Master Automated RHEL 8 Installation with Kickstart: Complete Guide & Sample File

What is a Kickstart File?

A Kickstart file is an answer file that enables fully automated system installation.

Example Kickstart File

#version=RHEL8
ignoredisk --only-use=sda
autopart --type=lvm
# Partition clearing information
clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=sda
# Use graphical install
graphical
# Reboot after installation
reboot
repo --name="AppStream" --baseurl=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd/AppStream
url --url="ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd"
keyboard --vckeymap=us --xlayouts='us'
firstboot --disable
lang en_US.UTF-8

# Network information
network  --bootproto=dhcp --device=ens192 --ipv6=auto --activate
network  --hostname=localhost.localdomain
# Root password
rootpw --iscrypted $6$VrOUsKRz8dywq5D5$1SbE62Vu/YPtzqd.4Y0U/M6fqILDluHAPFU5Kt9GkAS8eZVC7.yA/aBCzkWbNx0MJicFBR2MmipOItFBdqW6X.
# X Window System configuration
xconfig  --startxonboot
# System services
services --enabled="chronyd"
# System timezone
timezone Asia/Shanghai --isUtc
user --groups=wheel --name=it --password=$6$fI8GAHa5Q6JG1BB3$6/Dv5ndCa4KMIkVFBkmVzvnV.SvwSO5.h0ppaaI75f53G9dH4.l6yUR.IUYGTKX/ctKwyzliKJQtOpV7TAZqI. --iscrypted --gecos="it"

%packages
@^graphical-server-environment
kexec-tools
%end

%addon com_redhat_kdump --enable --reserve-mb='auto'
%end

%anaconda
pwpolicy root --minlen=6 --minquality=1 --notstrict --nochanges --notempty
pwpolicy user --minlen=6 --minquality=1 --notstrict --nochanges --emptyok
pwpolicy luks --minlen=6 --minquality=1 --notstrict --nochanges --notempty
%end

Kickstart Directives Explained

ignoredisk : Controls which disks are ignored during installation. Use --only-use=sda to install only on sda.

autopart : Automatically creates root, swap, and appropriate boot partitions; can specify type (e.g., --type=lvm) and filesystem ( --fstype=xfs, ext4, etc.).

clearpart : Clears existing partitions; --all removes all partitions on specified drives.

graphical / text: Choose graphical or text‑mode installation.

reboot : Reboots after installation completes.

repo and url : Define additional package repositories and network installation source.

keyboard : Set keyboard layout with --vckeymap=us and --xlayouts='us'.

firstboot : Enable or disable the Initial Setup wizard on first boot ( --disable disables it).

lang : Set system language.

network : Configure networking; --bootproto=dhcp or static, device name, activation, hostname, IP, netmask, gateway, DNS, IPv6, etc.

rootpw : Define the root password; --iscrypted indicates a hashed password.

xconfig : Configure X Window System; --startxonboot enables graphical login.

services : Enable or disable services with --enabled or --disabled.

timezone : Set the system timezone.

user : Add additional users, specifying name, groups, password (hashed with --iscrypted), and GECOS information.

%packages : List packages to install. Use @ for package groups, @^ for environment groups, or list individual packages. Prefix a package with - to exclude it.

%addon : Configure add‑ons such as kdump; --enable and --reserve-mb='auto' reserve memory.

%anaconda : Set password policies; ends with %end.

%pre and %post : Run scripts before partitioning and after installation, respectively; both must end with %end.

Adding the Kickstart Path to the Boot Menu

Save the Kickstart file as ks.cfg on an FTP server (e.g., ftp://10.10.10.53/ks.cfg).

BIOS/Legacy Boot

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default
[label linux]
  menu label ^Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0
  kernel vmlinuz
  append initrd=initrd.img inst.stage2=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd inst.ks=ftp://10.10.10.53/ks.cfg quiet

UEFI Boot

[it@pxesvr ~]$ sudo vim /tftpboot/uefi/grub.cfg
menuentry 'Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0' --class fedora --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
  linuxefi vmlinuz inst.stage2=ftp://10.10.10.53/dvd inst.ks=ftp://10.10.10.53/ks.cfg quiet
  initrdefi initrd.img
}

After configuring the PXE server, you can perform fully automated RHEL 8 installations.