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Ubuntu Server Daily Build for VMware Desktop Hypervisors

Automated Ubuntu Server virtual machine builder using Packer and VMware Fusion/Workstation. This project creates baseline Ubuntu Server virtual machines from the latest daily builds with automated provisioning using cloud-init.

Features

  • Latest Ubuntu Server: Uses daily builds from Ubuntu's official repository.
  • Automated Setup: Fully automated virtual machine creation with cloud-init
  • Cross-Platform: Supports both VMware Fusion (macOS) and VMware Workstation (Windows/Linux)
  • Architecture Support: Works with both AMD64 and ARM64 architectures.
  • Secure Random Passwords: Cryptographically secure password generation.
  • Override Support: Customize virtual machine settings without modifying core files.
  • Force Build: Automatically overwrites existing VMs for clean builds.

Prerequisites

Required Software

Quick Start

  1. Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/tenthirtyam/packer-vmware-desktop-ubuntu-daily
cd packer-vmware-desktop-ubuntu-daily

  2. Run the build script

    ./ubuntu-daily.sh

  3. Wait for completion The script will automatically:

    • Download the latest Ubuntu Server daily ISO
    • Validate checksums
    • Overwrite any existing VMs
    • Build the virtual machine using Packer
    • Create a snapshot
    • Clean up temporary files

Configuration

Default Settings

  • VM Name: ubuntu-YYYYMMDD-{arch} (e.g., ubuntu-20250911-arm64)
  • Username: ubuntu
  • Password: Cryptographically secure random (12 characters)
  • Memory: 4GB
  • Disk: 20GB
  • CPUs: 2 cores
  • Locale: en_US.UTF-8
  • Keyboard Layout: us
  • Timezone: UTC

Customization Options

Usage Options

# Use auto-generated secure password.
./ubuntu-daily.sh

# Use custom password (prompts securely).
./ubuntu-daily.sh --password=<your_password>

# Show help.
./ubuntu-daily.sh --help

Password Security

  • Auto-generated: Cryptographically secure (12 characters) using OpenSSL.
  • Custom passwords: Prompted securely (no echo) with confirmation.
  • No command-line exposure: Passwords never appear in shell history.
  • Validation: Ensures passwords are not empty and match confirmation.

Fixed Directories

  • ISO Files: ./iso/ (created automatically)
  • Virtual Machine Output: ./output/ (created automatically)

Override Configuration

Create an overrides.pkrvars.hcl file to customize the settings without modifying the main configuration:

# Copy the example file.
cp overrides.pkrvars.hcl.example overrides.pkrvars.hcl

# Edit with your preferred settings.
vim overrides.pkrvars.hcl

Common Override Examples

# Hardware Settings
vm_cpu = 4
vm_memory = 12288
vm_disk_size = 102400

# Locale & Timezone Settings
locale = "en_GB"
keyboard_layout = "uk"
timezone = "Europe/London"

# Extended Timeout Settings
ssh_timeout = "30m"
shutdown_timeout = "20m"

The script automatically detects and uses overrides.pkrvars.hcl if present.

Build Process

The build process follows these steps:

  1. Validation: Checks for required tools and dependencies
  2. Password Generation: Creates cryptographically secure random password
  3. ISO Download: Downloads the latest Ubuntu Server daily ISO
  4. Checksum Verification: Validates ISO integrity
  5. Packer Initialization: Initializes Packer plugins
  6. Configuration Validation: Validates Packer configuration
  7. VM Creation: Creates and configures the virtual machine
  8. OS Installation: Automated Ubuntu installation via cloud-init
  9. Post-Processing: Creates snapshot and cleans up files

Output

After successful completion, you'll find the virtual machine in output/.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests.

Sponsor

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License

Copyright © 2025-2026 Ryan Johnson

Licensed under the MIT License.