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Debian development

The Debian development extension adds debootstrap, arch-test, and the Debian and Ubuntu archive keyrings to a Frostyard bootc image. Use it to build Debian or Ubuntu root file systems. Every image carries the extension’s definition, switched off. The extension itself is not in the image: Updex turns it on and downloads it.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”

You need:

  • A Frostyard bootc image. Every image built on Base has systemd-sysext and frostyard-updex.
  • Root access to enable, update, and remove the extension.
  • Network access to https://repository.frostyard.org/ext/debdev/.
  • Free space in /var for the image.

Debian development has no published test results on Frostyard images yet. Try it on a machine you can spare first.

Enable Debian development

Section titled “Enable Debian development”

See what Updex found, then enable the feature and download it now:

Terminal window
updex features list --component=debdev
sudo updex features enable debdev --now

debdev appears as a component, with its feature disabled. The enable command downloads the image, checks its checksum and signature, links it, and refreshes the merge.

Check the merge and the tools that the extension adds:

Terminal window
systemd-sysext status
command -v debootstrap arch-test

systemd-sysext status lists debdev, and each name prints a path.

If enable --now exits with a refresh error (refresh_error in JSON), the download worked, but the activation did not. If the output says activation did not finish, the extension is merged, but users and groups can be missing: reboot. Otherwise the merge state is unknown: reboot. A sudo systemd-sysext refresh by hand does not create users and groups. Then run the checks above again.

Use Debian development

Section titled “Use Debian development”

Run debootstrap as root. The extension also carries distro-info, wget, mount, binutils, debian-archive-keyring, and ubuntu-archive-keyring. Where the base image already has a package, the extension does not carry a second copy.

The build repoints every /usr/bin and /usr/sbin link that goes through /etc/alternatives to its real target. An extension cannot ship /etc, so such a link would dangle after a merge. You need no manual step.

Update, roll back, and remove

Section titled “Update, roll back, and remove”

Check for an update, then install it:

Terminal window
updex features check --component=debdev
sudo updex features update --component=debdev

Updex downloads and verifies the new image, switches the link, deletes older versions, and refreshes the merge. See Manage system extensions for --no-vacuum, --dry-run, and the update timer. The refresh swaps /usr under the running system.

Roll back with sudo updex features rollback debdev. It takes effect at the next boot. See Roll back.

Remove Debian development:

Terminal window
sudo updex features disable debdev --now --force

Updex unmerges all extensions on the host, deletes the image, and merges the rest again. The tools this extension adds go. Root file systems you built stay where you put them. Reboot when the command finishes. Without --force, Updex refuses while the image is merged.

What ships

Section titled “What ships”
Item What you get
Package requests debootstrap, distro-info, wget, arch-test, debian-archive-keyring, mount, binutils, ubuntu-archive-keyring
Tools in the image /usr/sbin/debootstrap and /usr/bin/arch-test
Version The image file name carries the debootstrap package version, plus a +rN snosi revision when one is set
Image file debdev_<version>_<os>_<arch>.raw.zst; .raw.xz, .raw.gz, and .raw also work
Download From https://repository.frostyard.org/ext/debdev/, signature required (Verify=true), into /var/lib/extensions.d/
Services None

Each build checks that /usr/sbin/debootstrap and /usr/bin/arch-test are present. A build that is missing one fails. The check runs against the image delta, so a package that the base image already supplies, such as wget, is not in the list.

See also

Section titled “See also”

Sources

Section titled “Sources”

Reviewed 2026-10-27; Updex facts reviewed 2026-10-30. snosi commit b2858ca0222814c395cf8248db98f3e096d57dc9; Updex v2.1.3 commit 2661e987faac986f2594d1d9bbbadf1bf3053f5b.