=============
Qubes builder
=============
.. warning::
Note: These instructions concern the older Qubes builder (v1). It
supports only building Qubes 4.1 or earlier.The build process has
been completely rewritten in qubes-builder v2. This can be used for
building Qubes R4.1 and later, and all related components.
**Note: See** :doc:`ISO building instructions `
**for a streamlined overview on how to use the build system.**
We have a fully automated build system for Qubes, that downloads, builds
and packages all the Qubes components, and finally should spit out a
ready-to-use installation ISO, all in a
`secure `__ way.
In order to use it, you should use an rpm-based distro, like Fedora :),
and should ensure the following packages are installed:
- sudo
- gnupg
- git
- createrepo
- rpm-build
- dnf-plugins-core
- make
- wget
- rpmdevtools
- python3-sh
- dialog
- rpm-sign
- dpkg-dev
- debootstrap
- python3-pyyaml
- devscripts
- perl-Digest-MD5
- perl-Digest-SHA
Usually you can install those packages by just issuing:
.. code:: bash
sudo dnf install gnupg git createrepo rpm-build make wget rpmdevtools python3-sh dialog rpm-sign dpkg-dev debootstrap python3-pyyaml devscripts perl-Digest-MD5 perl-Digest-SHA
The build system creates build environments in chroots and so no other
packages are needed on the host. All files created by the build system
are contained within the qubes-builder directory. The full build
requires some 25GB of free space, so keep that in mind when deciding
where to place this directory.
The build system is configured via builder.conf file. You can use the
setup.sh script to create and modify this file. Alternatively, you can
copy the provided default builder.conf, and modify it as needed, e.g.:
.. code:: bash
cp example-configs/qubes-os-master.conf builder.conf
# edit the builder.conf file and set the following variables:
NO_SIGN=1
One additional useful requirement is that ‘sudo root’ must work without
any prompt, which is default on most distros (e.g. ‘sudo bash’ brings
you the root shell without asking for any password). This is important
as the builder needs to switch to root and then back to user several
times during the build process.
Additionally, if building with signing enabled (NO_SIGN is not set), you
must adjust ``\~/.rpmmacros`` file so that it points to the GPG key used
for package signing, e.g.:
.. code:: bash
%_signature gpg
%_gpg_path /home/user/.gnupg
%_gpg_name AC1BF9B3 # <-- Key ID used for signing
It is also recommended that you use an empty passphrase for the private
key used for signing. Contrary to a popular belief, this doesn’t affect
your key or sources security – if somebody compromised your system, then
the game is over anyway, whether you have used an additional passphrase
for the key or not.
So, to build Qubes you would do:
.. code:: bash
# Import the Qubes master key
gpg --recv-keys 0xDDFA1A3E36879494
# Verify its fingerprint, set as 'trusted'.
# This is described here:
# https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/VerifyingSignatures
wget https://keys.qubes-os.org/keys/qubes-developers-keys.asc
gpg --import qubes-developers-keys.asc
git clone https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-builder.git qubes-builder
cd qubes-builder
# Verify its integrity:
git tag -v `git describe`
cp example-configs/qubes-os-master.conf builder.conf
# edit the builder.conf file and set the following variables:
# NO_SIGN="1"
# Download all components:
make get-sources
# And now to build all Qubes RPMs (this will take a few hours):
make qubes
# ... and then to build the ISO
make iso
And this should produce a shiny new ISO.
You can also build selected component separately. Eg. to compile only
gui virtualization agent/daemon:
.. code:: bash
make gui-daemon
You can get a full list from make help.
Making customized build
-----------------------
Manual source modification
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You can also modify sources somehow if you wish. Here are some basic
steps:
1. Download qubes-builder as described above (if you want to use
marmarek’s branches, you should also download qubes-builder from his
repo - replace ‘QubesOS’ with ‘marmarek’ in above git clone command)
2. Edit builder.conf (still the same as above), some useful additions:
- You can also set GIT_PREFIX=“marmarek/qubes-” to use marmarek’s repo
instead of “mainstream” - it contains newer (but less tested)
versions
3. Download unmodified sources
.. code:: bash
make get-sources
4. **Make your modifications here**
5. Build the Qubes ``make qubes`` actually is just meta target which
builds all required components in correct order. The list of
components is configured in builder.conf. You can also check the
current value at the end of ``make help``, or using
``make build-info``.
6. ``get-sources`` is already done, so continue with the next one. You
can skip ``sign-all`` if you’ve disabled signing
.. code:: bash
make vmm-xen core-admin linux-kernel gui-daemon template desktop-linux-kde installer-qubes-os manager linux-dom0-updates
7. build iso installation image
.. code:: bash
make iso
Use pre-built Qubes packages
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For building just a few selected packages, it’s very useful to download
pre-built qubes-specific dependencies from ``{yum,deb}.qubes-os.org``.
This is especially true for ``gcc``, which takes several hours to build.
Before creating the ``chroot``, add this to your ``builder.conf``:
.. code:: bash
USE_QUBES_REPO_VERSION = $(RELEASE)
It will add the ‘current’ Qubes repository to your ``chroot``
environment. Next, specify which components (``gcc``, for example) you
want to download instead of compiling:
.. code:: bash
COMPONENTS := $(filter-out gcc,$(COMPONENTS))
Alternatively, edit the actual COMPONENTS list which is defined in the
included version-dependent config from example-configs (see series of
include directives near the beginning of ``builder.conf``). This way,
you can build only the packages in which you are interested.
If you also want to use the ‘current-testing’ repository, add this to
your configuration:
.. code:: bash
USE_QUBES_REPO_TESTING = 1
In the case of an existing ``chroot``, for mock-enabled builds, this
works immediately because ``chroot`` is constructed each time
separately. For legacy builds, it will not add the necessary
configuration into the build environment unless a specific builder
change or configuration would force rebuilding chroot.
Also, once enabled, disabling this setting will not disable repositories
in relevant chroots. And even if it did, there could be some leftover
packages installed from those repos (which may or may not be desirable).
**Note** If you are building Ubuntu templates, you cannot use this
option. This is because Qubes does not provide official packages for
Ubuntu templates.
Code verification keys management
---------------------------------
:doc:`QubesBuilder ` by default verifies signed tags
on every downloaded code. Public keys used for that are stored in
``keyrings/git``. By default Qubes developers’ keys are imported
automatically, but if you need some additional keys (for example your
own), you can add them using:
.. code:: bash
GNUPGHOME=$PWD/keyrings/git gpg --import /path/to/key.asc
GNUPGHOME=$PWD/keyrings/git gpg --edit-key ID_OF_JUST_IMPORTED_KEY
# here use "trust" command to set key fully or ultimately trusted - only those keys are accepted by QubesBuilder
All Qubes developers’ keys are signed by the Qubes Master Signing Key
(which is set as ultimately trusted key), so are trusted automatically.
If you are the owner of Master key and want to revoke such signature,
use the ``revsig`` gpg key edit command and update the key in
qubes-developers-keys.asc - now the key will be no longer trusted
(unless manually set as such).
Further information
-------------------
For advanced :doc:`QubesBuilder ` use, and preparing
sources, take a look at
:doc:`QubesBuilderDetails ` page, or
`QubesBuilder’s doc directory `__.