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Updates

A workstation needs to install and update software, so Runink River keeps pacman on the workstation (unlike a locked-down appliance, which would be updated only as a whole image).

Status: early. Today the image is assembled from Artix Linux packages, so everyday packages (Plasma, Firefox, libraries, tools) update from those repositories with pacman. The Runink River packages themselves (linux-runink, runink-zfs, runink-zfs-utils, runink-installer) are not yet served from a public, signed package repository: until one exists they change only with a new release image. A signed [runink] repository and river-update, which installs each release into a new boot environment, are planned (Roadmap).

Update the system

Snapshot the boot environment first, then update:

findmnt /boot                                                      # the EFI partition must be mounted
sudo zfs snapshot "$(findmnt -no SOURCE /)@pre-update-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
sudo pacman -Syu

Install software 

pacman -Ss <word>              # search the repositories
sudo pacman -S <package>       # install
sudo pacman -Rns <package>     # remove, with the dependencies nothing else needs

A package that ships only a systemd unit for its daemon needs an s6 service definition before it can run as a service (Services (s6)). The image carries no container runtime, Flatpak or app store; installing one is your choice, outside what Runink River supports and tests. Run code you do not trust under river-sandbox.

If the update breaks something, roll back to the snapshot. Your files in /home are not part of the rollback.

Kernel and ZFS updates

The kernel and its ZFS modules are one unit: the ZFS module must match the kernel release exactly, and a kernel is only released when the pinned OpenZFS release supports its series. When they change:

  1. Snapshot the boot environment (above), or better, upgrade a clone.
  2. Keep the previous packages (linux-runink, linux-runink-headers, runink-zfs, runink-zfs-utils) so you can go back with pacman -U, offline.
  3. Upgrade kernel and ZFS in one transaction, so mkinitcpio -P sees both.

The kernel and initramfs are written to /boot, the EFI partition. It must be mounted when you update, or the new kernel lands inside the encrypted boot environment, where GRUB cannot see it, and the machine keeps booting the old one. findmnt /boot shows it.

Release notes

Changes that users notice are listed in CHANGELOG.md. Security fixes are listed under Security, with their advisory or CVE ID once public.

Services (s6)Keyboard & language