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 RH-DOCS directory of the Red Hat Linux Documentation CD-ROM, using the Kickstart Configurator application, or writing 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, be aware of the following issues when you are creating your kickstart file:

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

  • Command section — Refer to the section called Kickstart Options for a list of kickstart options. You must include the required options.

  • The %packages section — Refer to the section called %packages — Package Selection for details.

  • The %pre and %post sections — These two sections can be in any order and are not required. Refer to the section called %pre — Pre-Installation Configuration Section and the section called %post — Post-Installation Configuration Section for details.

• Items that are not 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 the user would be prompted during a typical installation. Once the answer is given, the installation will continue unattended (unless it finds 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).