A.4. Automating the Installation with Kickstart
A Kickstart file specifies settings for an installation. Once the installation system boots, it can read a Kickstart file and carry out the installation process without any further input from a user.
![[Tip]](./stylesheet-images/tip.png) |
Every Installation Produces a Kickstart File |
|---|---|
The Fedora installation process automatically writes a Kickstart
file that contains the settings for the installed system. This
file is always saved as
|
Fedora includes a graphical application to create and modify
Kickstart files by selecting the options that you require. Use the
package system-config-kickstart to install
this utility. To load the Fedora Kickstart editor, choose
→ → .
Kickstart files list installation settings in plain text, with one option per line. This format lets you modify your Kickstart files with any text editor, and write scripts or applications that generate custom Kickstart files for your systems.
To automate the installation process with a Kickstart file, use
the ks option to specify the name and location of
the file:
linux ks=location/kickstart-file.cfg
You may use Kickstart files that are held on either removable storage, a hard drive, or a network server. Refer to Kickstart Sources for the supported Kickstart sources.
| Kickstart Source | Option Format |
|---|---|
| CD or DVD drive | ks= |
| Hard Drive | ks= |
| Other Device | ks= |
| HTTP Server | ks= |
| FTP Server | ks= |
| NFS Server | ks= |
To obtain a Kickstart file from a script or application on a Web
server, specify the URL of the application with the
ks= option. If you add the option
kssendmac, the request also sends HTTP headers to
the Web application. Your application can use these headers to
identify the computer. This line sends a request with headers to
the application
http://server.mydomain.com/kickstart.cgi:
linux ks=http://server.mydomain.com/kickstart.cgi kssendmac