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Overview

🗂 Using custom-root Directly in Cubic Projects

When you create a Cubic project, all modifications to the ISO are stored in the custom-root folder. This folder represents the entire filesystem of your custom ISO, and you can interact with it directly without entering the virtual chroot environment.

Many users, especially for tasks like adding wallpapers, copying GNOME extensions, or editing configuration files, find it more convenient to work directly in the file system instead of using the Cubic terminal or chroot environment.

1️⃣ Why Work Directly in custom-root

  • Visibility & Comfort: You can browse folders using your file manager or IDE, which is often faster and easier than navigating the virtual chroot terminal.

  • Direct Copy & Paste: Adding files like wallpapers or extensions is as simple as dragging and dropping into the appropriate folders:

  • Wallpapers → custom-root/usr/share/backgrounds/

  • Extensions → custom-root/usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/

  • Applications → custom-root/usr/share/applications/

  • Avoid Chroot Complexity: Some users prefer this approach because it eliminates the need to learn chroot commands or deal with environment-specific limitations.

2️⃣ Permissions and Ownership

By default, custom-root files may be owned by root or have restricted permissions, preventing you from modifying them directly. To fix this:

  1. Change ownership to your user:
sudo chown -R $(whoami):$(whoami) /path/to/custom-root
  1. Grant full permissions (read, write, execute) recursively:
sudo chmod -R 777 /path/to/custom-root

Explanation of Commands:

Command Purpose
chown -R $(whoami):$(whoami) Makes your user the owner of all files and folders recursively (-R).
chmod -R 777 Grants read, write, execute permissions to all users on all files and directories recursively.

3️⃣ Workflow Using custom-root

  1. Open custom-root in your file manager or IDE.

  2. Copy or edit files directly:

  3. Wallpapers → /usr/share/backgrounds/

  4. Extensions → /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/
  5. Application .desktop files → /usr/share/applications/

  6. If files are locked:

  7. Open a terminal.

  8. Run the chown and chmod commands above.
  9. After modifications, you can re-enter Cubic and continue building the ISO.
  10. Cubic will include all changes made directly in custom-root during the ISO build process.

4️⃣ Advantages of Direct Editing

  • Faster for bulk operations like copying multiple extensions or wallpapers.
  • Full visibility into the filesystem structure.
  • No need to repeatedly enter/exit chroot, saving time.
  • Works seamlessly with all other Cubic customization steps (GRUB edits, ISO compression, branding, etc.).

5️⃣ Important Notes

  • Always backup your custom-root folder before making massive changes.
  • Avoid accidentally modifying system-critical files like /boot unless necessary.
  • After finishing your edits, verify all permissions are correct and that no files are missing or misconfigured.