Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[sc0ttman]

Initrd.gz Editor
a single shell script that can be used to edit contents of initrd.gz

Now supports all initrd.gz files, from all puppies

It will auto-install itself to /usr/bin if not found to be installed already.
Comment out line 150 (self_install) to disable this.

Requires X desktop, Gtkdialog, Xdialog
Save to a shell script. Make it executable. Run it.

If you pass the initrd.gz path, through the command line, no GUI is loaded, just your file manager.

You can also pass the desired save directory as the second argument.

Screenshots below, but here's the code:

[ICPUG]

Confused by the screenshot.

Does this allow editing the init script or editing of any file that exists within initrd.gz?

[nooby]

ICPUG I know too little but maybe this part indicate what it can and not can do?

# setup vars to be used
SCRIPT_PATH="$0"
SCRIPT_NAME=`basename $0`
# apps to use, first listed is least preferable
FILEMAN="`which asm`"
FILEMAN="`which mc`"
FILEMAN="`which nautilus`"
FILEMAN="`which pcmanfm`"
FILEMAN="`which thunar`"
FILEMAN="`which rox`"
# use latest gtkdialog
GTKDIALOG=`which gtkdialog`
GTKDIALOG=`which gtkdialog2`
GTKDIALOG=`which gtkdialog3`
# setup dirs
WORKDIR="/tmp/initrd-editor"
SAVEDIR="$HOME/Downloads"

It can use these then so if one look what they can do would that answer your question?

But my gut feeling is supporting your take on it that this "rebuilder" takes apart an initrd so you can rebuild it but maybe don't do anything inside the files that the initrd is made out of???

But maybe allow that one exchange one such file for another that one edit outside of this program? Sorry I only guess but I find these things interesting if they would help me get to boot a linux that insist to look for a file at the CD or USB when I have these files on the HDD instead.

So if this prog allow me to change such that would be cool

[sc0ttman]

[nooby]

So would this allow me to edit ArchBang and Kanotix and a lot of other distros that stubbornly only look for files on the CD/DVD and by changing what they look for make them look for these files on internal HDD instead?

[sc0ttman]

I should say as a note, I built this with a plan to integrate into Woofy ...and I would still really appreciate someone talking a look at lines 77-80, and find out why the 'kill $XPID' command does not work....

[nooby]

Does this help? The only similar codes I managed to find on the internet using google.

# Start new X
X :1 -layout SCLayout -ac &
XPID=$!
sleep 2

# Do Volume Key Control mapping if set up
if [ -f $HOME/.scbind ]; then
xbindkeys --display :1 -f $HOME/.scbind
fi

# Start Pulse Audio & Starcraft in new X
DISPLAY=:1 ck-launch-session wine $HOME/.wine/drive_c/Starcraft/StarCraft.exe -- /usr/bin/X :1 -layout SCLayout

# Cleanup
sleep 1
kill $XPID

As you see above he has first declared??? that

# Start new X
X :1 -layout SCLayout -ac &
XPID=$!
sleep 2

then in the end he does the kill thing

# Cleanup
sleep 1
kill $XPID

So my humble suggestion is that you need to look through if XPID ever was declared somewhere first or else it maybe don't know what you want it to do?

Sorry I know nothing but wanted to "help" your brain going on it.
If you are several layers higher or deeper already then I apology.

Never mind me using the term declare that could be misleading. Assign or set or establish or give or whatever word that is proper there.

[seaside]

[sc0ttman]

But I have this above it:

[Dougal]

Your edit_init() is a complete mess:
- $! gives you the PID of the last backgrounded (by the shell) process -- the line above it does not end with "&"...
- With Rox it will be a problem anyway, as Rox defaults to running all instances as the same process... you could try using "rox -n", but killing is ugly and a shame to use when you have "rox -D" for closing windows
- You also include "rox -D", which breaks the whole FILEMAN abstraction...

What you could do is replace the Barry-style kludge of FILEMAN="`which bla`" repetition with a if-elif list thus:

[sc0ttman]

cheers for the info, much appreciated, its kind of adapted for my pc at the moment, i'll apply your suggestions, and I think my eyes are going - I thought I had that ampersand there already! But cheers for the info!

[Karl Godt]

"!$" is used to use part of the last command, like
# echo "A"
A
# echo !$
echo "A"
A
#

The process-id could be determined with "$$" for the script itself or `pidof $PROGRAM`

but

# if [ -z "$ABC" ] ; then
geany -i &
XPID=$!
echo $XPID
ps axc | grep geany
pidof geany
fi

should work , too ... so there might be something like kill -9 $XPID , kill -14 ... kill -15 ... necessary ... There are over 30 kill -s SIGNAL , of which I only have "kill -s HUP `pidof pppd`" experience with .

On the other hand there might be the chance killing rox would kill the whole "rox -p $HOME/Choices/ROX-Filer/PuppyPin" ... and killing should be after "X"-ing the rox-window-frame-button , am I right ?

In that case perhaps
if [ "$FILEMAN" != "rox" ] ; then
$FILEMAN "$WORKDIR" 2>/tmp/fileman.errs
XPID=$!
Xdialog --title "Initrd Editor" --msgbox "$LOC_GUI_EDIT_DIALOG" 0 0
kill $XPID
else
rox -n "$WORKDIR" 2>/tmp/rox.errs
Xdialog --title "Initrd Editor" --msgbox "$LOC_GUI_EDIT_DIALOG" 0 0
rox -D "$WORKDIR"
fi

note : "rox -n" for new instance .... like dougal suggests [ rox -h ]

or

$FILEMAN $WORKDIR
XPID=$!
XPIDrox=`ps | grep -i 'rox' | grep -w "$WORKDIR"`
###[ -n "$XPIDrox" ] && XPID=$XPIDrox###
Xdialog --title "Initrd Editor" --msgbox "$LOC_GUI_EDIT_DIALOG" 0 0
[ -z "$XPIDrox" ] && kill -9 $XPID
[ -n "$XPIDrox" ] && rox -D "$WORKDIR"

[seaside]

I'm a fan of placing tools for single files on right-click menus and usually looking to only edit the "init" file.

[sc0ttman]

looks nice seaside... I do actually plan to release initrd-editor with the latest Woofy, which I will upgrade at some point. I will use the right click option though, it's a good idea... Although presumably, the right click option would appear for all .gz (or cpio) files, not only initrd.gz, right?

Also, thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will add them in and update the main post when I get time... I know parts of the script are weak, I posted it here after the first write and test, before I darted to work...

I may or may not include some of goingnuts work, to detect if X is running, and if not, to run only CLI tools for $FILEMAN and such... Although as this is merely a part of Woofy, that is out of the scope of the requirements.

Of course, another way around my lil problem, which is obviously quite easy to fix, would be to negate it entirely - by opening up the init script directly in geany..

I did think about this, although I do not know if there is anything else worth editing in there... If not I would be happy to load up only the init script... So....

Is there anything else in the initrd.gz file, apart from the init script, that is worth editing?

[seaside]