How could one implement a linux installer that runs on windows? (programming.dev)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by onlinepersona@programming.dev to c/linux@programming.dev

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A linux installer for windows that works just like a normal installer on windows. You download the .exe, double click it, it opens a wizard you can walk though, and by the end of the process, after it reboots, you're in a linux distro.

How could something like this be implemented?

My idea:

Best case scenario where multiple data partitions exist and can accommodate the user data stored on C:/ + there's a swap partition -->

download a linux iso
deactivate swap
replace swap partition with ISO contents
modify contents to auto install linux with settings from wizard
add boot entry to boot from old swap / modified ISO
reboot
install linux with a nice progress animation
- move user data from C:/ to other partition
- replace C:/ with linux
- install alternatives to programs found on windows (firefox for edge, gimp for paint, inkscape for ..., libreoffice for MS office, etc.)
- move user data to /home/$username
- configure DE with theme (gnome for macos look, kde with theme for windows look)
- other customisations
reboot into linux

Dunno if this is feasible in the best case scenario.

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[-] Corbin@programming.dev 2 points 5 months ago

The biggest barrier is writing lots of formatted data to disk without a pre-existing filesystem structure. Look at nixos-anywhere for an example; the first thing it does is ensure that it's booted into Linux, because otherwise it can't trust that the disks are laid out properly.