the variables, so check which ones you need and only export those. When the repository URL in your .ks file starts with https, MIC uses the https_proxy variable. Be careful when setting the no_proxy variable, because it indicates which domain must be accessed directly. Do not leave any blank spaces in the string.

    MIC needs the sudo privilege. To keep the proxy environment, set /etc/sudoers to add the proxy variables to env_keep:

    Defaults        env_keep += "http_proxy https_proxy ftp_proxy no_proxy"

    Note

    Use visudo to modify /etc/sudoers.

    If you do not want to change your /etc/sudoers, you can set the proxy in the mic.conf file, as described below.

  • Proxy setting in the mic.conf file

    The proxy environment variables can disturb other programs, so to enable proxy support only for MIC, set the proxy in the etc/mic/mic.conffile:

    [create]
; settings for create subcommand
tmpdir= /var/tmp/mic
cachedir= /var/tmp/mic/cache
outdir= .
pkgmgr = zypp
proxy = http://proxy.yourcompany.com:8080/
no_proxy = localhost,127.0.0.0/8,.yourcompany.com

  • Proxy setting in the .ks file

    If you need to enable proxy support for a special repository URL only, leaving others at their existing proxy setting:

    $ repo --name=oss --baseurl=http://www.example.com/repos/oss/packages/ --proxy=http://host:port

Getting Help

To get help:

  • Use the mancommand: 
    $ man mic
  • Use the --help options: 
    $ mic --help
$ mic create --help
$ mic help create
$ mic create loop --help
$ mic create help loop

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