kldload — your Linux construction kit

Build Your Own

Environment Variable Reference

Every aspect of the kldload build is controlled by environment variables. Set them in kldload.env (sourced automatically) or pass them on the command line. No variable is required — sensible defaults are used for everything.

# Source the env file, then build
source kldload.env && ./deploy.sh build

# Or override on the command line
PROFILE=server DISTRO=centos ./deploy.sh build

Build configuration

Variable	Default	Description
`PROFILE`	`desktop`	Build profile. `desktop` includes GNOME, Firefox, webui. `server` is minimal with SSH and ops tools.
`DISTRO`	`centos`	Target distro. `centos`, `debian`, `rhel`, `rocky`.
`ARCH`	`x86_64`	Target architecture.
`RELEASE`	`9`	Distro release version (e.g., 9 for CentOS Stream 9, RHEL 9).
`EDITION`	`free`	Build edition. Always `free`.
`OUTPUT_DIR`	`live-build/output`	Where the ISO is written.
`LOG_DIR`	`live-build/logs`	Where build logs are written.
`BUILDER_IMAGE`	`kldload-live-builder:latest`	Docker image used for the build container.

RHEL subscription (RHEL builds only)

Variable	Default	Description
`RHEL_ACTIVATION_KEY`	none	Red Hat activation key name. Required for RHEL builds. Used at build time only — never baked into the ISO.
`RHEL_ORG_ID`	none	Red Hat organization ID. Found at `console.redhat.com` under your account.

Installer defaults (target system)

Variable	Default	Description
`KLDLOAD_HOSTNAME`	`kldload-node`	Hostname for the installed system.
`KLDLOAD_USERNAME`	`admin`	Admin user created during install.
`KLDLOAD_PASSWORD`	prompted	Admin user password. Pre-filled to `kldload` in the webui for testing.
`KLDLOAD_ROOT_PASSWORD`	none	Root password. If unset, root login is disabled (sudo only).
`KLDLOAD_LOCALE`	`en_US.UTF-8`	System locale.
`KLDLOAD_TIMEZONE`	`UTC`	System timezone (e.g., `America/Vancouver`).
`KLDLOAD_KEYBOARD_LAYOUT`	`us`	Keyboard layout.
`KLDLOAD_PROFILE`	`server`	Install profile for the target system.
`KLDLOAD_STORAGE_MODE`	`zfs`	Storage mode. Always `zfs`.

ZFS & storage

Variable	Default	Description
`KLDLOAD_INSTALL_DISK`	auto-detected	Target disk for installation (e.g., `/dev/vda`). Auto-detected if only one disk.
`KLDLOAD_ENABLE_ZFS`	`1`	Enable ZFS on root. Always `1`.
`KLDLOAD_ENABLE_ENCRYPTION`	`0`	Enable ZFS native encryption (AES-256-GCM). Prompts for passphrase at boot.

Kernel modules

Variable	Default	Description
`KLDLOAD_ENABLE_WIREGUARD`	`1`	Include WireGuard kernel module and tools.
`KLDLOAD_NVIDIA_DRIVERS`	`0`	Include NVIDIA GPU drivers. Set to `1` to enable.
`KLDLOAD_ENABLE_EBPF`	`0`	Include eBPF tools (bpftool, bpftrace, bcc). Set to `1` to enable.

Networking

Variable	Default	Description
`KLDLOAD_MIRROR`	`https://mirror.it.ubc.ca/debian`	APT mirror for Debian builds. Auto-detects local darksite mirror if available.
`KLDLOAD_SUITE`	`trixie`	Debian suite (codename).
`KLDLOAD_KEEP_DARKSITE`	`0`	Keep darksite mirror config post-install (for air-gapped targets).
`KLDLOAD_CUSTOM_MIRROR_URL`	none	Custom APT mirror URL for air-gapped post-install updates.

Proxmox deployment

Variable	Default	Description
`PROXMOX_HOST`	none	Proxmox host IP or hostname.
`PROXMOX_NODE`	none	Proxmox node name.
`PROXMOX_TOKEN_ID`	none	Proxmox API token ID (e.g., `root@pam!mytoken`).
`PROXMOX_TOKEN_SECRET`	none	Proxmox API token secret.
`VMID`	`902`	VM ID for Proxmox deployment.
`VM_NAME`	`kldload-free`	VM name.
`VM_MEMORY`	`4096`	VM RAM in MB.
`VM_CORES`	`4`	VM CPU cores.
`VM_DISK_GB`	`40`	VM disk size in GB.
`VM_BRIDGE`	`vmbr0`	Proxmox network bridge.
`VM_SECURE_BOOT`	`no`	Enable UEFI Secure Boot on VM.
`VM_TPM`	`yes`	Enable TPM 2.0 on VM.

USB & physical deploy

Variable	Default	Description
`USB_DEVICE`	none	USB device to burn ISO to (e.g., `/dev/sdb`). Must be explicitly set.
`USB_BURN_ON_DEPLOY`	`no`	Auto-burn ISO to USB after build. Set to `yes` to enable.

Seed disk (unattended install)

Variable	Default	Description
`KLDLOAD_INSTALL_DISK`	auto	Target disk. Auto-detected if only one non-USB disk.
`KLDLOAD_HOSTNAME`	`kldload-node`	Hostname.
`KLDLOAD_USERNAME`	`admin`	Admin user.
`KLDLOAD_PASSWORD`	required	Admin password.
`KLDLOAD_STORAGE_MODE`	`zfs`	Storage mode.
`KLDLOAD_TIMEZONE`	`UTC`	Timezone.
`KLDLOAD_PROFILE`	`server`	Install profile.

kldload.env is gitignored. Credentials (RHEL keys, Proxmox tokens, API secrets) live in kldload.env which is excluded from git. Never committed. Never in the ISO. Build-time only.

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