LIVECD-CREATOR(8)

📦
version 31.0 · 4 versions
, in epel 9

LIVECD-CREATOR(8) 💅✨

okay so bestie, welcome to the LiveCD Tools manual — this one is literally livecd-creator, and it's giving "I make bootable ISO images and I know it." no cap, this is the glow-up version of the page, but every fact is still here. periodt.

🌸 NAME 🌸

livecd-creator — creates live CD or DVD images. that's it. that's the vibe. 🎀

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

livecd-creator [OPTIONS]

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so livecd-creator creates live CD or DVD images (ISO images) from kickstart files. and what are kickstart files? they're these iconic little config baddies that contain information about packages and configuration settings which are used to build the image. basically the blueprint for your whole live image. main character energy fr fr. 💖

💅 OPTIONS 💅

🎀 general options 🎀

  • -h, --help — shows the help message and exits. cute, quick, done. ✨

👑 IMAGE OPTIONS 👑

these options define the created image. like, the actual ISO vibe check.

  • -c KSCFG, --config=KSCFG — path to kickstart configuration file. this is your blueprint, bestie.
  • -b BASE_ON, --base-on=BASE_ON — add packages to an existing live CD iso9660 image. it's giving "remix, don't rebuild." 🦋
  • -f FS_LABEL, --fslabel=FS_LABEL — defines the file system label. the default is based on the configuration name. so if you don't name it, it names itself. independent icon behavior. 💅
  • --title=TITLE — title used by syslinux.cfg file. yes, that syslinux.cfg. 🎀
  • --product=PRODUCT — product name used in syslinux.cfg boot stanzas and countdown. branding moment. 👑
  • -p, --plugins — use DNF plugins during image creation. plug in, glow up. 🔥
  • --compression-type=COMPRESS_ARGS — specify a compressor recognized by mksquashfs. "xz" is the default and works with 2.6.38 and later kernels. "gzip" works with all kernels. "lzo" works with 2.6.36 and later kernels. "lzma" will only work with custom kernels. "xz1m" is interpreted as "xz -b 1M -Xdict-size 1M -norecovery". set to "None" to force reading the compressor used in BASE_ON. if "gzip" is used, the -comp option is not passed to mksquashfs to allow the use of older versions of mksquashfs. multiple arguments should be specified in one string, i.e., "--compression-type "type arg1 arg2 ..."". okay that's a lot but we love a thorough compressor conversation. 😭
  • --releasever=VER — set the value to substitute for $releasever in kickstart repo urls. very "fill in the blank" of it all. 🫶

🌈 SYSTEM DIRECTORY OPTIONS 🌈

these options define directories used on your system for creating the live image. home base stuff.

  • -t TMPDIR, --tmpdir=TMPDIR — defines the temporary directory to use. the default directory is /var/tmp. yes, the classic. 🍓
  • --cache=CACHEDIR — defines the cache directory to use (default: private cache). private cache is giving VIP access only. 💜
  • --cacheonly — work offline from cache, use together with --cache (default: False). offline era. 🌙
  • --nocleanup — skip cleanup of temporary files. leaving the mess behind on purpose, honestly relatable. 🙈

💀 DEBUGGING OPTIONS 💀

these options control the output of logging information during image creation. for when you need to know everything.

  • -d, --debug — output debugging information. detective mode. 🔍
  • -v, --verbose — output verbose progress information. tell me everything, bestie. 🗣️
  • -q, --quiet — suppress stdout. shhh. quiet luxury. 🤫
  • --logfile=FILE — save debug information to FILE. receipts, archived. 🧾

🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

barebones LiveCD — minimal, clean, iconic:

livecd-creator \
--config=/usr/share/livecd-tools/livecd-fedora-minimal.ks

Fedora Desktop Live CD — now with a label and main character energy:

livecd-creator \
--config=/usr/share/livecd-tools/livecd-fedora-desktop.ks \
--fslabel=Fedora9-LiveCD-foo

🦋 REPO EXTENSIONS 🦋

so livecd-creator provides for some extensions to the repo commands similar to what DNF supports. the strings $arch, $basearch and $releasever are replaced with the system arch, basearch and release version respectively. when no --releasever is passed it defaults to the current system's version. this allows the use of repo commands such as the following:

repo --name=fedora
--mirrorlist=http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=fedora-$releasever&arch=$basearch
note that in a chroot environment (like koji) the rpmdb is not available, so either don't use $releasever in that case, or pass --releasever=VER. important!! don't skip this part, bestie. 😭

💖 CONTRIBUTORS 💖

David Zeuthen, Jeremy Katz, Douglas McClendon and a team of many other contributors. see the AUTHORS file in the source distribution for the complete list of credits. legends only. 👑

🐛 BUGS 🐛

report bugs to the mailing list <http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-livecd-list> or directly to Bugzilla <http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/> against the "Fedora" product, and the "livecd-tools" component. pls be specific so the fix can slay. 🫶

Copyright (C) Fedora Project 2008,2009,2020, and various contributors. this is free software. you may redistribute copies of it under the terms of the GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. there is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. read that again: NO WARRANTY. respectfully. 💀

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

mwah 💋 this page is from livecd-tools 31.0, dated 2025-07-04. slay, go build a live image, and drink some water. 🧚💜

📦 where this page comes from