docs/research/testing-clean-install-on-linux.md

@@ -84,6 +84,40 @@ Each distro exercises a different corner of the installer:
 | **Alpine** | Alpine "cloud" (cloudinit) image | musl libc + BusyBox `sh` — the harshest POSIX-`sh` host for a `#!/bin/sh` installer. |
 | **NixOS** | `channels.nixos.org` OpenStack image | No FHS `~/.local` on PATH by default; `nix-env` user-profile prereqs; pipx laying a self-contained venv on a non-FHS host. |
 
+### Validation run (2026-07-27)
+
+First full run on the delphi KVM host, QEMU 11.0.2:
+
+| Distro | `test` (bare) | `test-ready` (prepared) |
+|---|---|---|
+| Ubuntu 24.04 | ✅ declines at git gate | ✅ installs, doctor python+config green |
+| Fedora 44 | ✅ declines at git gate | ✅ installs, doctor python+config green |
+| Arch (latest) | ✅ declines at git gate | ✅ installs, doctor python+config green |
+| Alpine 3.21 | ⚠️ blocked (boot) | ⚠️ blocked (boot) |
+| NixOS 24.11 | ⚠️ blocked (no image) | ⚠️ blocked (no image) |
+
+On all three working distros the bare `test` sees `install.sh` exit 1 at the
+git-for-git-specs gate (cloud images ship python3 but not git) — a sound
+decline — and `test-ready` installs cleanly with `doctor` reporting a usable
+python and config (backends all not-ready, as expected in a plain VM).
+
+**Two known gaps, both in image provisioning rather than the installer:**
+
+- **Alpine** boots to a `localhost login:` prompt but its cloud image does not
+  apply our NoCloud (`cloud-localds`) seed the way Ubuntu/Fedora/Arch do, so
+  the SSH key is never injected and `wait_for_ssh` times out. Needs an
+  Alpine-specific seed path (e.g. presenting the seed as a CD-ROM, or Alpine's
+  `tiny-cloud` expectations) before it can run.
+- **NixOS** publishes no downloadable cloud qcow2 on `channels.nixos.org` or
+  the release bucket (its cloud images are Hydra-built AMIs). The table URL
+  404s; a working NixOS cell needs a locally built image (`nixos-generators`,
+  baking the test key), which is a follow-up.
+
+The run also fixed real defects it surfaced: the pinned Fedora 41 was EOL/404
+(bumped to 44), and the liveness probe used `bot-bottle --version` — which the
+CLI does not implement, so every successful install was misreported as failed
+until it was switched to `bot-bottle --help`.
+
 In `test-ready` the harness installs `python3 + git + pipx` first on each
 distro (install.sh installs none of them), so all five drive the recommended
 pipx path. `test` then removes that scaffolding and lets each distro's bare

scripts/linux-install-test.sh

@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ SUM_URL[ubuntu]="https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/noble/current/SHA256SUMS"
 SSH_USER[ubuntu]="ubuntu"
 PREREQ[ubuntu]="sudo apt-get update && sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y python3 git pipx"
 
-IMAGE_URL[fedora]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/41/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-41-1.4.x86_64.qcow2"
-SUM_URL[fedora]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/41/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-41-1.4-x86_64-CHECKSUM"
+IMAGE_URL[fedora]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/44/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-44-1.7.x86_64.qcow2"
+SUM_URL[fedora]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/44/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-44-1.7-x86_64-CHECKSUM"
 SSH_USER[fedora]="fedora"
 PREREQ[fedora]="sudo dnf install -y python3 git pipx"
 
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ SUM_URL[arch]="https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-c
 SSH_USER[arch]="arch"
 PREREQ[arch]="sudo pacman -Sy --noconfirm python git python-pipx"
 
-IMAGE_URL[alpine]="https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.21/releases/cloud/generic_alpine-3.21.2-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2"
-SUM_URL[alpine]="https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.21/releases/cloud/generic_alpine-3.21.2-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2.sha256"
+IMAGE_URL[alpine]="https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.21/releases/cloud/generic_alpine-3.21.7-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2"
+SUM_URL[alpine]=""   # Alpine cloud images ship .sha512 only; this verifier is sha256. Set BB_TEST_SKIP_VERIFY handling applies.
 SSH_USER[alpine]="alpine"
 PREREQ[alpine]="sudo apk add --no-cache python3 git pipx"
 
@@ -404,7 +404,10 @@ entry_point_runnable() {
     guest '
         for bb in "$HOME/.local/bin/bot-bottle" "$HOME/.bot-bottle/venv/bin/bot-bottle" "$(command -v bot-bottle 2>/dev/null)"; do
             [ -n "$bb" ] && [ -x "$bb" ] || continue
-            "$bb" --version >/dev/null 2>&1 && exit 0
+            # --help exits 0 before any DB/migration/network work; it is the
+            # cheapest proof the package imports and the shim runs. (bot-bottle
+            # has no --version: an unknown arg would die non-zero.)
+            "$bb" --help >/dev/null 2>&1 && exit 0
         done
         exit 1
     ' >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -543,7 +546,7 @@ cmd_down() {
     # Deleting the overlay + seed is the reset; the read-only base stays cached.
     rm -f "$(_overlay)" "$(_seed)" "$(_ssh_key)" "$(_ssh_key).pub" \
           "$RUN_DIR/user-data" "$RUN_DIR/meta-data" \
-          "$RUN_DIR/install.rc" "$RUN_DIR/install.log"
+          "$RUN_DIR/install.rc" "$RUN_DIR/install.log" "$(_serial)"
     # Only remove a scratch dir we created (leave a user-provided one alone).
     [ -n "${BB_TEST_RUN_DIR:-}" ] || rmdir "$RUN_DIR" 2>/dev/null || true
     rm -f "$(_marker)"
@@ -595,9 +598,12 @@ _test_cycle() {
     IN_TEST=1
     RUN_DIR="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/bb-install-test.$DISTRO.XXXXXX")"
 
+    # Arm teardown BEFORE cmd_up: its wait_for_ssh can fail after QEMU is
+    # already running (e.g. a guest that never opens SSH), and without the trap
+    # in place that would leak the VM.
+    trap _test_teardown EXIT INT TERM
     echo "== [1/$_STEPS] up ($DISTRO) =="
     cmd_up
-    trap _test_teardown EXIT INT TERM
 
     local step=2
     if [ "$with_prereqs" = 1 ]; then