Installation

Obtaining the Ghaf Installer

Ghaf installer ISO images can be downloaded or built locally as described below.

Currently, only x86_64-linux systems are supported.

To build, for example, the Ghaf installer for Intel laptops (debug variant), run:

nix build .#intel-laptop-debug-installer

Making the Installation Media

Plug in a USB stick or external drive large enough to hold the image (16 GB recommended), then follow the instructions for your platform.

From Linux

Identify the device with lsblk or fdisk -l. Use the device name (e.g. sdb) in place of sdX in the steps below.
Unmount all partitions on the device:
Terminal window
```
sudo umount /dev/sdX*
```
Write the image to the drive, replacing path_to_ghaf.iso with the actual path:
Terminal window
```
sudo dd if=path_to_ghaf.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=32M status=progress; sync
```

From macOS

Identify the device with diskutil list. Use the device name (e.g. disk1) in place of diskX in the steps below.
Unmount all partitions on the device:
Terminal window
```
diskutil unmountDisk diskX
```
Write the image to the drive, replacing path_to_ghaf.iso with the actual path:
Terminal window
```
sudo dd if=path_to_ghaf.iso of=/dev/diskX
```
Eject the disk once complete:
Terminal window
```
diskutil eject /dev/diskX
```

From Windows

Download and open USBwriter.
Set the Ghaf ISO as Source.
Set the USB drive as Target.
Click Write.
When finished, safely eject the USB drive.

Booting the Installation Media

Insert the installation media into the target device and boot from it. The interactive installer starts automatically and guides you through the process.

The installer supports the following actions:

Install Ghaf — write the image to a target device, with optional full-disk encryption and Secure Boot enrollment.
Wipe disk only — erase a target device without installing.
Shutdown / Reboot — power options available from the main menu.

If the installer does not start automatically, launch it manually:

sudo ghaf-installer-tui

A non-interactive installer is also available for scripted use:

sudo ghaf-installer