systemd-firstboot

systemd
systemd-firstboot 1
systemd-firstboot systemd-firstboot.service Initialize basic system settings on or before the first boot-up of a system
`systemd-firstboot` OPTIONS

`systemd-firstboot.service`

## Description

`systemd-firstboot` initializes the most basic system settings interactively on the first boot, or optionally non-interactively when a system image is created. The service is started if `ConditionFirstBoot=yes` is satisfied. This essentially means that `/etc/` is empty, see systemd.unit 5 for details.

The following settings may be set up:

- The system locale, more specifically the two locale variables `LANG=` and `LC_MESSAGES`

- The system keyboard map

- The system time zone

- The system hostname

- The machine ID of the system

- The root user's password

Each of the fields may either be queried interactively by users, set non-interactively on the tool's command line, or be copied from a host system that is used to set up the system image.

If a setting is already initialized, it will not be overwritten and the user will not be prompted for the setting.

Note that this tool operates directly on the file system and does not involve any running system services, unlike localectl 1, timedatectl 1 or hostnamectl 1. This allows `systemd-firstboot` to operate on mounted but not booted disk images and in early boot. It is not recommended to use `systemd-firstboot` on the running system while it is up.

## Options

The following options are understood:

`--root=root`

  Takes a directory path as an argument. All paths will be prefixed with the given alternate root path, including config search paths. This is useful to operate on a system image mounted to the specified directory instead of the host system itself.

`--image=path`

  Takes a path to a disk image file or block device node. If specified all operations are applied to file system in the indicated disk image. This is similar to `--root=` but operates on file systems stored in disk images or block devices. The disk image should either contain just a file system or a set of file systems within a GPT partition table, following the Discoverable Partitions Specification. For further information on supported disk images, see systemd-nspawn 1's switch of the same name.

`--locale=LOCALE`
`--locale-messages=LOCALE`

  Sets the system locale, more specifically the `LANG=` and `LC_MESSAGES` settings. The argument should be a valid locale identifier, such as `de_DE.UTF-8`. This controls the locale.conf 5 configuration file.

`--keymap=KEYMAP`

  Sets the system keyboard layout. The argument should be a valid keyboard map, such as `de-latin1`. This controls the `KEYMAP` entry in the vconsole.conf 5 configuration file.

`--timezone=TIMEZONE`

  Sets the system time zone. The argument should be a valid time zone identifier, such as `Europe/Berlin`. This controls the localtime 5 symlink.

`--hostname=HOSTNAME`

  Sets the system hostname. The argument should be a hostname, compatible with DNS. This controls the hostname 5 configuration file.

`--machine-id=ID`

  Sets the system's machine ID. This controls the machine-id 5 file.

`--root-password=PASSWORD`
`--root-password-file=PATH`
`--root-password-hashed=HASHED_PASSWORD`

  Sets the password of the system's root user. This creates/modifies the passwd 5 and shadow 5 files. This setting exists in three forms: `--root-password=` accepts the password to set directly on the command line, `--root-password-file=` reads it from a file and `--root-password-hashed=` accepts an already hashed password on the command line. See shadow 5 for more information on the format of the hashed password. Note that it is not recommended to specify plaintext passwords on the command line, as other users might be able to see them simply by invoking ps 1.

`--root-shell=SHELL`

  Sets the shell of the system's root user. This creates/modifies the passwd 5 file.

`--kernel-command-line=CMDLINE`

  Sets the system's kernel command line. This controls the `/etc/kernel/cmdline` file which is used by kernel-install 8.

`--prompt-locale`
`--prompt-keymap`
`--prompt-timezone`
`--prompt-hostname`
`--prompt-root-password`
`--prompt-root-shell`

  Prompt the user interactively for a specific basic setting. Note that any explicit configuration settings specified on the command line take precedence, and the user is not prompted for it.

`--prompt`

  Query the user for locale, keymap, timezone, hostname, root's password, and root's shell. This is equivalent to specifying `--prompt-locale`, `--prompt-keymap`, `--prompt-timezone`, `--prompt-hostname`, `--prompt-root-password`, `--prompt-root-shell` in combination.

`--copy-locale`
`--copy-keymap`
`--copy-timezone`
`--copy-root-password`
`--copy-root-shell`

  Copy a specific basic setting from the host. This only works in combination with `--root=` (see above).

`--copy`

  Copy locale, keymap, time zone, root password and shell from the host. This is equivalent to specifying `--copy-locale`, `--copy-keymap`, `--copy-timezone`, `--copy-root-password`, `--copy-root-shell` in combination.

`--setup-machine-id`

  Initialize the system's machine ID to a random ID. This only works in combination with `--root=`.

`--force`

  systemd-firstboot doesn't modify existing files unless `--force` is specified. For modifications to `/etc/passwd` and `/etc/shadow`, systemd-firstboot only modifies the entry of the `root` user instead of overwriting the entire file.

`--delete-root-password`

  Removes the password of the system's root user, enabling login as root without a password unless the root account is locked. Note that this is extremely insecure and hence this option should not be used lightly.

`--welcome=`

  Takes a boolean argument. By default when prompting the user for configuration options a brief welcome text is shown before the first question is asked. Pass false to this option to turn off the welcome text.

## Credentials

`systemd-firstboot` supports the service credentials logic as implemented by `LoadCredential=`/`SetCredential=` (see systemd.exec 1 for details). The following credentials are used when passed in:

`passwd.hashed-password.root`
`passwd.plaintext-password.root`

  A hashed or plaintext version of the root password to use, in place of prompting the user. These credentials are equivalent to the same ones defined for the systemd-sysusers.service 8 service.

`passwd.shell.root`

  Specifies the shell binary to use for the specified account. Equivalent to the credential of the same name defined for the systemd-sysusers.service 8 service.

`firstboot.locale`
`firstboot.locale-messages`

  These credentials specify the locale settings to set during first boot, in place of prompting the user.

`firstboot.keymap`

  This credential specifies the keyboard setting to set during first boot, in place of prompting the user.

`firstboot.timezone`

  This credential specifies the system timezone setting to set during first boot, in place of prompting the user.

Note that by default the `systemd-firstboot.service` unit file is set up to inherit the listed credentials from the service manager. Thus, when invoking a container with an unpopulated `/etc/` for the first time it is possible to configure the root user's password to be `systemd` like this:

    # systemd-nspawn --image=… --set-credential=firstboot.locale:de_DE.UTF-8 …

Note that these credentials are only read and applied during the first boot process. Once they are applied they remain applied for subsequent boots, and the credentials are not considered anymore.

## Exit status

On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure code otherwise.

## Kernel Command Line

`systemd.firstboot=`

  Takes a boolean argument, defaults to on. If off, `systemd-firstboot.service` won't interactively query the user for basic settings at first boot, even if those settings are not initialized yet.

## See Also

systemd 1, locale.conf 5, vconsole.conf 5, localtime 5, hostname 5, machine-id 5, shadow 5, systemd-machine-id-setup 1, localectl 1, timedatectl 1, hostnamectl 1