TinyInstaller

Appearance

Custom Profiles ​

Custom Profiles allow you to deploy your own operating system images instead of using the built-in deployment profiles provided by TinyInstaller.

A custom profile consists of:

  • A disk image URL
  • An optional post-deployment command
  • Basic deployment settings

Custom Profiles are useful when you need:

  • A custom Linux image with pre-installed software
  • A customized Windows image
  • A specific operating system version not available in the built-in profiles
  • A reusable deployment configuration for multiple servers

Supported Image Types ​

TinyInstaller supports:

  • Raw disk images (.raw, .dd, .img)
  • Any uncompressed virtual disk format supported by QEMU (qemu-img)

Supported compressed formats:

  • .raw.gz
  • .raw.zst
  • .raw.xz
  • .raw.bz2

Compression is supported only for raw disk images.

For the best deployment performance, compressed raw images such as .raw.zst are recommended.

Compression is supported only for raw disk images. Virtual disk formats such as QCOW2, VHDX, and VMDK should be uploaded uncompressed or converted to RAW before compression.

Workflow ​

Creating a custom profile typically involves the following steps:

text
Build an Image
      ↓
Host the Image
      ↓
Create a Custom Profile
      ↓
Deploy

Depending on the operating system, image preparation may differ:

  • Linux images typically use cloud-init.
  • Windows images typically use Sysprep.

Continue with the next sections to learn how to build, host, and deploy custom images.