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142 lines
6.2 KiB
ReStructuredText
142 lines
6.2 KiB
ReStructuredText
===========================================
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How to make any file persistent (bind-dirs)
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===========================================
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.. warning::
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This page is intended for advanced users.
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What are bind-dirs?
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-------------------
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With `bind-dirs <https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-core-agent-linux/blob/master/vm-systemd/bind-dirs.sh>`__ any arbitrary files or folders can be made persistent in app qubes.
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What is it useful for?
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----------------------
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In an app qube all of the file system comes from the template except ``/home``, ``/usr/local``, and ``/rw``. This means that changes in the rest of the filesystem are lost when the app qube is shutdown. bind-dirs provides a mechanism whereby files usually taken from the template can be persisted across reboots.
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For example, in Whonix, Tor’s data dir ``/var/lib/tor`` `has been made persistent in the TemplateBased ProxyVM sys-whonix <https://github.com/Whonix/qubes-whonix/blob/8438d13d75822e9ea800b9eb6024063f476636ff/usr/lib/qubes-bind-dirs.d/40_qubes-whonix.conf#L5>`__. In this way sys-whonix can benefit from the Tor anonymity feature ‘persistent Tor entry guards’ but does not have to be a standalone.
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How to use bind-dirs.sh?
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------------------------
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In this example, we want to make ``/var/lib/tor`` persistent. Enter all of the following commands in your app qube.
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1. Make sure the directory ``/rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d`` exists.
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.. code:: console
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$ sudo mkdir -p /rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d
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2. Create the file ``/rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d/50_user.conf`` with root permissions, if it doesn’t already exist.
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.. code:: console
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$ sudo touch /rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d/50_user.conf
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3. Add a line to ``/rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d/50_user.conf`` that appends a folder or file to the ``binds`` variable.
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.. code:: bash
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binds+=( '/var/lib/tor' )
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4. Save.
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5. If the directory you wish to make persistent doesn’t exist in the template on which the app qube is based, you’ll need to create the directory (with its full path) under ``/rw/bind-dirs`` in the app qube. For example, if ``/var/lib/tor`` didn’t exist in the template, then you would execute the following command in your app qube:
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.. code:: console
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$ sudo mkdir -p /rw/bind-dirs/var/lib/tor
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6. (optional) If the directory you want to persist across reboots (``/var/lib/tor`` in this case) needs special ownership and permissions, make sure the directory you created just under ``/rw/bind-dirs/`` has the same ones (using the commands ``chown`` and ``chmod``, respectively).
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7. Reboot the app qube.
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8. Done.
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From now on, all files in the ``/var/lib/tor`` directory will persist across reboots.
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You can make as many files or folders persist as you want simply by making multiple entries in the ``50_user.conf`` file, each on a separate line. For example, if you added the file ``/etc/tor/torrc`` to the ``binds`` variable, any modifications to *that* file would also persist across reboots.
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.. code:: bash
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binds+=( '/var/lib/tor' )
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binds+=( '/etc/tor/torrc' )
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Other Configuration Folders
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---------------------------
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- ``/usr/lib/qubes-bind-dirs.d`` (lowest priority, for packages)
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- ``/etc/qubes-bind-dirs.d`` (intermediate priority, for template wide configuration)
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- ``/rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d`` (highest priority, for per VM configuration)
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How does it work?
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-----------------
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bind-dirs.sh is called at startup of an app qube, and configuration files in the above configuration folders are parsed to build a bash array. Files or folders identified in the array are copied to ``/rw/bind-dirs`` if they do not already exist there, and are then bind mounted over the original files/folders.
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Creation of the files and folders in ``/rw/bind-dirs`` should be automatic the first time the app qube is restarted after configuration.
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If you want to circumvent this process, you can create the relevant file structure under ``/rw/bind-dirs`` and make any changes at the same time that you perform the configuration, before reboot. Note that you must create the full folder structure under ``/rw/bind-dirs`` - e.g you would have to create ``/rw/bind-dirs/var/lib/tor``
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Limitations
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-----------
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- Files that exist in the template root image cannot be deleted in the app qubes root image using bind-dirs.sh.
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- Re-running ``sudo /usr/lib/qubes/init/bind-dirs.sh`` without a previous ``sudo /usr/lib/qubes/init/bind-dirs.sh umount`` does not work.
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- Running ``sudo /usr/lib/qubes/init/bind-dirs.sh umount`` after boot (before shutdown) is probably not sane and nothing can be done about that.
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- Many editors create a temporary file and copy it over the original file. If you have bind mounted an individual file this will break the mount. Any changes you make will not survive a reboot. If you think it likely you will want to edit a file, then either include the parent directory in bind-dirs rather than the file, or perform the file operation on the file in ``/rw/bind-dirs``.
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- Some files are altered when a qube boots - e.g. ``/etc/hosts``. If you try to use bind-dirs on such files you may break your qube in unpredictable ways. You can add persistent rules to ``/etc/hosts`` using :doc:`/rw/config/rc.local </user/advanced-topics/config-files>`.
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How to remove binds from bind-dirs.sh?
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--------------------------------------
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``binds`` is actually just a bash variable (an array) and the bind-dirs.sh configuration folders are sourced as bash snippets in lexical order. Therefore if you wanted to remove an existing entry from the ``binds`` array, you could do that by using a lexically higher configuration file. For example, if you wanted to make ``/var/lib/tor`` non-persistent in ``sys-whonix`` without manually editing ``/usr/lib/qubes-bind-dirs.d/40_qubes-whonix.conf``, you could use the following in:
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``/rw/config/qubes-bind-dirs.d/50_user.conf``
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.. code:: bash
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binds=( "${binds[@]/'/var/lib/tor'}" )
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(Editing ``/usr/lib/qubes-bind-dirs.d/40_qubes-whonix.conf`` directly is strongly discouraged, since such changes get lost when that file is changed in the package on upgrades.)
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Discussion
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----------
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`app qubes: make selected files and folders located in the root image persistent- review bind-dirs.sh <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-devel/tcYQ4eV-XX4/discussion>`__
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