btrfs installation is unencrypted!

[rustybird]

Qubes OS version:

R3.2 rc3

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If you install with btrfs as as the root filesystem, it will be unencrypted.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

• Choose I will configure partitioning
• On the MANUAL PARTITIONING screen, either keep LVM or choose Btrfs in the partitioning scheme dropdown.
• Create /boot and swap.
• Create /. If you previously chose Btrfs, the Encrypt checkbox is unselected and greyed out. If you previously chose LVM, switch to Btrfs now; then the Encrypt checkbox will be selected and greyed out.
• In any case, the btrfs root filesystem will actually be installed to an unencrypted partition.

General notes:

Man, that partitioning wizard just keeps getting worse and worse.

Not workarounds:

• If you manually create a LUKS container in the terminal and unlock it in the installer, you can't choose btrfs as its filesystem
• If you also manually create a new btrfs filesystem inside the LUKS container, the installer will unselect and gray out the Reformat check box and then complain that reformatting the root mountpoint is required to continue... (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Workarounds:

• modprobe btrfs so dracut picks up the module, install as ext4, use btrfs-convert, replace the root fs UUID in grub.cfg
• Slightly cleaner: In the end, I replaced the installer's mke2fs and mount binaries with a small wrapper script that mangles their invocations as needed
• See comment below

[tasket]

IIRC you should be able to choose btrfs for automatic partitioning as a sort-of workaround -- if erasing the disk is OK. That gives you btrfs on luks. You could even install this way onto a different disk, then reboot and 'btrfs device add' a prepared luks volume on the target disk and then delete the initial device; this will move the contents of the installed root fs to your target disk.

But, yeah, the anaconda frontend is terrible.

[rustybird]

@ttasket:

IIRC you should be able to choose btrfs for automatic partitioning as a sort-of workaround

Do you mean the menu where you could choose between several different automatic partitioning methods (LVM, btrfs, LVM+btrfs, ...)? At least R3.1-rc2 still had it, but I can't find anything of the sort for the R3.2 release candidates, am I overlooking something? I'm installing in BIOS mode, in case that makes any difference for Anaconda.

[tasket]

@rustybird
Yes. Actually, using R3.2rc1 disc just now I was able to selectively delete old partitions (no disk wipe needed), then choose the partitioning type as 'btrfs'. Next I clicked the underlined 'link' above the partitioning type to automatically create mountpoints (I know that sounds backwards, and it looks that way too).

When I clicked 'Done' it showed a list of queued actions that included deleting old partitions, creating LUKS volumes, and formatting one of the LUKS volumes as btrfs. I didn't go ahead with the install, however.

[rustybird]

@ttasket:

Hmm, I tried it with RC1 now and still can't find the right moves to get through Anaconda Island R3.2: The Curse of Anaconda Island. Maybe it depends on what partitions you had before installing, can you describe that?

For example, if I first start a default installation on an empty disk and reboot into the installer again when the automatic partitioning is done, and then (A) delete the LUKS container, or (B) unlock it and delete the root filesystem, the Click here to create them automatically link always errors out saying (for A) the root mountpoint is undefined, or (for B) there's not enough free space.

When trying to install to an empty disk, the error on Click here to create them automatically is also (A).

[tasket]

@rustybird
I tried it again-- BTW this is with an external USB HD selected as the destination.

If I simply chose "I will configure partitioning" and then created space by deleting the partitions listed under the "Unknown" grouping, then select 'btrfs' in the dropdown box.... anaconda would say there was an error when I clicked "Click here to create them".

But if I left the partitioning on full automatic and checked the box to let me create free space, when I clicked Done a special popup box appeared for the purpose of flagging partitions as 'delete'. Once I finished with this, switching to "I will configure partitioning" worked... Select 'btrfs' from the dropdown box then click "Click here to create them" would complete without error and I could see the new partitions defined.

I have not tried unlocking LUKS containers in anaconda in a long time. My experience is that it will never figure out your intention or act on it correctly. Its best to let it create a new LUKS container.

[rustybird]

Yes! Thanks so much for figuring that out and describing it! I would like to make additional space available - Done - Reclaim space is indeed the magic incantation, and can even be run on a totally empty drive. Somehow, that makes Click here to create them automatically work like it should.

[rustybird]

As of R4.0rc4, the foray into I would like to make additional space available is no longer needed.

[marmarek]

@rustybird does it mean the issue doesn't apply to R4.0-rc4?

[rustybird]

does it mean the issue doesn't apply to R4.0-rc4?

Manual partitioning still creates an unencrypted btrfs filesystem. But at least the only case in which it falsely claims to encrypt is if the user switches from LVM Thin to LVM to btrfs.

Automatic btrfs partitioning works fine though.

[andrewdavidwong]

This issue is being closed because:

• This issue has the "Release 3.2 updates" milestone.
• Qubes OS 3.2 has reached end-of-life (EOL).
• This issue has not been updated in over a year.

If anyone believes that this issue should be reopened, please let us know in a comment here.

[zaz]

This is still an issue on 4.2.3. I could not find any way to get the custom partitioning to prompt me for an encryption password and indeed when I continued with the installation it was unencrypted. I then tried to do this through blivet-gui and it did prompt me for an encryption password, but then would not boot.

Finally, I used the automatic installer to install it to the partitions previously created and it worked without issue.

[TommyTran732]

I just did an install on 4.2.3. This is not reproducible.

[github-actions]

This issue has been closed as "cannot reproduce." This means that attempts have been made to replicate the problem, but such attempts have not been reliably successful enough to proceed with fixing the problem.

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