[Bug]: armbian-config just "uninstalled" =deleted my whole OS. 😨

[pjotrek-b]

What happened?

I'm glad, this was a fresh-from-image new install:
I followed these official Armbian on Odroid HC4 Instructions to setup my 2nd HC4.

All well, until I ran armbian-config and selected the option to disable automatic updates.
Suddenly, the terminal refreshed to show me an ncurses-style apt-manager, showing me that it now uninstalls /all/ system-relevant packages of my system.

I'm left with this:

root@odroidhc4:~# ls
-bash: /usr/bin/ls: Input/output error

Here's the complete, uncut commandline and console output:

oot@10.0.0.243's password: 

    _             _    _           
   /_\  _ _ _ __ | |__(_)__ _ _ _  
  / _ \| '_| '  \| '_ \ / _` | ' \ 
 /_/ \_\_| |_|_|_|_.__/_\__,_|_||_|
                                   
 v25.11.1 for Odroid HC4 running Armbian Linux 6.12.58-current-meson64

 Packages:     Debian rolling (bookworm)
 Updates:      Kernel upgrade disabled and 1 package available for upgrade 
 IPv4:         (LAN) 10.0.0.243 (WAN) 213.162.84.236 
 IPv6:         2001:4bc9:803:a46b:21e:6ff:fe49:2250 (WAN) 2001:4bc9:803:a46b:8a45:fb62:f3a9:be5b 

 Performance:  

 Load:         2%           	 Uptime:       17 minutes	
 Memory usage: 6% of 3.69G  	
 CPU temp:     45°C           	 Usage of /:   4% of 57G    	

 Tips:

 What’s new in Armbian v25.11? https://tinyurl.com/5bdupwwk

 Commands: 

 Configuration : armbian-config
 Upgrade       : armbian-upgrade
 Monitoring    : htop

root@odroidhc4:~# armbian-config 
Initializing script
Loaded Runtime variables...
Check distro
Loaded Dialog...
Loaded Docs...
Loaded System helpers...
Loaded Network helpers...
Loaded Software helpers...
Loaded Runtime conditions...
sed: can't read /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades: No such file or directory

/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 1026: /usr/bin/apt-get: Input/output error
/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 92: /usr/bin/jq: Input/output error
/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 175: /usr/bin/jq: Input/output error
/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 211: /usr/bin/jq: Input/output error
/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 219: /usr/bin/jq: Input/output error
/usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh: line 348: /usr/bin/../lib/armbian-config/config.functions.sh:: No such file or directory
User canceled. exiting
root@odroidhc4:~# df -h
-bash: /usr/bin/df: Input/output error
root@odroidhc4:~# ls
-bash: /usr/bin/ls: Input/output error
root@odroidhc4:~# 

What kind of booby-trap did I step on here? 💣 😁

How to reproduce?

I have not YET tried to reproduce it, as I still need to re-flash the armbian v25.11.1 image onto my SD card, but all I did (AFAIK) was this:

1. login as root per ssh
2. run: armbian-config
3. de-select the options to auto-update the kernel or install security updates
4. select the last menu option to disable automated updates
5. continue.

On which OS are you observing this problem? (for easier diagnosis please provide logs with armbianmonitor -u)

Armbian Ubuntu 24.04 Noble

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[github-actions]

Hey @pjotrek-b! 👋

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🔗 Similar Issues

Possible Duplicates

• [Bug]: delete Openmediavault on "Disable automatic updates" #683

Related Issues

• [Bug]: removing DE removes network-manager #484
• Session crash on early exit from network set static #414
• Changing keyboard layout doesn't work #288
• https://github.com/armbian/build/issues/8121
• [Bug]: armbian-config stuck without CLI configuration GUI #376
• [Bug]: "SY203 - Disable Armbian kernel upgrades" doesn't seem to take #458

👤 Suggested Assignees

• leggewie
• stephengraf
• canonex
• Qwertylala1
• danielmendoncabr

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[pjotrek-b]

Oh, I just re-read the "bookworm is not officially supported" warning that armbian-config shows when running it on the recent 25.11.1 omv-minimal release.

The current OS (bookworm) is not a officially supported distro!

The tool might still work well, but be aware that issues may
not be accepted and addressed by the maintainers. However, you
are welcome to contribute fixes for any problems you encounter.

[pjotrek-b]

Okay, I can reproduce it:

Exactly as I wrote above, but it's sufficient to "just" select the last menu option to disable automated updates:

1. login as root per ssh
2. run: armbian-config
3. select the last menu option to disable automated updates.

Done! base-system packages gone. 😢
Hope this helps anyone?
I'm going to rollback to 24.11.1 for now.

[EvilOlaf]

OMV is known to heavily mess with the system and alter all kinds of stuff. I bet it somewhere spits into dependencies or whatever.

[pjotrek-b]

@EvilOlaf : Maybe... So you think it's an OMV issue?
Still: if it affects the official release build, it's worth noting that "this may eat your system" 😉

So I wanted to download a "25.11 bookworm only" minimal image, but the Armbian HC4 download page lists a minimal-generic (IoT) with Ubuntu Noble - and Debian only for dedicated applications (Home Assistant, OMV, OpenHab & Kali) - or as Debian Trixie.

Which surprised me.

Where can I find current-stable-minimal-bookworm image for HC4?
Grateful for any infos 😄

[igorpecovnik]

Where

https://www.armbian.com/download/
https://github.com/armbian/imager

If it doesn't exists, build one:
https://docs.armbian.com/Developer-Guide_Build-Preparation/

Those are options.

[pjotrek-b]

@igorpecovnik : Thanks for the links! 😄
The "imager" was new to me.

I'm incredibly happy, grateful and amazed how many different device-specific builds Armbian provides: Thank you so much! 🧁
No bookworm-minimal prebuilt for 25.11, but 24.11. Fine. Do you happen to have build-scripts/Makefiles for 24.11? They would contain a working CLI call to re-build it offline, I guess?

I still believe though, that I may not be the only one who may follow official setup-instructions - thereby easily uninstalling the whole OS: if disabling auto-updates.
I'd be happy if I could help fixing that menu-option, and if I can avoid anyone the trouble of running into the same situation. 😁
Can I maybe help checking any packaging (apt?) calls in armbian-config, which may cause this problem? :)

It feels like the option to disable auto-updates would remove a certain package, causing a "depedency-package removed: uninstalling packages requiring it". Oh, I would have looved to have a simple <Cancel> option, keyboard-shortcut or plain menu or button, while watching the progress bar mentioning all base-system package being removed... 😨 😭

Like a SciFi scene, where "computer says NO' 😉 🤖 😁

All good.
Img files are re-flashed so quickly these days, I'm happy it happened right after setup.
It was good to repeat the procedure a few times: I'll remember it now!

Grateful for everything.
Can we fix it?

[igorpecovnik]

@coderabbitai Do you think this script https://raw.githubusercontent.com/armbian/configng/refs/heads/main/tools/modules/system/module_armbian_upgrades.sh can do such harm?

The "imager" was new to me.

It was released few days ago :=) To provide multi-arch desktop variant of this https://blog.armbian.com/armbian-flashing-tool/ and to drop the need to deal with potentially harmful (Balena Etcher) 3rd party flashing tools.

No bookworm-minimal prebuilt for 25.11, but 24.11.

Then use that and upgrade. This is open source world - all files are on GitHub, nobody hides anything but its hard to locate things and hard to compile things. We do what we can - use our tooling. We don't maintain old branches - they have frozen sources by default, so you should be able to build old one by checking out v24.11 build branch. But in case of troubles, you are on your own.

Can I maybe help checking any packaging (apt?) calls in armbian-config, which may cause this problem? :)

You are welcome to dig the code and see if there is anything suspicious. I also asked AI for analysis, perhaps "he" will find something.

Img files are re-flashed so quickly these days

Download is still slow but we have possibility to implement parallel or torrent download and speed it up to max out users download capacity.

Can we fix it?

Everything is fixable. Just our time / capacity is super super limited :(

[coderabbitai]

🧩 Analysis chain

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash

# Fetch and analyze the module_armbian_upgrades.sh script
echo "=== Fetching module_armbian_upgrades.sh ==="
curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/armbian/configng/refs/heads/main/tools/modules/system/module_armbian_upgrades.sh"

echo -e "\n\n=== Searching for apt/package management commands in the script ==="
curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/armbian/configng/refs/heads/main/tools/modules/system/module_armbian_upgrades.sh" | grep -E "(apt|dpkg|systemctl|unhold|hold|remove|purge|autoremove)" -n

echo -e "\n\n=== Checking for armbian-config package in repository ==="
rg -n "armbian-config" --type sh -C 2 | head -50

Length of output: 11533

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash

# Search for package dependencies and armbian-ramlog references
echo "=== Searching for armbian-ramlog and related packages ==="
rg -n "armbian-ramlog" --type sh -C 3 | head -50

echo -e "\n\n=== Searching for package removal patterns ==="
rg -n "(apt.*remove|apt.*purge|apt.*autoremove)" --type sh -C 3 | head -50

Length of output: 1155

---

@igorpecovnik Yes, I found the likely culprit! 🔍

The module_armbian_upgrades.sh script itself looks relatively safe, but the issue is in the underlying pkg_remove function it calls.

The Problem

When a user selects to disable automated updates, it triggers the remove command which calls:

The pkg_remove function (in tools/modules/functions/package.sh:70) uses:

This is the dangerous part! The autopurge command:

• Removes the package
• Purges configuration files
• Automatically removes ALL packages marked as "automatically installed" dependencies

Why This Causes Cascading Removal

On systems (especially OMV-modified ones) where package dependency relationships have been altered, autopurge can trigger a chain reaction:

1. Removes unattended-upgrades
2. Identifies other packages marked as auto-installed dependencies
3. Removes those packages (potentially including base-system packages)
4. The -y flag means no confirmation is requested

Recommended Fix

The pkg_remove function should use a safer approach:

Consider changing pkg_remove to use apt-get remove instead of apt-get autopurge, or:

1. Add a confirmation dialog before any package removal
2. Use apt-get remove --simulate first to show what would be removed
3. Add an option for users to choose between remove vs autopurge
4. For critical operations like disabling updates, just stop the service without removing the package

Would you like me to search for how many other modules might be affected by this pkg_remove behavior?

---

🏁 Script executed:

pkg_remove unattended-upgrades

Length of output: 48

---

🏁 Script executed:

apt-get -y autopurge "$@"

Length of output: 45

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash

# Check what other modules use pkg_remove to assess impact
echo "=== Modules using pkg_remove ==="
rg -n "pkg_remove" --type sh -C 1 | head -100

Length of output: 6325

---

@igorpecovnik The investigation confirms the problem and it's system-wide, affecting 20+ modules! Here's the detailed analysis:

Root Cause Confirmed

File: tools/modules/functions/package.sh:70

The autopurge command is extremely aggressive:

• Removes the target package
• Purges all configuration files
• Automatically removes ALL packages marked as "automatically installed" that no longer have dependencies
• The -y flag bypasses all confirmation prompts

Why This Destroys Systems

On OMV-modified systems (or any system with complex/altered package dependencies):

1. User selects "disable automatic updates"
2. Triggers: pkg_remove unattended-upgrades
3. autopurge removes unattended-upgrades
4. Then scans for "unused" auto-installed packages
5. On OMV systems where dependencies are modified, base-system packages may appear "unused"
6. Boom - removes base-system packages without confirmation 💥

Scope of Impact

Found pkg_remove used in 20+ modules including:

• release_upgrade.sh:52 - Calls pkg_remove with no arguments to "remove all auto-installed packages" 😱
• module_armbian_upgrades.sh - Your reported issue
• module_desktop.sh, module_omv.sh, module_haos.sh, and many others

Recommended Solutions

Option 1: Make pkg_remove Safer (Quick Fix)

Option 2: Add Confirmation Dialog (Better UX)

Option 3: Create Separate Functions (Most Flexible)

Option 4: For Updates Module Specifically

Instead of removing the package, just disable the service:

Would you like me to:

1. Create a detailed issue with reproduction steps and fix recommendations?
2. Investigate further to understand what packages OMV alters that could trigger this?
3. Check if there are any existing safeguards I missed?

---

🏁 Script executed:

pkg_remove()
{
	_pkg_have_stdin && debconf-apt-progress -- apt-get -y autopurge "$@" || apt-get -y autopurge "$@"
}

Length of output: 0

---

🏁 Script executed:

pkg_remove()
{
    # Use 'remove' instead of 'autopurge' - safer, doesn't cascade
    _pkg_have_stdin && debconf-apt-progress -- apt-get -y remove "$@" || apt-get -y remove "$@"
}

Length of output: 0

---

🏁 Script executed:

pkg_remove()
{
    # Show what will be removed and ask for confirmation
    apt-get --simulate autopurge "$@" 
    # Then add dialog to confirm before proceeding
}

Length of output: 0

---

🏁 Script executed:

pkg_remove()      # Safe: just removes package
pkg_autopurge()   # Aggressive: removes + unused dependencies with confirmation

Length of output: 178

---

🏁 Script executed:

"${commands[1]}")
    # Disable service instead of removing package
    systemctl stop unattended-upgrades
    systemctl disable unattended-upgrades
;;

Length of output: 131

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash

# Let's see what the release_upgrade.sh line 52 context looks like
echo "=== Checking the dangerous pkg_remove with no args ==="
rg -n "pkg_remove.*# remove all auto-installed" --type sh -B 5 -A 5

Length of output: 689

---

@igorpecovnik I found something extremely dangerous in the codebase:

🚨 Critical Finding

File: tools/modules/system/release_upgrade.sh:52

pkg_remove # remove all auto-installed packages

This calls apt-get -y autopurge with no package name, which means it will attempt to remove ALL auto-installed packages from the system! This is incredibly destructive.

Summary of the Issue

The pkg_remove function uses apt-get -y autopurge which:

1. For the upgrades module: When users disable automatic updates, it removes unattended-upgrades plus all "unused" dependencies
2. On OMV systems: Dependencies are modified, so base-system packages may appear "unused" and get removed
3. No confirmation: The -y flag removes packages without asking
4. 20+ affected modules: This pattern is used throughout the codebase

Immediate Recommendations

1. Fix the pkg_remove function (Critical)

File: tools/modules/functions/package.sh:70

Change from:

apt-get -y autopurge "$@"

To:

apt-get -y remove "$@"

This prevents cascading removal of auto-installed dependencies.

2. Fix the release_upgrade.sh line (Critical)

The call to pkg_remove with no arguments on line 52 needs to be removed or made much more specific about what it should remove.

3. Add Confirmation for Destructive Operations (Recommended)

Before any pkg_remove operation, show users what will be removed and ask for confirmation.

4. For the Upgrades Module Specifically

Instead of removing the package, consider just disabling the service:

systemctl disable --now unattended-upgrades

Next Steps

Would you like me to:

1. Create a GitHub issue with detailed analysis and proposed fixes?
2. Plan code changes to implement the safer pkg_remove function and fix affected modules?
3. Add a warning to the documentation about using armbian-config on OMV systems?

This is a genuine safety issue that could affect many users beyond just the OMV case reported. The fix is straightforward but needs to be tested across all affected modules.

---

🧠 Learnings used

Learnt from: Tearran
Repo: armbian/configng PR: 668
File: tools/modules/initialize/init_args.sh:167-180
Timestamp: 2025-08-29T05:39:16.674Z
Learning: Tearran is introducing an "independent drop in module concept" in the armbian/configng project where modules can function both as sourceable components and as standalone executables using BASH_SOURCE checks. The init_args.sh module is the first to implement this hybrid pattern, allowing both traditional sourcing and direct execution with built-in testing capabilities.

[igorpecovnik]

Can I maybe help checking any packaging (apt?) calls in armbian-config, which may cause this problem? :)

Try what Rabbit suggests.

[pjotrek-b]

wow! 😊 I'm startled... wow.

That auto-generated suggestion sounds reasonable at first glance. If the "-y" switch can be toggled: I'll see if I could patch and PR that. how exciting!