Install Option 1: Installation via Dedicated Machine

Install Ubuntu 22.04LTS

Download the latest 64-bit Ubuntu 22.04 desktop image from https://releases.ubuntu.com/22.04/.

If you are installing Ubuntu 22.04LTS as the host operating system on a dedicated machine, you will need to write the downloaded ISO image to a bootable USB drive. Instructions for doing this on various platforms can be found at https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu. During installation, you may (optionally) replicate the default user and machine name for BitCurator: when prompted use BitCurator for Your name, bitcurator for Your computer’s name, and bcadmin for Pick a username. Enter a strong password of your choice. When the installation is complete, reboot, log in, and follow the instructions in section Install BitCurator in Ubuntu 22.04LTS.

Install BitCurator in Ubuntu 22.04LTS

1. Prepare your environment

To ensure you have all of the tools, and updates necessary for the BitCurator environment to succeed, you should update the local apt repository and install the necessary tools. Open a terminal and use the following commands:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y sudo apt-get install gnupg curl git -y

gnupg is required for the BitCurator installer to validate the signature of the BitCurrator configuration files during install. curl can be used when developing or testing state files. git is used to clone local GitHub repos, and can be used when testing state files from the BitCurator SaltStack Repo.

2. Download the BitCurator CLI installer

BitCurator uses a standalone command-line tool for installation and upgrade. First, open a terminal and download the latest release of the tool with the following command:

wget https://github.com/BitCurator/bitcurator-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/bitcurator-cli-linux

Verify that the SHA-256 has of the downloaded file matches the value below:

5acab7abcafa24864d49e4872f8e2b562c16bf4842256ad3f994aae8d0df77c1

You can generate the hash of your downloaded file with:

sha256sum bitcurator-cli-linux

Next, adjust some permissions and move the BitCurator installer to the correct location:

sudo mv bitcurator-cli-linux /usr/local/bin/bitcurator sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/bitcurator

3. Run the BitCurator CLI Installer

Simple install: Run the BitCurator installer. This may up to an hour to complete, depending on your system and network speeds:

sudo bitcurator install

The command will install BitCurator for the user that is currently logged in. For other installation options, read the section below.

Optional install modes:

The BitCurator installer provides several additional installation modes. To see the options provided by the command, run the following:

bitcurator --help

You will be presented with the usage information:

Usage: bitcurator [options] list-upgrades [--pre-release] bitcurator [options] install [--pre-release] [--version=<version>] [--mode=<mode>] [--user=<user>] bitcurator [options] update bitcurator [options] upgrade [--pre-release] [--mode=<mode>] [--user=<user>] bitcurator [options] version bitcurator [options] debug bitcurator -h | --help | -v Options: --dev Developer Mode (do not use, dangerous, bypasses checks) --version=<version> Specific version install [default: latest] --mode=<mode> bitcurator installation mode (dedicated or addon, default: dedicated) --user=<user> User used for bitcurator configuration [default: bcadmin] --no-cache Ignore the cache, always download the release files --verbose Display verbose logging

If you wish to install BitCurator for a different user, you may use the following command:

sudo bitcurator install --user=<user>

Where <user> is a username other than the one you are currently logged in as.

If you wish to install BitCurator in addon mode (installing the tools, but leaving the default Ubuntu theme intact), use the following command:

sudo bitcurator install --addon

3.1 What to do if something goes wrong

If you encounter an error, you may be able to identify the issue by reviewing the saltstack.log file under /var/cache/bitcurator/cli in the subdirectory that matches the BitCurator state-files version you're installing. Search for the log file for “result: false” messages and look at the surrounding 5 lines or the 8 lines above each message to see the state file that caused the issue. You can do this with:

grep -i -C 5 'result: false' or grep -i -B 8 'result: false'

4. Reboot

When the installation is complete, reboot your system from the terminal:

sudo reboot

After the reboot, you will be automatically logged in if you selected “Automatic Login” during the Ubuntu install. Otherwise, you can log in to BitCurator with the username and password used during the install. To change this behavior:

  1. Open the Activities overview and start typing Users.
  2. Click Users to open the panel.
  3. Select the user account that you want to set the log in behavior for at startup.
  4. Press Unlock in the top right corner and type in your password when prompted.
  5. Switch the Automatic Login switch to on or off, depending on the desired behavior.