Mkosi
Mkosi is a versatile Linux image builder designed for developers and system administrators. It can generate a variety of image formats, from raw disk images to plain directories, tarballs, cpio archives, and unified image formats used by modern boot environments. The project is actively maintained and ships with comprehensive documentation to tailor images for different distributions and deployment scenarios.
A core strength of Mkosi is its developer-friendly workflow. Teams can assemble a temporary development image that includes compilers, headers, and tooling, build their project inside the image, run tests, and then discard that image. A subsequent production-ready image is produced without development tools, containing only the final artifacts and any explicitly required packages. This approach keeps build environments clean and reproducible while delivering ready-to-deploy images.
The resulting image is minimal and self-contained, making it suitable for automated provisioning with tools like RAUC or OSTree. That makes Mkosi a strong fit for server fleets, embedded systems, or Internet of Things targets that demand repeatable, reproducible deployments across diverse hardware.
Getting started typically involves installing Mkosi (or its development variant, mkosi-git). The exact package available varies by distribution. Once installed, you can generate an image by running Mkosi in a project directory; options can be supplied on the command line or configured in files within that directory to customize the build.
In practice, you can aim to produce a bootable Debian-based image that includes selected packages such as a client utility or a text editor. Depending on the target image, some optional dependencies may be required to enable certain features or formats. Mkosi also supports using a configuration file to define the image’s contents and behavior, after which a single command can produce the final artifact.
Configuration and workflow are designed to be approachable: you can specify crucial settings either as command-line arguments or via a dedicated configuration file in the project directory. The system-provided profiles include the packages and services necessary to run a functional system, with ongoing maintenance provided by the project maintainers. This makes it easier to standardize image creation across teams and projects.
Downloaded packages and temporary build artifacts are stored in the user’s cache and related build directories, keeping the source workspace clean while enabling repeatable builds. Mkosi emphasizes clarity and reproducibility, letting you adjust distributions, package selections, and output formats to fit a given deployment scenario.
Whether you’re provisioning large-scale servers, shipping reproducible images to edge devices, or automating building and testing workflows, Mkosi offers a streamlined path to generate production-ready OS images quickly and consistently.
