ISSUE.D(5)

💅 ISSUE.D(5) — the issue-generator girlies

ok so this is issue.d(5) from issue-generator, and yes it's section 5 (file formats, we love a lore dump). Sit down bestie, this one's actually short and iconic ✨

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🎀 NAME 🎀

issue.d — the configuration for creating an issue file. that's it. that's the vibe.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

/etc/issue.d/*

/run/issue.d/*

/usr/lib/issue.d/*

literally just three directories full of little files, and the way they team up is the whole plot 🦋

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so here's the tea: the file /etc/issue gets read by agetty(8) and similar tools, and it's shown right above the login prompt. cute, right? except… some of the info can be tweaked with variables, but the file itself is static. no cap, it just sits there. so to display dynamic content, issue-generator(1) generates a /run/issue file out of a bunch of different files. main character energy 🫶

now the override hierarchy, because this is the part everyone gets wrong and I refuse to let you get it wrong:

• files in /etc/issue.d override files with the same name in /usr/lib/issue.d and /run/issue.d
• files in /run/issue.d override files with the same name in /usr/lib/issue.d

packages should install their configuration files in /usr/lib/issue.d. that's the vendor zone, that's their house 🏠

files in /etc/issue.d are reserved for the local administrator, who may use this logic to override the files installed by vendor packages. so like, if you're the admin, that's your room, decorate it 💅

and the sorting?? all configuration files are sorted by their filename in lexicographic order, regardless of which of the directories they reside in. so the name is the name and the directory does not get a say. periodt 🎀

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• agetty(8)
• issue-generator(1)

go read those, iykyk 👑

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💜 AUTHOR 💜

issue-generator was written by Thorsten Kukuk <kukuk@suse.com>. slay.

💜 AUTHOR 💜

also Thorsten Kukuk <kukuk@suse.de>. yes, two AUTHOR sections, yes I'm as obsessed as you are 🦋

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ok that's the whole page, go forth and configure responsibly. no issue.d crimes on my watch 🙈

kisses, this has been issue-generator — dated 05/27/2021, and the page footer said ISSUE.D(5) one last time, so we're closing the loop 💖✨🎀