NAME

     ubiquity — install Ubuntu from a live CD

SYNOPSIS

     ubiquity [--desktop file] [--debug] [--pdb] [--cdebconf] [--automatic] [--only] [--query]
              [frontend]

DESCRIPTION

     ubiquity is a graphical installer for Ubuntu, written largely in Python, using
     debian-installer (d-i) as a backend for many of its functions.  It is normally invoked from
     a desktop icon, and presents a "wizard"-style graphical user interface.  ubiquity must be
     run as root, and will escalate privileges for itself using gksudo, kdesu, kdesudo, or sudo
     as appropriate.

     ubiquity has multiple frontends, including one written using GTK+ (gtk_ui) and one written
     for KDE (kde_ui).  The first non-option argument, if any, is interpreted as the name of the
     frontend to use.

     The following options are available:

     --desktop file
           This option is passed through to gksudo to provide a better description for its
           privilege-escalation message.  It is only relevant when using the gtk_ui frontend.

     -d, --debug
           Run in debugging mode, sending verbose information to /var/log/installer/debug that
           may be useful to developers.  (The /var/log/syslog file is usually required in any
           case, along with /var/log/partman in the case of problems related to partitioning.)
           Note that passwords will be logged in debugging mode!

     --pdb
           Drop into the Python debugger in the event of a crash.  Only effective if ubiquity is
           being run from a terminal.

     --cdebconf
           Use cdebconf instead of the traditional Perl debconf implementation.  In future this
           may provide enough memory efficiency benefits to be made the default, but for now it
           is not really worthwhile and is therefore for experimental use only.

     --automatic
           Skip over questions that have been pre-answered by use of a preseed file.  This is
           useful for unattended installations.

     --only
           Tell ubiquity that it is the only desktop program running so that it can customize its
           user interface to better suit a minimal environment.  This allows the installer to be
           run standalone, reducing memory requirements.

     --query
           Print the frontend that would be used and then exit.

AUTHORS

     Ubiquity was formerly known as "Espresso", and originally as "Ubuntu Express", which is
     written and maintained by Javier Carranza <javier.carranza@interactors.coop> and Juanje
     Ojeda Croissier <juanje@interactors.coop>.  This version draws on the work done on Ubuntu
     Express, but was renamed to avoid confusion, to reduce awkward branding considerations, and
     because Ubiquity concentrates on reusing debian-installer code and reducing duplicated
     translation and branding work as much as possible.  Ubiquity has now substantially diverged
     from Ubuntu Express and is an independent project.

     ubiquity was mainly developed by Colin Watson <cjwatson@ubuntu.com> and Evan Dandrea
     <ev@ubuntu.com>, with contributions from many others.

     The mythbuntu_ui frontend was developed by Mario Limonciello <superm1@ubuntu.com>.