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Recovery, Testing, and Reproducible Bootstrapping**\r\n\r\nBaseRoots is a minimal, reproducible Linux bootstrap environment designed to\r\nreliably boot, inspect, and recover Linux systems.\r\n\r\nIt builds a small, mostly statically linked initrd that provides a clean,\r\ndeterministic runtime independent of the host system.\r\n\r\nIt is distribution-agnostic and designed to operate independently of the host system state.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Why\r\n\r\nRecovering or inspecting Linux systems is often inconsistent:\r\n\r\n- rescue environments differ between distributions  \r\n- tools and behavior vary across systems  \r\n- debugging depends on the state of the host OS  \r\n\r\nBaseRoots provides a clean, reproducible environment that behaves the same\r\nevery time, regardless of the system being inspected.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## What it does\r\n\r\nBaseRoots builds what we call a *BaseRoot environment*:\r\n\r\n- a Linux kernel (provided separately)  \r\n- an initrd (ramdisk)  \r\n- a minimal set of mostly statically linked tools  \r\n\r\nThe result is a small system that boots into a shell in a controlled environment.\r\n\r\nFrom there, you can:\r\n\r\n- inspect and mount disks  \r\n- recover broken systems  \r\n- chroot into existing installations  \r\n- debug system failures  \r\n- experiment with different userlands  \r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Example use case\r\n\r\nA server fails to boot after a kernel or filesystem update.\r\n\r\nWith BaseRoots:\r\n\r\n1. Boot the system using a BaseRoots initrd (locally or via PXE)\r\n2. Enter a clean, known environment\r\n3. Detect and mount disks safely\r\n4. Inspect logs, repair filesystems, or recover data\r\n\r\nThe environment is always identical, regardless of the system state.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Example build\r\n\r\nAn example recipe is:\r\n\r\n`build_x86_64-musl.sh`\r\n\r\nIt:\r\n\r\n- builds a musl-based cross toolchain  \r\n- compiles toybox and bash  \r\n- creates a minimal initrd  \r\n\r\nAt the end, you have everything except a kernel.\r\n\r\nAdd a kernel, boot it (e.g. with QEMU or real hardware), and you get a shell.\r\n\r\nMost scripts are located in:\r\n\r\n`baseroot/toolchain/scripts/`\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Included tooling (example)\r\n\r\nBaseRoots can include a minimal but practical recovery toolkit:\r\n\r\n**Filesystems**\r\n- e2fsprogs  \r\n- xfsprogs  \r\n- btrfs-progs  \r\n- dosfstools\r\n- lvm2 (with device-mapper support)\r\n\r\n**Disk utilities**\r\n- util-linux (fdisk, mount, blkid, etc.)\r\n- mdadm (Software RAID)  \r\n\r\n**System / kernel**\r\n- kmod  \r\n\r\n**Networking**\r\n- iproute2  \r\n\r\nThis toolset covers most common Linux recovery scenarios, including systems using LVM.\r\n\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## What this is not\r\n\r\nBaseRoots is not a full Linux distribution.\r\n\r\nIt does not aim to replace existing systems or act as a general-purpose OS, but to provide a minimal, controlled environment to interact with them.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Design principles\r\n\r\n- minimal and focused  \r\n- reproducible runtime  \r\n- mostly statically linked  \r\n- cross-compiled  \r\n- independent of host system  \r\n- customizable at build time  \r\n- explicit control over boot and runtime behavior\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Background\r\n\r\n25 years ago, building systems from source and experimenting freely was common.\r\n\r\nToday we have faster machines, better tooling, cross-compilers, and virtualization.\r\nIt should be easier than ever to explore systems in a controlled way.\r\n\r\nBaseRoots is a small experiment in that direction.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Current state\r\n\r\n- architecture: x86_64  \r\n- libc: musl  \r\n- toolchain: gcc  \r\n- tools: toybox + additional utilities  \r\n- linking: mostly static  \r\n\r\nStatus: experimental, functional, and evolving.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Future\r\n\r\n- PXE / network boot support (diskless recovery \u0026 provisioning)\r\n- extended storage support (LUKS encryption, RAID via mdadm)\r\n- multiple build profiles (minimal, recovery, forensics, CI/testing)\r\n- additional architectures (ARM, embedded targets)\r\n- alternative userlands (musl/glibc-based builds, toybox/busybox, different shells)\r\n\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n## Use cases\r\n\r\n- system debugging in broken or unbootable environments\r\n- system recovery (bare metal or VM)\r\n- distribution-agnostic debugging\r\n- forensic analysis\r\n- CI/CD system testing\r\n- PXE-based infrastructure tooling\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n\r\n## License\r\n\r\nThis project is licensed under the 0BSD license.\r\n\r\nYou can use it as you like:\r\ncopy it, modify it, redistribute it, use it in other projects, with or without attribution.\r\n\r\nBasically: do whatever you want.\r\n","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fboucaron%2Fbaseroots","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fboucaron%2Fbaseroots","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fboucaron%2Fbaseroots/lists"}