Files
flatpak/doc/flatpak-create-usb.xml
Matthew Leeds bd04b09f9b create-usb: Include partial commits
Commits 32194f2d2 and b8d2196c2 made create-usb detect partially
installed commits and omit them except when --allow-partial is specified
(and in the case of extensions of related refs omit them
unconditionally). The reasoning was that if on the other computer using
the USB for an installation you need a different subpath of a commit
(such as a different language of a locale extension), the installation
will fail. But in most real world cases the users on both ends will
speak the same language so it will not often be an issue.  Also, if you
are offline and have only your own language's subpaths for your locale
extensions, it makes sense to put them on the USB because you have no
way to get the full locale extension and the receiver probably wants the
same subpath as you.

The way "flatpak create-usb" is most often used in Endless is via
gnome-software which calls it under the hood. So while we could have it
pass --allow-partial that would not accomplish much; it doesn't solve
the problems above.

For the online case we may want to attempt to download the full locale
extensions before copying to the USB, but that is for a later commit.

Fixes https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/3491
2020-06-15 10:08:34 +02:00

215 lines
8.7 KiB
XML

<?xml version='1.0'?> <!--*-nxml-*-->
<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
<refentry id="flatpak-create-usb">
<refentryinfo>
<title>flatpak create-usb</title>
<productname>flatpak</productname>
<authorgroup>
<author>
<contrib>Developer</contrib>
<firstname>Matthew</firstname>
<surname>Leeds</surname>
<email>matthew.leeds@endlessm.com</email>
</author>
</authorgroup>
</refentryinfo>
<refmeta>
<refentrytitle>flatpak create-usb</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv>
<refname>flatpak-create-usb</refname>
<refpurpose>Copy apps and/or runtimes onto removable media.</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
<refsynopsisdiv>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>flatpak create-usb</command>
<arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTION</arg>
<arg choice="plain">MOUNT-PATH</arg>
<arg choice="plain" rep="repeat">REF</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>
<refsect1>
<title>Description</title>
<para>
Copies the specified apps and/or runtimes <arg choice="plain">REF</arg>s onto the removable
media mounted at <arg choice="plain">MOUNT-PATH</arg>, along with all the dependencies and
metadata needed for installing them. This is one way of transferring flatpaks
between computers that doesn't require an Internet connection. After using
this command, the USB drive can be connected to another computer and
<command>flatpak install</command> will prefer to install from it rather than
the Internet if (a) each ref comes from a configured remote whose GPG keyring will be
used for verification and (b) the refs on the drive are at least as new as what's
available elsewhere (e.g. the Internet if you're online). For this process to work a
collection ID must be configured on the relevant remotes on both the source and
destination computers, and on the remote server.
</para>
<para>
On the destination computer one can install from the USB (or any mounted filesystem) the
same way you would install from the Internet, e.g. with
<command>flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Builder</command> or using a GUI.
</para>
<para>
Each <arg choice="plain">REF</arg> argument is a full or partial identifier in the
flatpak ref format, which looks like "(app|runtime)/ID/ARCH/BRANCH". All elements
except ID are optional and can be left out, including the slashes,
so most of the time you need only specify ID. Any part left out will be matched
against what is installed, and if there are multiple matches an error message
will list the alternatives.
</para>
<para>
By default this looks for both installed apps and runtimes
with the given <arg choice="plain">REF</arg>, but you can
limit this by using the <option>--app</option> or <option>--runtime</option> option.
</para>
<para>
All <arg choice="plain">REF</arg>s must be in the same installation (user, system, or other).
Otherwise it's ambiguous which repository metadata refs to put on the USB drive.
</para>
<para>
By default <command>flatpak create-usb</command> uses <filename>.ostree/repo</filename>
as the destination directory under <arg choice="plain">MOUNT-PATH</arg> but if you
specify another location using <option>--destination-repo</option>
a symbolic link will be created for you in <filename>.ostree/repos.d</filename>.
This ensures that either way the repository will be found by flatpak (and other
consumers of libostree) for install/update operations.
</para>
<para>
Unless overridden with the <option>--system</option>, <option>--user</option>, or <option>--installation</option>
options, this command searches both the system-wide installation
and the per-user one for <arg choice="plain">REF</arg> and errors
out if it exists in more than one.
</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>Options</title>
<para>The following options are understood:</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-h</option></term>
<term><option>--help</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Show help options and exit.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--user</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Copy refs from the per-user installation.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--system</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Copy refs from the default system-wide installation.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--installation=NAME</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Copy refs from a system-wide installation specified by
<arg choice="plain">NAME</arg> among those defined in
<filename>/etc/flatpak/installations.d/</filename>. Using
<option>--installation=default</option> is
equivalent to using <option>--system</option>.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--app</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Assume that all <arg choice="plain">REF</arg>s are apps if not explicitly specified.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--runtime</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Assume that all <arg choice="plain">REF</arg>s are runtimes if not explicitly specified.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--destination-repo</option>=DEST</term>
<listitem><para>
Create the repository in <arg choice="plain">DEST</arg> under <arg choice="plain">MOUNT-PATH</arg>, rather than
the default location.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--allow-partial</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Don't print a warning when exporting partially installed commits, for example locale extensions without all
languages. These can cause problems when installing them, for example if the language config is different
on the installing side.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-v</option></term>
<term><option>--verbose</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Print debug information during command processing.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--ostree-verbose</option></term>
<listitem><para>
Print OSTree debug information during command processing.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>Examples</title>
<para>
<command>$ flatpak create-usb /run/media/mwleeds/1a9b4cb2-a7ef-4d9b-91a5-6eaf8fdd2bf6/ com.endlessm.wiki_art.en</command>
</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>See also</title>
<para>
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>flatpak</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>flatpak remote-modify</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>flatpak-install</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>flatpak-list</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
<citerefentry><refentrytitle>ostree-create-usb</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
</para>
</refsect1>
</refentry>