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Can You Use Linux Without the Terminal? (How to Geek article)
  • Contrast that with CLI where if you forgot or don't know any command there is little help or indicator of what's available and what can be done without external help.

    man would like to have words with your strawman.

  • Cool distros to try
  • I'm a huge proponent of Gentoo Linux as a learning experience. It's a great way to learn how the components of a system work together and the distro enables an amazing amount of configurability for your system.

    Even following a handbook install in a VM can be a good experience if you're interested.

  • What're some of the dumbest things you've done to yourself in Linux?
  • I once spent a month automating the production of repositories for each kernel version supported on our HPC and rested every step exhaustively in isolation.

    When I was satisfied I ran it with root permissions and hosed the VMs it was running on because a recursive chmod evaluated to /.

    Oops.

  • InfinityBook Pro 16 - Gen8 restarting out of nowere
  • Write out syslogs to disk or better yet mirror to grayling or something, there might be valuable information right before the reboot.

    I've also had weirdness where the CPU/iGPU was just faulty and the IME would halt the system. That took weeks to diagnose.

    Definitely reach out to support!

  • How to efficiently package CLI application on linux
  • You don't have to!

    If a downstream distribution wants your software they will build and package it themselves and maintain that infrastructure.

    You could provide an example rpm spec (etc) to make their lives easier but it's not on you to provide a binary package that works everywhere; you released the source code so any given user / distro can compile it for themselves.

    Just make sure that your build infrastructure and docs are up to speed, and ideally implement some CI/CD and testing to catch any breaking changes.

  • The President of the United States is blocked on this instance
  • You don't think that by just putting the name of a license in some prose that LLM companies will ignore it and not use it in training data, right?

    They most certainly will not. For all they know you're just helpfully linking to the creative commons.

    I don't think your plan is workable, but if you're going to persist at least add some boilerplate: "the above content of this comment is licensed under..."

  • ELI5: The Linux xz backdoor situation
  • TL;DR don't worry (for now) - it only impacts rpm and deb builds and impacted releases only really made it into OpenSuSe tumbleweed - if you're running bleeding edge maybe you need to worry a little.

    A laymans explanation about what happens is that the malicious package uses an indirect linkage (via systemd) to openssh and overrides a crypto function which either:

    • allows access to the system to a particular key
    • allows remote code execution with a particular key

    Or both!

    I have secondhand info that privately the reverse engineering is more advanced, but nobody wants to lead with bad info.

    As for what you should do? Unless you're running an rpm or deb based distro and you have version 5.6.0 or 5.6.1 of xz-utils installed, not much. If you are, well, that comes down to your threat model and paranoia level: either upgrade (downgrade) the package to a non-vulnerable version or dust off and nuke the site from orbit; it's the only way to be sure.

  • Centre right wins Portuguese election as far right surges
  • Just to be a pedant, you know that deserts don't have to be hot, right? The definition of a desert comes down to the amount of precipitation that a region gets, not how hot it is - Antarctica is a desert, the largest one on Earth.

  • rule
    Discord’s secret weapon against open source competitors (it’s PluralKit)
  • I'm sorry, but no. PluralKit only really impacts a tiny minority of the userbase to begin with. It isn't enough to cause people outside that group to choose the platform, nor is it enough for people outside of that minority to avoid moving to whatever the next big thing is.

  • Let's do Gentoo HPC (Week One)!

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.srcfiles.zip/post/2231272

    > I've been interested in switching away from $PROPRIETARY_VENDOR's HPC node / cluster management offering for a while, and the opportunity has finally arisen - $VENDOR has decided to massively hike up their prices, so it's time to look at alternatives. > > The top option on my list is Warewulf. Warewulf is a stateless node management tool, where stateless means "we boot any image you want into memory" (compared with competing implementations which do 'magic' to image a node's disk every boot). There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. > > The thing that attracts me most to Warewulf is that they've come to the conclusion that most HPC "disk images" are basically container images. Rather than using a chroot directory as an image (as do so many competing implementations) Warewulf have leaned wholeheartedly into the concept, and have adopted the OCI image tooling to define HPC images! > > This offers an astounding amount of flexibility that the current $VENDOR solution does not - the ability to define, build, and run any (reasonable) flavour of Linux as an image for HPC nodes; images need only the kernel, networking, systemd, and (optionally) a nfs client (this is for convenience, it's not required for node functionality). > > Based on that I've taken it upon myself to have some fun and investigate the current state of Warewulf as a node management tool - the first step, of course, was creating a Gentoo ebuild for Warewulf that compiles and installs. I'm happy to say that, after fixing some bugs in the offline build process, I have a working ebuild. > > If you're a Gentooer with an interest in Node Management or HPC, please give my Warewulf ebuild a try; it compiles and installs but I haven't yet had a chance to do any real cluster management and I'm interested in hearing about any bugs you encounter! > > Next Week(-ish): Gentoo HPC Base Images - I'm going to have to dig into Gentoo Networking to update the wwinit image. >

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    Create lightweight, hardened containers with Kubler

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.srcfiles.zip/post/32334

    > What is Kubler? > --------------- > > Kubler is a generic, extendable build orchestrator, written in Bash. It can be used to take advantage of Portage’s features to build lightweight Docker or Podman images without needing to mess with crossdev, or as a tool to assist with ebuild development. > > Why should you use it? > ---------------------- > > * You like lightweight, easy-to-create, containers > * You want to reduce the attack surface by including only what’s required > * You want to take advantage of USE flags to manage package features > * You want the awesome package library offered by the Gentoo ebuild repository (and other ebuild repos) > * You want up-to-date containers > * You want a containerised environment for building and testing ebuilds > > A real-world example > -------------------- > > I recently needed to integrate a containerised application with a vendor-managed openldap instance that uses mTLS authentication. Unfortunately the containerised application does not work with mTLS and the vendor managed openldap instance can’t be easily configured to use anything else. > > I came up with the solution of using openldap’s lloadd LDAP load balancer daemon to proxy connections from an encrypted internal network to the LDAP server but was left with the issue that I didn’t have a working openldap container that contained lloadd - of the existing containers that I tried the only one that actually had an lloadd bin didn’t actually include required dependencies! > > Glossing over a recent ebuild update to openldap to enable the building of lloadd, enter Kubler - It’s turned out to be an incredibly flexible and hands-off tool compared to trying to accomplish the same thing with (e.g.) Dockerfiles. > > ### Kubler in action > > This (lightly sanitised) real-world example creates create a new namespace called ‘larry’ which may contain multiple images. > > Use the new command to take care of the boilerplate; choose ‘multi’ when asked for the namespace type:\> > $ kubler new namespace larry > »»» > »»» to accept default value > »»» > »»» Working dir type? Choices: > »»» single - You can't add further namespaces to the created working dir, it only holds images > »»» multi - Creates a working dir that can hold multiple namespaces > »[?]» Type (single): multi > »»» > »»» Top level directory name for new namespace 'larry'? The directory is created at /data/development/gentoo-containers/ > »[?]» Namespaces Dir (kubler-images): > »»» > »»»»» Initial image tag, a.k.a. version? > »[?]» Image Tag (20230706): > »»» > »[!]» New namespace location: /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > »»» > »»»»» Who maintains the new namespace? > »[?]» Name (Your Name): Larry the Cow > »[?]» EMail (your@mail.org): Larry.the.Cow@gentoo.zip > »»» > »»»»» Default build engine? > »[?]» Engine (docker): > »»» > »[✔]» Successfully created "larry" namespace at /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images > »»» > »[!]» Configuration file: /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry/kubler.conf > »»» > »[!]» To manage the new namespace with GIT you may want to run: > »»» > »»» $ git init /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > »»» > »[!]» To create images in the new namespace run: > »»» > »»» $ cd /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > $ kubler new image larry/ > > > Although not strictly required, installing Kubler’s example images is a good idea. > > $ cd larry/ > $ kubler update > > > It is worthwhile to begin tracking this new namespace with Git so that images can be tracked as they are created and updated. Kubler has already placed a prepopulated a.gitignorefile for convenience. > > pushd /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > git init . > git add . > git commit -m "Initial commit" > popd > > > Create the new ‘openldap’ within the existing ‘larry’ namespace, based on the ‘kubler/busybox’ image. > > kubler new image larry/openldap > »»» > »»» to accept default value > »»» > »»» Extend an existing Kubler managed image? Fully qualified image id (i.e. kubler/busybox) or scratch > »[?]» Parent Image (scratch): kubler/busybox > »»» > »»» Add test template(s)? Possible choices: > »»» hc - Add a stub for Docker's HEALTH-CHECK, recommended for images that run daemons > »»» bt - Add a stub for a custom build-test.sh script, a good choice if HEALTH-CHECK is not suitable > »»» yes - Add stubs for both test types > »»» no - Fck it, we'll do it live! > »[?]» Tests (hc): yes > »»» > »[✔]» Successfully created new image at /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry/images/openldap > »»» > > > > **Note**: This step is ‘‘not’’ required; it is possible to directly edit thebuild.shfile if you are familiar with Portage. > > Kubler brings a unique feature to the table when constructing an container image: the--interactivebuild argument. As the name implies, this launches the build container in an interactive manner, enabling users to investigate the current / inherited configuration. > > $ kubler build larry/openldap -i > > > This will build any missing parent images/builders; the first run may take quite a bit of time - once the local binary package cache and build containers are seeded future runs will be much faster. Once the prerequisite images are ready the build container will present a shell. > > For first-time users it may be convenient to search for the openldap package to ensure that the correct atom is selected and investigate any USE flags that are of interest: > > # eix openldap > * net-nds/openldap > Available versions: 2.4.59-r2^t 2.5.14(0/2.5)^t 2.6.3-r7(0/2.6)^t ~2.6.4-r1(0/2.6)^t ~2.6.4-r2(0/2.6)^t {argon2 autoca +berkdb +cleartext crypt cxx debug experimental gnutls iodbc ipv6 kerberos kinit minimal odbc overlays pbkdf2 perl samba sasl selinux sha2 smbkrb5passwd ssl static-libs +syslog systemd tcpd test ABI_MIPS="n32 n64 o32" ABI_S390="32 64" ABI_X86="32 64 x32"} > Homepage: https://www.openldap.org/ > Description: LDAP suite of application and development tools > > > Edit the image’s build script: > > nano /config/build.sh > > > > **Note**: The/configdirectory in the build container is the host mounted image directory atlarry/images/openldap/. Feel free to use a local IDE/editor to edit build.shinstead. > > Add thenet-nds/openldapandnet-misc/curlpackages to the_packagesvariable inbuild.sh, update cURL USE flags, enable the ~arch` (~amd64 - the Gentoo ‘testing’ keyword) for packages we care about: > > _packages="net-nds/openldap net-misc/curl" > ... > configure_rootfs_build() > { > # Update a Gentoo package use flag. > update_use 'net-misc/curl' '+ldap' > # ..or a Gentoo package keyword > update_keywords 'net-misc/curl' '+~amd64' > update_keywords 'net-nds/openldap' '+~amd64' > ... > } > > > > Note: If using the busybox image as a parent, unset the `su` USE flag from `sys-apps/util-linux` in the `build.sh`. > > Perform a test run of the first build phase: > > $ kubler-build-root > > > Once this completes successfully exit the interactive builder using `exit`. > > #### Building the image > > Assuming that `build.sh` has been configured as described above, it should be safe to attempt to build the image. > > $ kubler build larry/openldap -nF > »[✘]»[larry/openldap]» fatal: build-test.sh for image larry/openldap:20230704 failed with exit signal: 1 > > > > Note: The arguments are short hand for `--no-deps` and `--force-full-image-build`, omitting `-n` would also rebuild all parent images, which is waste of time in this case. > > The build will fail, as expected, due to the `build-test.sh` script not being implemented. This is a good time to implement the `build-test.sh` script, which will be used to verify that the image is functional. > > > Note: `pipefail` will cause build-test.sh to fail on busybox-based images > > #!/usr/bin/env sh > > set -eo > > # Do some tests and exit with either 0 for healthy or 1 for unhealthy > # Check that the openldap bin launches and provides some expected output > /usr/lib/openldap/lloadd -VV 2>&1 | grep "OpenLDAP" || exit 1 > > exit 0 > > > Unfortunately this image is not suitable for a build-time docker health check via the `docker-healthcheck.sh` mechanism, so must be disabled in `larry/images/openldap/build.conf`: > > POST_BUILD_HC=false > > > A health check suitable for your environment should be provided using standard docker syntax in the image’s `Dockerfile.template` instead. Ensure that the provided `docker-healthcheck.sh` script iS updated (or commented out of the dockerfile) as the default will fail. > > Modify the image’s `Dockerfile.template` to add any finishing touches, such as the `ENTRYPOINT` or `CMD` directives. In this example the container will act as an LDAP proxy via `lloadd`; additional configuration will be provided at runtime by mounting the configuration into the container. > > FROM ${IMAGE_PARENT} > LABEL maintainer="${MAINTAINER}" > > ADD rootfs.tar / > > COPY docker-healthcheck.sh /usr/bin/docker-healthcheck > HEALTHCHECK --interval=60s --timeout=5s --start-period=5s --retries=3 CMD ["docker-healthcheck"] > > CMD ["/usr/lib/openldap/lloadd"] > > > Re-run the build: > > $ kubler build larry/openldap -nF > »[✔]»[larry/openldap]» done. > > > At this point the image should exist in the local Docker/Podman registry and be ready for use: > > docker images > REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE > larry/openldap 20230704 09347c55282b 2 minutes ago 56.4MB > larry/openldap latest 09347c55282b 2 minutes ago 56.4MB > > > Hopefully this has been useful and you are now ready to build your own images! I’ve been incredibly impressed with how easy it is to use the tool (and it it’ll run from any distro with a recent version of Docker/Podman), and the quality of the resulting images. I’m a recent convert, but have updated the Gentoo Wiki with the above information (and some extra info on using it for ebuild development) and will be using Kubler in future wherever I need to create images. > > Happy containering!

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    Make hardened, lightweight container images with Kubler

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.srcfiles.zip/post/3841

    > ## What is Kubler? > > Kubler is a generic, extendable build orchestrator, written in Bash. It can be used to take advantage of Portage's features to build lightweight Docker or Podman images without needing to mess with crossdev, or as a tool to assist with ebuild development. > > ## Why should you use it? > > - You like lightweight, easy-to-create, containers > - You want to reduce the attack surface by including only what's required > - You want to take advantage of USE flags to manage package features > - You want the awesome package library offered by the Gentoo ebuild repository (and other ebuild repos) > - You want up-to-date containers > - You want a containerised environment for building and testing ebuilds > > ## A real-world example > > I recently needed to integrate a containerised application with a vendor-managed openldap instance that uses mTLS authentication. Unfortunately the containerised application does not work with mTLS and the vendor managed openldap instance can't be easily configured to use anything else. > > I came up with the solution of using openldap's lloadd LDAP load balancer daemon to proxy connections from an encrypted internal network to the LDAP server but was left with the issue that I didn't have a working openldap container that contained lloadd - of the existing containers that I tried the only one that actually had an lloadd bin didn't actually include required dependencies! > > Glossing over a recent ebuild update to openldap to enable the building of lloadd, enter Kubler - It's turned out to be an incredibly flexible and hands-off tool compared to trying to accomplish the same thing with (e.g.) Dockerfiles. > > ### Kubler in action > > This (lightly sanitised) real-world example creates create a new namespace called 'larry' which may contain multiple images. > > Use the new command to take care of the boilerplate; choose 'multi' when asked for the namespace type:> > ```bash > $ kubler new namespace larry > »»» > »»» <enter> to accept default value > »»» > »»» Working dir type? Choices: > »»» single - You can't add further namespaces to the created working dir, it only holds images > »»» multi - Creates a working dir that can hold multiple namespaces > »[?]» Type (single): multi > »»» > »»» Top level directory name for new namespace 'larry'? The directory is created at /data/development/gentoo-containers/ > »[?]» Namespaces Dir (kubler-images): > »»» > »»»»» Initial image tag, a.k.a. version? > »[?]» Image Tag (20230706): > »»» > »[!]» New namespace location: /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > »»» > »»»»» Who maintains the new namespace? > »[?]» Name (Your Name): Larry the Cow > »[?]» EMail (your@mail.org): Larry.the.Cow@gentoo.zip > »»» > »»»»» Default build engine? > »[?]» Engine (docker): > »»» > »[✔]» Successfully created "larry" namespace at /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images > »»» > »[!]» Configuration file: /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry/kubler.conf > »»» > »[!]» To manage the new namespace with GIT you may want to run: > »»» > »»» $ git init /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > »»» > »[!]» To create images in the new namespace run: > »»» > »»» $ cd /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > $ kubler new image larry/<image_name> > ``` > > Although not strictly required, installing Kubler's example images is a good idea. > > ```bash > $ cd larry/ > $ kubler update > ``` > > It is worthwhile to begin tracking this new namespace with Git so that images can be tracked as they are created and updated. Kubler has already placed a prepopulated a.gitignorefile for convenience. > > ```bash > pushd /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry > git init . > git add . > git commit -m "Initial commit" > popd > ``` > Create the new 'openldap' within the existing 'larry' namespace, based on the 'kubler/busybox' image. > > ```bash > kubler new image larry/openldap > »»» > »»» <enter> to accept default value > »»» > »»» Extend an existing Kubler managed image? Fully qualified image id (i.e. kubler/busybox) or scratch > »[?]» Parent Image (scratch): kubler/busybox > »»» > »»» Add test template(s)? Possible choices: > »»» hc - Add a stub for Docker's HEALTH-CHECK, recommended for images that run daemons > »»» bt - Add a stub for a custom build-test.sh script, a good choice if HEALTH-CHECK is not suitable > »»» yes - Add stubs for both test types > »»» no - Fck it, we'll do it live! > »[?]» Tests (hc): yes > »»» > »[✔]» Successfully created new image at /data/development/gentoo-containers/kubler-images/larry/images/openldap > »»» > ``` > > >**Note**: This step is ''not'' required; it is possible to directly edit thebuild.shfile if you are familiar with Portage. > > Kubler brings a unique feature to the table when constructing an container image: the--interactivebuild argument. As the name implies, this launches the build container in an interactive manner, enabling users to investigate the current / inherited configuration. > > ```bash > $ kubler build larry/openldap -i > ``` > > This will build any missing parent images/builders; the first run may take quite a bit of time - once the local binary package cache and build containers are seeded future runs will be much faster. Once the prerequisite images are ready the build container will present a shell. > > For first-time users it may be convenient to search for the openldap package to ensure that the correct atom is selected and investigate any USE flags that are of interest: > > ```bash > # eix openldap|output=<pre> > * net-nds/openldap > Available versions: 2.4.59-r2^t 2.5.14(0/2.5)^t 2.6.3-r7(0/2.6)^t ~2.6.4-r1(0/2.6)^t ~2.6.4-r2(0/2.6)^t {argon2 autoca +berkdb +cleartext crypt cxx debug experimental gnutls iodbc ipv6 kerberos kinit minimal odbc overlays pbkdf2 perl samba sasl selinux sha2 smbkrb5passwd ssl static-libs +syslog systemd tcpd test ABI_MIPS="n32 n64 o32" ABI_S390="32 64" ABI_X86="32 64 x32"} > Homepage: https://www.openldap.org/ > Description: LDAP suite of application and development tools > ``` > > Edit the image's build script: > > ```bash > nano /config/build.sh > ``` > > >**Note**: The/configdirectory in the build container is the host mounted image directory atlarry/images/openldap/. Feel free to use a local IDE/editor to edit build.shinstead. > > Add thenet-nds/openldapandnet-misc/curlpackages to the_packagesvariable inbuild.sh, update cURL USE flags, enable the ~arch` (~amd64 - the Gentoo 'testing' keyword) for packages we care about: > > bash > _packages="net-nds/openldap net-misc/curl" > ... > configure_rootfs_build() > { > # Update a Gentoo package use flag. > update_use 'net-misc/curl' '+ldap' > # ..or a Gentoo package keyword > update_keywords 'net-misc/curl' '+~amd64' > update_keywords 'net-nds/openldap' '+~amd64' > ... > } > > > >Note: If using the busybox image as a parent, unset the `su` USE flag from `sys-apps/util-linux` in the `build.sh`. > > Perform a test run of the first build phase: > > bash > $ kubler-build-root > > > Once this completes successfully exit the interactive builder using `exit`. > > #### Building the image > > Assuming that `build.sh` has been configured as described above, it should be safe to attempt to build the image. > > bash > $ kubler build larry/openldap -nF > »[✘]»[larry/openldap]» fatal: build-test.sh for image larry/openldap:20230704 failed with exit signal: 1 > > > >Note: The arguments are short hand for `--no-deps` and `--force-full-image-build`, omitting `-n` would also rebuild all parent images, which is waste of time in this case. > > The build will fail, as expected, due to the `build-test.sh` script not being implemented. This is a good time to implement the `build-test.sh` script, which will be used to verify that the image is functional. > > >Note: `pipefail` will cause build-test.sh to fail on busybox-based images > > bash > #!/usr/bin/env sh > > set -eo > > # Do some tests and exit with either 0 for healthy or 1 for unhealthy > # Check that the openldap bin launches and provides some expected output > /usr/lib/openldap/lloadd -VV 2>&1 | grep "OpenLDAP" || exit 1 > > exit 0 > > > Unfortunately this image is not suitable for a build-time docker health check via the `docker-healthcheck.sh` mechanism, so must be disabled in `larry/images/openldap/build.conf`: > > bash > POST_BUILD_HC=false > > > A health check suitable for your environment should be provided using standard docker syntax in the image's `Dockerfile.template` instead. Ensure that the provided `docker-healthcheck.sh` script iS updated (or commented out of the dockerfile) as the default will fail. > > Modify the image's `Dockerfile.template` to add any finishing touches, such as the `ENTRYPOINT` or `CMD` directives. In this example the container will act as an LDAP proxy via `lloadd`; additional configuration will be provided at runtime by mounting the configuration into the container. > > Dockerfile > FROM ${IMAGE_PARENT} > LABEL maintainer="${MAINTAINER}" > > ADD rootfs.tar / > > COPY docker-healthcheck.sh /usr/bin/docker-healthcheck > HEALTHCHECK --interval=60s --timeout=5s --start-period=5s --retries=3 CMD ["docker-healthcheck"] > > CMD ["/usr/lib/openldap/lloadd"] > > > Re-run the build: > > bash > $ kubler build larry/openldap -nF > »[✔]»[larry/openldap]» done. > > > At this point the image should exist in the local Docker/Podman registry and be ready for use: > > bash > docker images > REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE > larry/openldap 20230704 09347c55282b 2 minutes ago 56.4MB > larry/openldap latest 09347c55282b 2 minutes ago 56.4MB > > > Hopefully this has been useful and you are now ready to build your own images! I've been incredibly impressed with how easy it is to use the tool (and it it'll run from any distro with a recent version of Docker/Podman), and the quality of the resulting images. I'm a recent convert, but have updated the Gentoo Wiki with the above information (and some extra info on using it for ebuild development) and will be using Kubler in future wherever I need to create images. > > Happy containering!

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    Hello from across the fediverse!

    A neofetch screenshot from the machine I just unpacked and am finally ready to do actual work on. I swear I have a 6.4 kernel pending a reboot!

    0
    InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)KA
    Kangie @lemmy.srcfiles.zip
    Posts 4
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