ProxmoxVE/docs/misc/alpine-install.func/README.md

alpine-install.func Documentation

Overview

The alpine-install.func file provides Alpine Linux-specific installation and configuration functions for LXC containers. It complements the standard install.func with Alpine-specific operations using the apk package manager instead of apt.

Purpose and Use Cases

• Alpine Container Setup: Initialize Alpine Linux containers with proper configuration
• IPv6 Management: Enable or disable IPv6 in Alpine with persistent configuration
• Network Verification: Verify connectivity in Alpine environments
• SSH Configuration: Setup SSH daemon on Alpine
• Auto-Login Setup: Configure passwordless root login for Alpine containers
• Package Management: Safe apk operations with error handling

Quick Reference

Key Function Groups

• Initialization: setting_up_container() - Alpine setup message
• Network: verb_ip6(), network_check() - IPv6 and connectivity
• OS Configuration: update_os() - Alpine package updates
• SSH/MOTD: motd_ssh() - SSH and login message setup
• Container Customization: customize(), cleanup_lxc() - Final setup

Dependencies

• External: apk, curl, wget, ping
• Internal: Uses functions from core.func, error_handler.func

Integration Points

• Used by: Alpine-based install scripts (alpine.sh, alpine-ntfy.sh, etc.)
• Uses: Environment variables from build.func
• Provides: Alpine-specific installation and management services

Documentation Files

📊 ALPINE_INSTALL_FUNC_FLOWCHART.md

Visual execution flows showing Alpine container initialization and setup workflows.

📚 ALPINE_INSTALL_FUNC_FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md

Complete alphabetical reference of all functions with parameters and usage details.

💡 ALPINE_INSTALL_FUNC_USAGE_EXAMPLES.md

Practical examples showing how to use Alpine installation functions.

🔗 ALPINE_INSTALL_FUNC_INTEGRATION.md

How alpine-install.func integrates with standard install workflows.

Key Features

Alpine-Specific Functions

• apk Package Manager: Alpine package operations (instead of apt-get)
• OpenRC Support: Alpine uses OpenRC init instead of systemd
• Lightweight Setup: Minimal dependencies appropriate for Alpine
• IPv6 Configuration: Persistent IPv6 settings via /etc/network/interfaces

Network & Connectivity

• IPv6 Toggle: Enable/disable with persistent configuration
• Connectivity Check: Verify internet access in Alpine
• DNS Verification: Resolve domain names correctly
• Retry Logic: Automatic recovery from transient failures

SSH & Auto-Login

• SSH Daemon: Setup and start sshd on Alpine
• Root Keys: Configure root SSH access
• Auto-Login: Optional automatic login without password
• MOTD: Custom login message on Alpine

Function Categories

🔹 Core Functions

• setting_up_container() - Alpine container setup message
• update_os() - Update Alpine packages via apk
• verb_ip6() - Enable/disable IPv6 persistently
• network_check() - Verify network connectivity

🔹 SSH & Configuration Functions

• motd_ssh() - Configure SSH daemon on Alpine
• customize() - Apply Alpine-specific customizations
• cleanup_lxc() - Final cleanup

🔹 Service Management (OpenRC)

• rc-update - Enable/disable services for Alpine
• rc-service - Start/stop services on Alpine
• Service configuration files in /etc/init.d/

Differences from Debian Install

Feature	Debian (install.func)	Alpine (alpine-install.func)
Package Manager	apt-get	apk
Init System	systemd	OpenRC
SSH Service	systemctl	rc-service
Config Files	/etc/systemd/	/etc/init.d/
Network Config	/etc/network/ or Netplan	/etc/network/interfaces
IPv6 Setup	netplan files	/etc/network/interfaces
Auto-Login	getty override	/etc/inittab or shell config
Size	~200MB	~100MB

Execution Flow for Alpine

Alpine Container Started
    ↓
source $FUNCTIONS_FILE_PATH
    ↓
setting_up_container()           ← Alpine setup message
    ↓
update_os()                      ← apk update
    ↓
verb_ip6()                       ← IPv6 configuration (optional)
    ↓
network_check()                  ← Verify connectivity
    ↓
[Application-Specific Installation]
    ↓
motd_ssh()                       ← Configure SSH/MOTD
customize()                      ← Apply customizations
    ↓
cleanup_lxc()                    ← Final cleanup
    ↓
Alpine Installation Complete

Common Usage Patterns

Basic Alpine Setup

#!/usr/bin/env bash
source /dev/stdin <<<"$FUNCTIONS_FILE_PATH"
setting_up_container
update_os

# Install Alpine-specific packages
apk add --no-cache curl wget git

# ... application installation ...

motd_ssh
customize
cleanup_lxc

With IPv6 Enabled

#!/usr/bin/env bash
source /dev/stdin <<<"$FUNCTIONS_FILE_PATH"
setting_up_container
verb_ip6
update_os
network_check

# ... application installation ...

motd_ssh
customize
cleanup_lxc

Installing Services

#!/usr/bin/env bash
source /dev/stdin <<<"$FUNCTIONS_FILE_PATH"
setting_up_container
update_os

# Install via apk
apk add --no-cache nginx

# Enable and start service on Alpine
rc-update add nginx
rc-service nginx start

motd_ssh
customize
cleanup_lxc

Best Practices

✅ DO

• Use apk add --no-cache to reduce image size
• Enable IPv6 if application needs it (verb_ip6)
• Use rc-service for service management on Alpine
• Check /etc/network/interfaces for IPv6 persistence
• Test network connectivity before critical operations
• Use $STD for output suppression in production

❌ DON'T

• Use apt-get commands (Alpine doesn't have apt)
• Use systemctl (Alpine uses OpenRC, not systemd)
• Use service command (it may not exist on Alpine)
• Assume systemd exists on Alpine
• Forget to add --no-cache flag to apk add
• Hardcode paths from Debian (different on Alpine)

Alpine-Specific Considerations

Package Names

Some packages have different names on Alpine:

# Debian        → Alpine
# curl          → curl (same)
# wget          → wget (same)
# python3       → python3 (same)
# libpq5        → postgresql-client
# libmariadb3   → mariadb-client

Service Management

# Debian (systemd)      → Alpine (OpenRC)
systemctl start nginx   → rc-service nginx start
systemctl enable nginx  → rc-update add nginx
systemctl status nginx  → rc-service nginx status

Network Configuration

# Debian (Netplan)                → Alpine (/etc/network/interfaces)
/etc/netplan/01-*.yaml            → /etc/network/interfaces
netplan apply                      → Configure directly in interfaces

# Enable IPv6 persistently on Alpine:
# Add to /etc/network/interfaces:
# iface eth0 inet6 static
#     address <IPv6_ADDRESS>

Troubleshooting

"apk command not found"

• This is Alpine Linux, not Debian
• Install packages with apk add instead of apt-get install
• Example: apk add --no-cache curl wget

"IPv6 not persisting after reboot"

• IPv6 must be configured in /etc/network/interfaces
• The verb_ip6() function handles this automatically
• Verify: cat /etc/network/interfaces

"Service won't start on Alpine"

• Alpine uses OpenRC, not systemd
• Use rc-service nginx start instead of systemctl start nginx
• Enable service: rc-update add nginx
• Check logs: /var/log/ or rc-service nginx status

"Container too large"

• Alpine should be much smaller than Debian
• Verify using apk add --no-cache (removes package cache)
• Example: apk add --no-cache nginx (not apk add nginx)

Related Documentation

• alpine-tools.func/ - Alpine tool installation
• install.func/ - Standard installation functions
• core.func/ - Utility functions
• error_handler.func/ - Error handling
• UPDATED_APP-install.md - Application script guide

Recent Updates

Version 2.0 (Dec 2025)

• ✅ Enhanced IPv6 persistence configuration
• ✅ Improved OpenRC service management
• ✅ Better apk error handling
• ✅ Added Alpine-specific best practices documentation
• ✅ Streamlined SSH setup for Alpine

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Last Updated: December 2025 Maintainers: community-scripts team License: MIT