Now that you have some background information on kickstart installations,
let's take a look at the kickstart file itself. The kickstart file is a
simple text file, containing a list of items, each identified by a
keyword. You can create it by editing a copy of the
sample.ks file found in the /doc
directory of the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM, or you can create it from scratch. You
should be able to edit it with any text editor or word processor that can
save files as ASCII text.
First, some ground rules to keep in mind while creating your kickstart
file:
Items must be specified in order. It is not a
good idea to try to change the order of the required items.
Items that aren't required can be omitted.
Omitting any required item will result in the installation program
prompting the user for an answer to the related item, just as during a
typical installation. Once the answer is given the installation will
continue unattended (unless it comes across another missing item).
Lines starting with a pound sign ("#") are treated as comments, and
are ignored.
For kickstart upgrades, the following items are
required:
If any other items are specified for an upgrade, those items will be
ignored (note that this includes package selection).
Kickstart files are split into three sections: commands, package list,
and scripts. The file must be of the form:
<kickstart commands>
%packages
<package list>
%post
<post script>
The order matters; it can't be random. The post section goes to the end of
the file and ends the file, no marker is necessary to end the file other
than the post section itself.
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