1 This pages explains how to install Debian on Apple Silicon machines.
4 The USB-A Port on the Mac Mini will not work in u-boot and grub. The two
5 additional USB-3 ports on the iMac 4 port model don't work in u-boot, grub
6 and Linux. In order to install Linux on a FileVault-enabled Mac run the
7 installer from Recovery open Disk Utility > Expanding "Macintosh HD" >
8 Selecting locked volume > click "Mount". Debian does not include the choosen
9 EFI patch. As a result it will always pick the first ESP partition. This can be
10 problematic if you're using multiple ESP partitions for example when having
11 multiple Linux and BSD installations.
14 If you don't want to use the prebuild artefacts, you can build them yourself
15 using the following scripts:
17 - prepare_rust.sh - Prepares a rust installation suitable for kernel compilation
18 - m1n1_uboot_kernel.sh - Builds m1n1, u-boot and the kernel including gpu support.
19 - mesa.sh - Creates mesa packages
20 - bootstrap.sh - Creates Debian root and live filesystem
21 - meta.sh - Meta package which makes sure that we always get latest and greatest kernel.
25 [Video Recording](https://tg.st/u/debian_asahi_installer.mp4)
27 * Poweroff your Mac. Hold and press the power button until you see a wheel chain and Options written below. Approx 20 seconds.
29 * In the boot picker, choose Options. Once loaded, open a Terminal under Utilities > Terminal
31 * Run the asahi installer and select Debian:
33 curl -sL https://tg.st/d | sh
35 * Follow the installer instructions.
37 * Once Debian is booted log in as root without password and set a root password
42 * Configure wifi by editing the wpa_supplicant.conf, enabling the interface and remove the # before allow-hotplug to enable it during boot.
44 vi /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
46 vi /etc/network/interfaces
48 * Reboot to see if grub was correctly installed
52 * Install a desktop environment for example blackbox
55 apt-get install -y xinit blackbox xterm firefox-esr lightdm
57 * Create yourself an unprivileged user
59 useradd -m -c 'Firstname Lastname' -s /bin/bash <username>
62 * Optional install sshd. You can not log in as root, but only with your unprivileged user
65 apt install -y openssh-server
67 * Consult the **[/root/quickstart.txt](https://git.zerfleddert.de/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi/m1-debian/blob_plain/refs/heads/master:/files/quickstart.txt)** file to find out how to do other interesting things.
71 [Video Recording](https://tg.st/u/live.mp4)
75 - USB Stick. this is what this guide assumes, but it is also possible
76 to run the Debian livesystem from another PC using m1n1 chainloading.
77 But if you know how to do that, you probably don't need this guide.
78 - If possible use an Ethernet Dongle, less typing.
80 * Create USB Stick with a single vfat partition on it and untar the modified Debian installer on it. Instructions for Linux:
82 # Identify the usb stick device
86 parted -a optimal $DEVICE mklabel msdos
87 parted -a optimal $DEVICE mkpart primary fat32 2048s 100%
90 curl -sL https://tg.st/u/asahi-debian-live.tar | tar -C /mnt -xf -
93 In order to format the usb stick under Macos, open the disk utility, right-click on the usb stick (usually the lowest device in the list) and select erase. Choose the following options:
97 Scheme: Master Boot Record
99 Than open a terminal, and run the following commands:
103 curl -sL https://tg.st/u/asahi-debian-live.tar | tar -xf -
105 * You need to run the asahi installer and have either an OS installed or m1n1+UEFI.
107 * If you have a EFI binary on the NVMe and want to boot from the usb stick, you need to interrupt u-boot on the countdown by pressing any key and run the following comamnd to boot from usb:
111 * Reboot with the USB stick connected, the Debian livesystem should automatically start, if it doesn't load the kernel and initrd manually, you can use tab. For x try 0,1,2,...
113 linux (hdX,msdos1)/vmlinuz
114 initrd (hdX,msdos1)/initrd.gz
117 * Log in as **root** without password.
119 * Consult the **[/root/quickstart.txt](https://git.zerfleddert.de/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi/m1-debian/blob_plain/refs/heads/master:/files/quickstart.txt)** file to find out how to get the networking up, etc.
123 ## How to enable spakers?
125 Currently speakers are only supported on M1 air. Install the necessary packages:
130 apt install -y alsa-ucm-conf-asahi speakersafetyd
133 After the reboot I need to restart the speakersafetyd in order to hear sound out of the speakers:
135 sudo systemctl restart speakersafetyd
137 ## Does it work on M2?
139 Yes, M3 is not yet supported.
141 ## Are you still maintaining this?
143 Yes, I do and will continue doing this until there is an official Debian installer.
145 ## If I install Debian, will it be easy to update the Asahi work as it develops?
147 Yes, long answer below.
149 To update the kernel to the lastest "stable" asahi branch you need to run
155 For installations before 2022-12-12, see <https://thomas.glanzmann.de/asahi/README.txt>
157 Later it might be necessary to upgrade the stub partion in order to
158 support the GPU code. As soon as that happens, I'll add the
159 instructions and a video in order to do so, but short version is:
161 - Backup /boot/efi/EFI
162 - Delete the old stub and efi/esp partition
163 - Rerun the asahi installer with m1n1+u-boot option
164 - Put the /boot/efi/EFI back
166 So, you never need to reinstall Debian. Kernel updates are easy, stub
167 updates are a little bit more cumbersome but also seldom.
169 ## How do I compile zfs on apple silicon debian?
171 - In order to build zfs you need the rust environment. So from the m1-debian
172 repository you have to run these scripts:
177 - Prepare your zfs build environment. You need to replace
178 /home/sithglan/work/m1-debian with your path to
179 your m1-debian checkout:
181 export CARGO_HOME="/home/sithglan/work/m1-debian/build/cargo"
182 export RUSTUP_HOME="/home/sithglan/work/m1-debian/build/rust"
183 source "/home/sithglan/work/m1-debian/build/cargo/env"
185 - Tell zfs which version of clang you use to compile the kernel:
187 export KERNEL_LLVM=-15
191 git clone https://github.com/openzfs/zfs
195 - Apply the following patch:
197 diff --git a/META b/META
198 index 3919b0d..67c9f7d 100644
201 @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Branch: 1.0
217 - Follow the instructions on <https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Developer%20Resources/Building%20ZFS.html> how to install it.