X-Git-Url: http://git.annexia.org/?p=libguestfs.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=guestfish-actions.pod;h=20c34a59d43043f0cba81d1e0cefc8ef624a0a5b;hp=87ba0181e5dce772446e3ed9eabce8d878c8a3f0;hb=e8ecc08f663b44f3d79517affe52f137858dfe00;hpb=6fd5bc84893c600af75ef64fa9f9a043b665c76a

diff --git a/guestfish-actions.pod b/guestfish-actions.pod
index 87ba018..20c34a5 100644
--- a/guestfish-actions.pod
+++ b/guestfish-actions.pod
@@ -372,6 +372,13 @@ The first element is the name of the program to run.
 Subsequent elements are parameters.  The list must be
 non-empty (ie. must contain a program name).
 
+The return value is anything printed to I<stdout> by
+the command.
+
+If the command returns a non-zero exit status, then
+this function returns an error message.  The error message
+string is the content of I<stderr> from the command.
+
 The C<$PATH> environment variable will contain at least
 C</usr/bin> and C</bin>.  If you require a program from
 another location, you should provide the full path in the
@@ -383,6 +390,10 @@ correct places.  It is the caller's responsibility to ensure
 all filesystems that are needed are mounted at the right
 locations.
 
+Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
+of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
+FTP.
+
 =head2 command-lines
 
  command-lines 'arguments ...'
@@ -390,6 +401,10 @@ locations.
 This is the same as C<command>, but splits the
 result into a list of lines.
 
+Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
+of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
+FTP.
+
 =head2 config
 
  config qemuparam qemuvalue
@@ -403,6 +418,45 @@ The first character of C<param> string must be a C<-> (dash).
 
 C<value> can be NULL.
 
+=head2 cp
+
+ cp src dest
+
+This copies a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
+either a destination filename or destination directory.
+
+=head2 cp-a
+
+ cp-a src dest
+
+This copies a file or directory from C<src> to C<dest>
+recursively using the C<cp -a> command.
+
+=head2 debug
+
+ debug subcmd 'extraargs ...'
+
+The C<debug> command exposes some internals of
+C<guestfsd> (the guestfs daemon) that runs inside the
+qemu subprocess.
+
+There is no comprehensive help for this command.  You have
+to look at the file C<daemon/debug.c> in the libguestfs source
+to find out what you can do.
+
+=head2 dmesg
+
+ dmesg
+
+This returns the kernel messages (C<dmesg> output) from
+the guest kernel.  This is sometimes useful for extended
+debugging of problems.
+
+Another way to get the same information is to enable
+verbose messages with C<set-verbose> or by setting
+the environment variable C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG=1> before
+running the program.
+
 =head2 download
 
  download remotefilename (filename|-)
@@ -416,6 +470,29 @@ See also C<upload>, C<cat>.
 
 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
 
+=head2 drop-caches
+
+ drop-caches whattodrop
+
+This instructs the guest kernel to drop its page cache,
+and/or dentries and inode caches.  The parameter C<whattodrop>
+tells the kernel what precisely to drop, see
+L<http://linux-mm.org/Drop_Caches>
+
+Setting C<whattodrop> to 3 should drop everything.
+
+This automatically calls L<sync(2)> before the operation,
+so that the maximum guest memory is freed.
+
+=head2 equal
+
+ equal file1 file2
+
+This compares the two files C<file1> and C<file2> and returns
+true if their content is exactly equal, or false otherwise.
+
+The external L<cmp(1)> program is used for the comparison.
+
 =head2 exists
 
  exists path
@@ -437,12 +514,67 @@ The exact command which runs is C<file -bsL path>.  Note in
 particular that the filename is not prepended to the output
 (the C<-b> option).
 
+=head2 fsck
+
+ fsck fstype device
+
+This runs the filesystem checker (fsck) on C<device> which
+should have filesystem type C<fstype>.
+
+The returned integer is the status.  See L<fsck(8)> for the
+list of status codes from C<fsck>.
+
+Notes:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+Multiple status codes can be summed together.
+
+=item *
+
+A non-zero return code can mean "success", for example if
+errors have been corrected on the filesystem.
+
+=item *
+
+Checking or repairing NTFS volumes is not supported
+(by linux-ntfs).
+
+=back
+
+This command is entirely equivalent to running C<fsck -a -t fstype device>.
+
+=head2 get-append
+
+ get-append
+
+Return the additional kernel options which are added to the
+guest kernel command line.
+
+If C<NULL> then no options are added.
+
 =head2 get-autosync
 
  get-autosync
 
 Get the autosync flag.
 
+=head2 get-e2label
+
+ get-e2label device
+
+This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
+C<device>.
+
+=head2 get-e2uuid
+
+ get-e2uuid device
+
+This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
+C<device>.
+
 =head2 get-path
 
  get-path
@@ -476,6 +608,24 @@ For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
 
 This returns the verbose messages flag.
 
+=head2 grub-install
+
+ grub-install root device
+
+This command installs GRUB (the Grand Unified Bootloader) on
+C<device>, with the root directory being C<root>.
+
+=head2 hexdump
+
+ hexdump path
+
+This runs C<hexdump -C> on the given C<path>.  The result is
+the human-readable, canonical hex dump of the file.
+
+Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
+of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
+FTP.
+
 =head2 is-busy
 
  is-busy
@@ -617,6 +767,16 @@ and physical volumes.
 B<This command is dangerous.  Without careful use you
 can easily destroy all your data>.
 
+=head2 lvremove
+
+ lvremove device
+
+Remove an LVM logical volume C<device>, where C<device> is
+the path to the LV, such as C</dev/VG/LV>.
+
+You can also remove all LVs in a volume group by specifying
+the VG name, C</dev/VG>.
+
 =head2 lvs
 
  lvs
@@ -654,7 +814,7 @@ as necessary.  This is like the C<mkdir -p> shell command.
  mkfs fstype device
 
 This creates a filesystem on C<device> (usually a partition
-of LVM logical volume).  The filesystem type is C<fstype>, for
+or LVM logical volume).  The filesystem type is C<fstype>, for
 example C<ext3>.
 
 =head2 mount
@@ -710,6 +870,22 @@ the list of devices (eg. C</dev/sda1>, C</dev/VG/LV>).
 
 Some internal mounts are not shown.
 
+=head2 mv
+
+ mv src dest
+
+This moves a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
+either a destination filename or destination directory.
+
+=head2 ping-daemon
+
+ ping-daemon
+
+This is a test probe into the guestfs daemon running inside
+the qemu subprocess.  Calling this function checks that the
+daemon responds to the ping message, without affecting the daemon
+or attached block device(s) in any other way.
+
 =head2 pvcreate
 
  pvcreate device
@@ -718,6 +894,17 @@ This creates an LVM physical volume on the named C<device>,
 where C<device> should usually be a partition name such
 as C</dev/sda1>.
 
+=head2 pvremove
+
+ pvremove device
+
+This wipes a physical volume C<device> so that LVM will no longer
+recognise it.
+
+The implementation uses the C<pvremove> command which refuses to
+wipe physical volumes that contain any volume groups, so you have
+to remove those first.
+
 =head2 pvs
 
  pvs
@@ -771,14 +958,57 @@ command.
 
 Remove the single directory C<path>.
 
+=head2 set-append | append
+
+ set-append append
+
+This function is used to add additional options to the
+guest kernel command line.
+
+The default is C<NULL> unless overridden by setting
+C<LIBGUESTFS_APPEND> environment variable.
+
+The string C<append> is stashed in the libguestfs handle, so the caller
+must make sure it remains valid for the lifetime of the handle.
+
+Setting C<append> to C<NULL> means I<no> additional options
+are passed (libguestfs always adds a few of its own).
+
 =head2 set-autosync | autosync
 
  set-autosync true|false
 
 If C<autosync> is true, this enables autosync.  Libguestfs will make a
-best effort attempt to run C<sync> when the handle is closed
+best effort attempt to run C<umount-all> followed by
+C<sync> when the handle is closed
 (also if the program exits without closing handles).
 
+This is disabled by default (except in guestfish where it is
+enabled by default).
+
+=head2 set-e2label
+
+ set-e2label device label
+
+This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
+C<device> to C<label>.  Filesystem labels are limited to
+16 characters.
+
+You can use either C<tune2fs-l> or C<get-e2label>
+to return the existing label on a filesystem.
+
+=head2 set-e2uuid
+
+ set-e2uuid device uuid
+
+This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
+C<device> to C<uuid>.  The format of the UUID and alternatives
+such as C<clear>, C<random> and C<time> are described in the
+L<tune2fs(8)> manpage.
+
+You can use either C<tune2fs-l> or C<get-e2uuid>
+to return the existing UUID of a filesystem.
+
 =head2 set-path | path
 
  set-path path
@@ -864,6 +1094,35 @@ C<path> should be a file or directory in the mounted file system
 
 This is the same as the C<statvfs(2)> system call.
 
+=head2 strings
+
+ strings path
+
+This runs the L<strings(1)> command on a file and returns
+the list of printable strings found.
+
+Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
+of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
+FTP.
+
+=head2 strings-e
+
+ strings-e encoding path
+
+This is like the C<strings> command, but allows you to
+specify the encoding.
+
+See the L<strings(1)> manpage for the full list of encodings.
+
+Commonly useful encodings are C<l> (lower case L) which will
+show strings inside Windows/x86 files.
+
+The returned strings are transcoded to UTF-8.
+
+Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
+of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
+FTP.
+
 =head2 sync
 
  sync
@@ -930,8 +1189,8 @@ to create a new zero-length file.
 
  tune2fs-l device
 
-This returns the contents of the ext2 or ext3 filesystem superblock
-on C<device>.
+This returns the contents of the ext2, ext3 or ext4 filesystem
+superblock on C<device>.
 
 It is the same as running C<tune2fs -l device>.  See L<tune2fs(8)>
 manpage for more details.  The list of fields returned isn't
@@ -974,6 +1233,15 @@ Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
 This creates an LVM volume group called C<volgroup>
 from the non-empty list of physical volumes C<physvols>.
 
+=head2 vgremove
+
+ vgremove vgname
+
+Remove an LVM volume group C<vgname>, (for example C<VG>).
+
+This also forcibly removes all logical volumes in the volume
+group (if any).
+
 =head2 vgs
 
  vgs
@@ -1005,7 +1273,22 @@ As a special case, if C<size> is C<0>
 then the length is calculated using C<strlen> (so in this case
 the content cannot contain embedded ASCII NULs).
 
+I<NB.> Owing to a bug, writing content containing ASCII NUL
+characters does I<not> work, even if the length is specified.
+We hope to resolve this bug in a future version.  In the meantime
+use C<upload>.
+
 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit 
 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB.  To transfer large files you should use
 FTP.
 
+=head2 zero
+
+ zero device
+
+This command writes zeroes over the first few blocks of C<device>.
+
+How many blocks are zeroed isn't specified (but it's I<not> enough
+to securely wipe the device).  It should be sufficient to remove
+any partition tables, filesystem superblocks and so on.
+