Base system¶

The prepare and base runes are not optional features - every full cast runs them first. They are configured through the host's system data (SystemMold), not through features.

prepare¶

Bootstraps a minimal image so the rest of the cast can rely on sudo:

• When connected as root, refreshes the package index and installs sudo and locales.

Fresh images without sudo: use --with-prepare.

base¶

Deploys the system baseline, in order:

1. IPv6 stack - when ensure_ipv6 is set and GRUB carries ipv6.disable=..., strips it and regenerates the GRUB config (Debian update-grub or RHEL grub2-mkconfig).
2. Hostname - sets the hostname, writes it to /etc/hosts with the host's primary IP, and pins preserve_hostname: true in cloud-init so reboots keep it.
3. Packages - refreshes and upgrades, then installs packages_base (names are mapped per distro).
4. curl - installs a pinned static curl to /usr/local/bin (removing the distro package on Debian, symlinking the CA bundle path on RHEL); falls back to the repo package when no static build fits the architecture.
5. doggo - a pinned DNS client for debugging resolvers.
6. Locales - resolves each requested locale against what the target can generate, enables it in /etc/locale.gen, and runs locale-gen when needed.
7. Timezone and NTP - systemd-timesyncd on Debian/Ubuntu, chrony (with a forced initial sync) on RHEL.
8. Swap - see below.

Configuration (system)¶

hostname is validated as a proper FQDN (labels, length, charset) at plan time.

Swap (system.swap)¶

The two types are mutually exclusive - enabling one dismantles the other, so switching types in the inventory converges cleanly.

Example¶

from nullforge.molds.defaults import BASE_SYSTEM
from nullforge.molds.utils import merge_system

system = merge_system(
    BASE_SYSTEM,
    {
        "hostname": "node1.example.com",
        "timezone": "Europe/Amsterdam",
        "swap": {"enabled": True, "size": "50%"},
    },
)