Questions (older versions)

This page describes an older Agama version

This page documents the questions feature as implemented by older versions of Agama, like the one shipped with SLES 16 GA and openSUSE Leap 16.0. If you are using a more recent version of Agama (e.g., a newer maintenance update or openSUSE Tumbleweed), check the current version of this page instead.

Agama allows you to automate the process of answering questions during an unattended installation. This feature is crucial for creating truly hands-off Agama profiles, as it eliminates the need for user interaction when the installer encounters a choice or requires specific input.

This section explains how to define policies for answering questions and provides a list of the question classes you can configure in this version.

Configuring automatic answers

Automatic answers are configured within the questions key of your Agama profile. This object has two main properties: policy and answers.

{
  "questions": {
    "policy": "auto",
    "answers": [
      {
        "class": "storage.activate_multipath",
        "answer": "yes"
      },
      {
        "class": "storage.luks_activation",
        "answer": "decrypt",
        "password": "my-secret-password",
        "data": {
          "device": "/dev/sda22"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

The `policy` property

The policy property determines the default behavior for questions the installer encounters. It's a string with two possible values:

"user" (default): The installer will use any pre-defined answers from the answers list. If a question is encountered that does not have a matching answer, the installer will ask the user for a response.
"auto": The installer will use any pre-defined answers from the answers list. If a question is encountered that does not have a matching answer, the installer will automatically select the default value for that question. If there's no default, the installation will fail.

The `answers` property

The answers property is an array of objects, where each object represents a pre-defined answer for a specific question.

Each answer object can have the following properties:

class: a unique identifier for the question (e.g., "storage.activate_multipath").
text: the full text of the question.
answer: the value to be used as the answer.
password: an additional field that is required for questions that also need a password, such as storage.luks_activation with the decrypt answer.
data: an optional object with additional key-value pairs to match the question.

The installer will attempt to match a question to an answer by checking the class, text, and data properties.

The installer performs a partial match on the data object. If your answer's data entry contains a subset of the properties in the question's data, it will still be considered a match if the values for the specified properties are identical. For example, a question might contain { "id": "123", "checksum": "abc", "name": "file.txt" }, but you only need to specify { "checksum": "abc" } to match it.

Beware of retries

A "Retry"-like value for the answer property could get the installation into an infinity loop. Avoid using it if you are not totally sure that the question is going to success at some point.

Supported question classes

The following table lists the possible question classes, their descriptions, and the data you can use to match them.

Some classes (marked with *) do not use a fixed set of action identifiers. Instead, the answer must match the (English) label of the corresponding button, like Try again or Continue anyway. Those labels might change if the installation runs in a different language.

Class	Description	Possible Answers	Available Data
`autoyast.password`	When a password is needed to decrypt a GPG-encrypted AutoYaST profile.	`ok`, `cancel` (default)	None. It uses a password field, so the answer must be provided through the `password` property.
`autoyast.popup`	Generic question used while converting an AutoYaST profile (it replaces calls to `Yast2::Popup`).	Varies (e.g., `ok`; `yes`, `no`; `continue`, `cancel`)	None.
`autoyast.unsupported`	When there are unsupported elements in an AutoYaST profile.	`Abort`, `Continue` (default)	`planned`: elements to be supported in the future. `unsupported`: unsupported elements.
`load.retry`	Asks the user to retry loading the profile.	`Yes`, `No` (default)	`error`: The text of the error message.
`registration.certificate`	When the registration server uses an unknown certificate.	`trust`, `reject` (default)	`url`: The server URL. `issuer_name`, `issue_date`, `expiration_date`: Certificate details. `sha1_fingerprint`, `sha256_fingerprint`: Certificate fingerprints.
`software.digest.no_digest`	When a file is in a signed repository, but is not listed in the list of checksums.	`Yes` (default), `No`
`software.digest.unknown_digest`	When a file has a checksum, but the expected checksum is not known. This question type is also used when the checksum does not match.	`Yes` (default), `No`
`software.import_gpg`	When a signature is signed with an unknown GPG key.	`Trust`, `Skip` (default)	`id`, `name`, `fingerprint`: Details of the unknown key.
`software.package_error.install_error`*	When a package failed to be installed.	`Try again`, `Continue anyway` (no default)	`package`: The package name.
`software.package_error.medium_error`*	When there is an issue accessing the installation medium while downloading a package.	`Try again`, `Continue anyway` (no default)	`url`: The URL where the access failed.
`software.package_error.provide_error`*	When a package could not be provided (e.g., because of an I/O error).	`Try again`, `Continue anyway` (no default)	`package`: The package name. `error_code`: The kind of error (`IO_ERROR` or `INVALID`).
`software.script_problem`*	When a package script failed.	`Try again`, `Continue anyway` (no default)	`details`: The details of the failure.
`software.unknown_gpg`	When a file is signed with an unknown key.	`Yes`, `No` (default)	`id`: The key ID. `filename`: The name of the signed file.
`software.unsigned_file`	When a file from a repository is not digitally signed, or when its signature could not be verified.	`Yes`, `No` (default)	`filename`: The name of the file.
`storage.activate_multipath`	When it looks like the system has multipath and if it should be activated.	`yes` (default), `no`
`storage.commit_error`	When some storage actions failed and if it should continue.	`yes`, `no` (default)	`details`: The details of the failure.
`storage.luks_activation`	When a LUKS encrypted device is detected and requires a password to probe it.	`skip`, `decrypt` (default)	`device`: The device name. `label`: The device label. `size`: The device size. `attempt`: The number of the current attempt.

Configuring automatic answers​

The policy property​

The answers property​

Supported question classes​

Configuring automatic answers

The `policy` property

The `answers` property

Supported question classes