iSH FS Tools

Provides a more complete Linux-like CLI environment on iSH by:

• Adding iSH-specific utilities to /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/sbin
• Supplying a custom /etc/inittab and application launcher to address iSH quirks
• Allowing extensive user configuration (e.g., which apps to install)
• Supporting deployment via Ansible

Preparation

iSH Node Setup

This step is required only if deploying directly to the iSH device via Ansible. If you prepare the filesystem in a chroot environment, you can deploy that filesystem directly.

Installing a Minirootfs on iSH

1. Download a recent Alpine minirootfs image, for example:

   https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.22/releases/x86/alpine-minirootfs-3.22.1-x86.tar.gz
   https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.19/releases/x86/alpine-minirootfs-3.19.9-x86.tar.gz

2. Transfer the image to the iOS device (via iCloud or similar if downloaded elsewhere).

3. In the iSH app, go to Settings → Filesystems → Import, select the minirootfs, then choose Boot From This Filesystem.

Configuring SSH Server on the New Filesystem

Follow instructions here: https://github.com/ish-app/ish/wiki/Running-an-SSH-server

Deploy Node Setup

Deploy initial configurations using templates:

cp conf_templates/inventory.ini .
mkdir vars
cp conf_templates/overrides.yml vars/

Configuration Files

• inventory.ini Required for both remote and chroot-based deployments. For remote deployment, add each iSH node under the [servers] section using the provided name and IP address templates. For chroot-based deployment, this file must be present but typically does not require modification.
• vars/overrides.yml Edit this file to customize deployment parameters.

Deployment

Remote Deployment via Deploy Host

Run the deployment script:

./handle_servers.sh

Old Chroot Deployment

./tools/reset-virt-fs.sh clear ansible && /opt/AOK/tools/do_chroot.sh /bin/login -f root

Then use up arrow:

• 1 for: time /root/ish-fstools/handle_localhost.sh
• 2 for: time /root/ish-fstools/my-ish-fs/handle_localhost.sh
• 3 for both

Chroot Deployment

Download and unpack the Alpine minirootfs:

wget https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.22/releases/x86/alpine-minirootfs-3.22.1-x86.tar.gz

mkdir chroot-FS
cd chroot-FS
tar xfz ../alpine-minirootfs-3.22.1-x86.tar.gz
cd ..

Copy this repository into the chroot environment:

cp -av ish-fstools chroot-FS/opt

Running Deployment Inside the Chroot

Execute:

/root/ish-fstools/handle_localhost.sh

Notes on mtr (My traceroute)

Recent versions of mtr (post 0.92) cannot resolve DNS names on iSH. This repository installs an older version (0.92-a from Alpine 3.10) that supports hostname resolution via /etc/hosts and IP addresses directly.

The common task definition order

This aligns with how task output is logged. Ansible prints the task name first, then whether it was skipped due to when. register and the others never appear in output unless something fails. So people naturally group when closer to the action, not with the result logic.

• name:
• module call:
• become:
• become_user:
• args:
• delegate_to:
• run_once:
• loop:
• until:
• retries:
• delay:
• delay_factor:
• when:
• register:
• changed_when:
• failed_when:

Debian

qemu-img create -f qcow2 debian10.qcow2 20G qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom ~/cloud/Dropbox/aok_images/debian10.iso -hda debian10.qcow2 -m 1024