Running easyrsa from a symlink or PATH

[TinCanTech]

This issue is here to discuss how to simplify and resolve the problems related to:

• where easyrsa is located verses
• the current directory, where easyrsa was called.

When running easyrsa from the same directory as the location of the PKI, things generally work.

When easyrsa is not located in $PWD then things go wrong:

• $EASYRSA is evaluated to the script directory not the working directory.

While it is a very simple fix, #475 changes this behavior by explicitly setting $EASYRSA to $PWD.

This is a binary choice; Either easyrsa is in $PWD or it is not.

• If $0 points to $PWD then easyrsa is here. Normal functions resumed..
• Otherwise, it is somewhere else. Good luck..

This seems to be a far simpler choice than the if/elif/else maze to be found in vars_setup(). If otherwise then simple measures can be put in place for that specific situation.

Comments welcome.

[TinCanTech]

A special approach could be, to deliberately run easyrsa from within your chosen PKI.

Edit:

This could be the default mode of operation, for easyrsa, to expect to be inside the PKI folder. This would end the vars location war too.

Depending on what is to be expected in the PKI after init-pki, easyrsa can detect (or be configured via a command --flag) that it is inside the PKI and adjust folder names etc, accordingly.

Each PKI will have it's own vars and openssl-easyrsa.cnf file by default.

[TinCanTech]

Using Windows, easyrsa is always in the same place as openssl-easyrsa.cnf, unless the user has made specific changes, which easyrsa does not have to support.

Other OSs (*nix), if EasyRSA is installed via a package manager then easyrsa will not be in the same location as openssl-easyrsa.cnf (Also, X509-types).

In this case, easyrsa should not be hazarding guesses as to where to find data files, it should have pre-defined, expected locations and fail if these files are not found. (My personal opinion)

Also, easyrsa should check for these files existence during init-pki and, if found, then setup the files in the expected location. If not found then init-pki should fail, immediately.

[TinCanTech]

I am tempted to include all the data files as heredocs inside easyrsa. Extra 16.0 kB