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+
+# `rancher/os` installer container
+
+The container can be used directly, but there is a wrapper in RancherOS CLI, `ros install`, that handles calling things in the right order.
+
+##Basics
+
+When booting from the ISO file RancherOS runs completely from memory. In order to run more containers, and save state between reboots, you need to persist and run from disk. 
+
+When booting, RancherOS looks for a device labeled "RANCHER_STATE". If it finds a volume with that labeled the OS will mount the device and use it to store state. 
+
+The scripts in this container will create a device labeled RANCHER_STATE and make it bootable. The two supported methods, are generic and amazon-ebs. The approach can be translated to suit different needs.
+
+The generic install type follows these steps:
+
+1. ) partition device with a single partition the size of the disk.
+2. ) format ext4 and label partition as RANCHER_STATE
+3. ) Install grub2 on device
+4. ) Place kernel/initrd and grub.cfg inside /boot on the device.
+5. ) Seeds the cloud-init data so that a ssh key or other RancherOS configuration can be set.
+
+The amazon-ebs approach follows these steps:
+
+1. ) format the device (Ext4) and label RANCHER_STATE
+2. ) Add PV-GRUB configuration (menu.lst)
+3. ) Add Kernel and Initrd
+4. ) Sets Rancher to look for EC2 cloud-init data.
+
+
+
+## Usage
+
+**Warning:** Using this container directly can be like running with scissors...
+
+```
+ # Partition disk without prompting of any sort:
+ docker run --privileged -it --entrypoint=/scripts/set-disk-partitions rancher/os:<version> <device>
+
+
+ # install 
+ docker run --privileged -it -v /home:/home -v /opt:/opt \
+        rancher/os:<version> -d <device> -t <install_type> -c <cloud-config file> \
+        -i /custom/dist/dir \
+        -f </src/path1:/dst/path1,/src/path2:/dst/path2,/src/path3:/dst/path3>
+```
+
+The installation process requires a cloud config file. It needs to be placed in either /home/rancher/ or /opt/. The installer make use of the user-volumes to facilitate files being available between system containers. `-i` and `-f` options are, well, optional. 
+
+By providing `-i` (or `DIST` env var) you specify the path to your custom `vmlinuz` and `initrd`. 
+  
+`-f` allows you to copy arbitrary files to the target root filesystem.
+
+## Contact
+For bugs, questions, comments, corrections, suggestions, etc., open an issue in
+ [rancher/os](//github.com/rancher/os/issues) with a title starting with `[os-installer] `.
+
+Or just [click here](//github.com/rancher/os/issues/new?title=%5Bos-installer%5D%20) to create a new issue.