Install an OS automatically in a predefined manner.

[tjpark88]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
To install an OS interacting with a GUI is good enough for a user who manages only one or two desktops.
However, it is a time consuming job interacting with a GUI for a manager who installs the same OS with the same options.

Describe the solution you'd like
I suggest that calamares as an one-click installer that installs without any user interactions using predefined configurations.
Predefined options may be described by existing conf files like /etc/calamares/settings.conf and /etc/calamares/modules/.conf in calamares-settings-debian.

My rough design is as follows.

• Create new job modules from existing view modules (welcome, locale, keyboard, partition, users) which have interactive GUIs.
• Remove the first phase of "-show:" in "sequence:" in the /etc/calamares/settings.conf.
• Add job modules that we made in "-exec:".

Describe alternatives you've considered
Creating new job modules would be a kind of time consuming job, hence this could be an option:
If the next button in the step is enabled, call ViewManager::next() to progress the next step automatically.
This can be done by adding a line connect( step, &ViewStep::nextStatusChanged, this, &ViewManager::next() of ViewManager::insertViewStep and changing a ViewManager to cope with a status of a next button.
But with this design, ViewManager which is core part of calamares should be changed.

Additional context
No additional comments.

[adriaandegroot]

See #1655 #1362 (both open) and #466 (closed) for some previous thoughts on the topic. There might have been an issue filed for kickstart-like support, but I can't find it.

Basically, if you can load a job's configuration -- the whole configuration, e.g. also what it would do from user interaction -- then you can run the jobs in the exec phase and you could do something along the lines of showing just "welcome" and "summary", followed by the installation -- two-click installs.

[tjpark88]

Thank you for your advice.

I got a inspiration from #1655.
I read #1362, I guess it is a human error that -locale is not included in "-show:" and only included in "-exec".
And for #466, link of CAL-358: Support automating the installation with kickstart files does not work (404 NOT FOUND).

As a test, I created a job module "predefined-users" from a view module "users".
And it works!

If I raise the issue, should I PR commits? or can someone solve this problem?

[dalto8]

I don't think we should create new modules. Ideally, we should automate the existing modules so we only have to maintain a single code base.

[tjpark88]

I don't think we should create new modules. Ideally, we should automate the existing modules so we only have to maintain a single code base.

That is a good point that I didn't think about.
I agree. Then, I'd rather proceed with the alternative.

[bydymtydym]

Guys, did I understand correctly that now there is no way to install the OS fully unattended using Calamares?
Now I am making a pxe-server for myself, with the help of which I want to install various distributions used in our company (windows, rhel, debian, etc.)
And so I got to Mandjaro, which uses Calamares, and I see that the Partition module at the Exec stage does not start automatic disk partitioning based on patrition.conf, it waits until the operator presses the Next button.
Or did I understand something wrong? I was going to open a ticket on this topic, but I saw this discussion of yours.