Tutorial to create custom arch live iso

content/custom-arch-live-iso.md

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+Title: Building a Custom Arch Linux Live ISO in the Cloud
+Date: 2024-03-11
+Category: Linux
+Tags: AWS, Arch Linux, How-to
+Slug: custom-live-arch-linux-iso
+Author: Benson Muite
+Summary: Build a live iso that can be booted from a USB stick
+
+# Building a Custom Arch Linux Live ISO in the Cloud
+
+[Arch Linux](https://archlinux.org/) has a number of packages that may not be available
+in other distributions, in particular [Ink/Stitch](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/inkstitch).
+It can be helpful to be able to run such a program on another computer which may not have it
+installed.  A live iso can help one do this. Building a bootable live ISO image on the cloud
+can be convenient as it can be automated and allow saving on bytes needed to download build
+dependencies to a local computer.  The following steps enable building on [AWS](https://aws.amazon.com)
+using the  [Arch Linux image](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home?region=us-east-1#launchAmi=ami-0ec4fc08d715411ba).
+
+Log into the instance
+
+```
+ssh -i sshkey  [email protected]
+```
+
+After logging in, first repopulate the keys and update the system
+
+```
+sudo pacman -Scc
+sudo rm -rf /etc/pacman.d/gnupg
+sudo pacman-key --init
+sudo pacman-key --populate
+sudo pacman -Syu
+```
+
+Next install [archuseriso](https://github.com/laurent85v/archuseriso)
+```
+sudo pacman --needed -Sy git arch-install-scripts bash dosfstools e2fsprogs \
+  erofs-utils grub libarchive libisoburn make mtools parted squashfs-tools syslinux
+git clone https://github.com/laurent85v/archuseriso.git
+sudo make -C archuseriso install
+```
+
+Inkstitch is available in [Aur](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/inkstitch), but not
+in the main Arch repositories.  To add it to the live iso image, first create a local
+repository with a locally built Ink/Stitch package.
+
+```
+sudo pacman --noconfirm -S basedevel inkscape
+git clone
+cd inkstitch
+makepkg --install
+cd ..
+mkdir inkstitchdb
+cd inkstitchdb
+repo-add inkstitch.tar.gz ../inkstitch/*.pkg.tar.zst
+cd ..
+cp inkstitch/*.zst inkstitchdb/
+```
+
+Create a profile for the image using the lxqt image as the starting point
+```
+cd archuseriso
+cd profiles
+cp -r lxqt inkstitch
+cd inkstitch
+echo inkscape >> packages.x86_64
+echo inkstitch >> packages.x86_64
+sed -i 's/\#[custom]/[inkstitch]/g' pacman.conf
+sed -i 's/\#SigLevel = Optional TrustAll/SigLevel = Optional TrustAll/g' \
+pacman.conf
+sed -i 's|\#Server = file:///home/custompkgs|Server = file:///home/arch/inkstitchdb|g' \
+pacman.conf
+sed -i 's|iso_name="aui-lxqt-inkstitch"|iso_name="aui-lxqt-inkstitch"|g' \
+profiledef.sh
+cd ../../..
+```
+
+Build the live iso image
+```
+sudo aui-mkiso archuseriso/profiles/inkstitch/
+```
+Once done, the resulting iso should be available at
+```
+/home/arch/out/aui-lxqt-inkstitch-linux_6_7_9-0310-x64.iso
+```
+
+## References
+
+- https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Install_Arch_Linux_on_a_removable_medium
+- https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Archiso
+- https://mags.zone/help/arch-usb.html
+- https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Tips_and_tricks#Custom_local_repository
+
+*Available under a [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) license*