createOSXinstallPkg not building with non-flat package

bloree
New Contributor II

The GitHub page for createOSXinstallPkg mentions that the Yosemite installer does not work with flat packages.
https://github.com/munki/createOSXinstallPkg#further-note-on-additional-packages-and-yosemite

I built a new distribution package containing my firstboot script and launchdaemon using Packages.

When I attempt to create the new OS installer, I am greeted with a message that the package is not a flat distribution package (which is in direct contradiction to the note on the GitHub page). Has anyone else encountered this? How do I get this to build with a non-flat package?

Here is my output:

sudo ./createOSXinstallPkg --plist UpgradetoYosemite10101.plist Examining and verifying source... ---------------------------------------------------------------- InstallESD.dmg: /Applications/Install OS X Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg OS Version: 10.10.1 OS Build: 14B25 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Output path: /Users/limacadmin/createOSXinstallPkg-master/UpgradetoOSXYosemite10101.pkg Additional packages: ---------------------------------------------------------------- /Users/limacadmin/createOSXinstallPkg-master/Packages/YosemiteUpgrayedd.mpkg is not a flat distribution package. This will cause Yosemite install to fail.
6 REPLIES 6

davidacland
Honored Contributor II

I've had this working ok on 10.10 and followed the guidance of @rtrouton here: https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/first-boot-package-install-generator-app/

Hopefully this will be of some help!

gregneagle
Valued Contributor
The GitHub page for createOSXinstallPkg mentions that the Yosemite installer does not work with flat packages. https://github.com/munki/createOSXinstallPkg#further-note-on-additional-packages-and-yosemite

No, it says that the Yosemite install does not like COMPONENT packages. It only likes DISTRIBUTION packages. createOSXinstallPkg warns you if you try to include anything other than a flat distribution package. It's possible that bundle-style distribution packages will work; I've never tested any since I don't use any tools that can generate these older formats. So proceed at your own risk. If you see an error message like this when attempting to install Yosemite, you'll know it didn't work:

Failed to open OS X Installer.
The path /System/Installation/Packages/OSinstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged. [Restart] [Startup Disk]

franton
Valued Contributor III

Casper 9 has the ability to ingest the OS X installer bundle, straight from the app store. It has the same overall effect as what you're trying to do with Greg's tool.

bloree
New Contributor II

Doh! I misunderstood the package requirements. Thanks for the clarification, @gregneagle. I was able to get this to build with a flat distribution package built from Composer.

@franton, I was able to create an upgrade job using Casper Admin to import the InstallESD.dmg, however anything after the OS install does not appear to run including Recon. Some settings like Gatekeeper get overwritten and users are nagged with an iCloud login. This is the reason I am adding a firstboot script to the installer. If there is a better way to manage these changes leveraging Casper, I am all ears.

bentoms
Release Candidate Programs Tester

@Loree, if you're installing via a policy.. You should be able to trigger a policy that sets the settings as you need.

I'd probably write a dummy receipt, then do a recon before the policy completes.

Then have a smart group scoped to that dummy receipt & a policy to run at startup for things like iCloud etc.

boberito
Valued Contributor

The idea of doing a policy post install has never worked well in the past for me.

I used a combination of createOSXinstallpkg and First Boot Package Install Generator to make a custom Yosemite installer. We need to have Flash and Java 6 installed quickly for our student machines. They aren't admins so they aren't able to when prompted. Java is required for CrashPlan and Flash is needed for Schoology.

Anyway the links for the two
https://github.com/munki/createOSXinstallPkg
https://github.com/rtrouton/First_Boot_Package_Install_Generator

Let me know if you need more help going through it.