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FAI (Fully Automatic Installation)
What it is
FAI (Fully Automatic Installation) automates unattended installation and configuration of Linux systems and software on physical computers and virtual machines. It is free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later, and the project dates to 1999. The project lists desktops, servers, notebooks, clusters, server farms, and Linux labs or classrooms as targets, scaling from a few machines to several thousand. Supported distributions include Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Linux Mint, RHEL, and SUSE. Installations can start from PXE network boot or unattended CD media, with configuration fetched through HTTP, NFS, SVN, or Git. FAI organizes similar machines into classes and uses hooks to customize installation stages. It can partition disks, create file systems, and set up software RAID or LVM. It also automates virtual machine installation and customized cloud images for OpenStack, KVM, Azure, EC2, and GCE. FAI.me builds installation or live media and bootable disk images without local FAI installation; its options include SSH keys, partitioning, repositories, packages, scripts, and first-boot actions.
For and against
For
- Free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later.
- Supports several named Linux distributions.
- Works from a few machines to several thousand.
- FAI.me builds media without local FAI installation.
Against
- Some distributions fetch remaining packages over the network from the default large CD.
- Questions and bug reports use separate project channels.
The verdict
FAI combines unattended Linux deployment with configuration customization, storage setup, and virtual-machine and cloud-image workflows. Its documented targets range from individual computers to large machine groups.
Who it suits
FAI suits administrators managing Linux desktops, servers, clusters, or labs that need repeatable unattended installation. Its FAI.me service also suits people who want custom installation media without installing FAI locally.
Plans and prices
FAI
Free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later
Read 7 Oct 2026 · fai-project.org
On the record
- Configuration
- FAI uses classes to group similar machines and hooks to customize installation stages.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment scale
- FAI is described as scaling from a few computers to several thousand machines.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- FAI.me
- FAI.me is a web service for building custom installation or live media and bootable disk images without installing FAI locally.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- FAI.me options
- The image builder exposes settings for SSH keys, partitioning, repositories, desktop and packages, custom scripts, and first boot actions.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Installation media limit
- The default large FAI CD image includes packages for Debian XFCE and GNOME but only base files for several other listed distributions, whose remaining packages are fetched over the network.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Installation methods
- Installations can use PXE network boot or unattended CD media, with configuration data retrieved through HTTP, NFS, SVN or Git.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The maker documents receiving configuration over HTTP, NFS, SVN or Git, and adding SSH public keys from GitHub, GitLab, Debian Salsa or a custom URL in FAI.me.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Intended environments
- The maker lists desktops, servers, notebooks, clusters, server farms, and Linux labs or classrooms as installation targets.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Operating systems
- The project lists Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Linux Mint, RHEL and SUSE among supported Linux distributions.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- FAI automates unattended mass deployment and configuration of Linux systems and software on computers and virtual machines.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Security
- FAI packages are signed with Thomas Lange's GPG key, and the project lists Secure Boot support in FAI release 6.5.7.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Storage
- The project lists software RAID and LVM setup, disk partitioning, and file system creation as installation capabilities.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs questions to its mailing list and bugs to the Debian Bug Tracking System, and says commercial support is available worldwide from the author.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Virtualization and cloud
- FAI supports automated virtual machine installation and customized cloud images for platforms including OpenStack, KVM, Azure, EC2 and GCE.fai-project.org · read 7 Oct 2026
