Research: Btrfs expansion and multi-filesystem support

Comprehensive research for expanding project to support both ZFS and Btrfs:

- Feature parity analysis (ZFS vs Btrfs equivalents)
- Btrfs limitations: RAID 5/6 unstable, no native encryption (use LUKS)
- Recommended subvolume layout: @, @home, @snapshots, @var_log, @var_cache
- Snapshot stack: snapper + snap-pac + grub-btrfs + btrfs-assistant
- Multi-disk support: raid1 (mirror), raid10 only
- Installer architecture proposal with modular lib/ structure
- Testing strategy and VM test matrix
- Project rename recommendation: archsnap

Cloned 8 reference repos: grub-btrfs, easy-arch, arch-btrfs-installation,
btrfs-assistant, snap-pac, btrbk, buttermanager, alis

1 files changed, 408 insertions, 0 deletions

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+#+TITLE: Research: Expanding Project to Support Btrfs
+#+DATE: 2026-01-23
+#+AUTHOR: Craig Jennings & Claude
+
+* Executive Summary
+
+This document covers research and architecture planning for expanding the archzfs
+project to support both ZFS and Btrfs filesystems, providing equivalent functionality
+for both.
+
+* Project Renaming
+
+Since "archzfs" implies ZFS-only, the project needs a new name.
+
+** Naming Options
+
+| Name | Pros | Cons |
+|------+------+------|
+| archsnap | Short, implies snapshots | Doesn't mention filesystems |
+| archfs | Generic filesystem installer | Might be too generic |
+| archroot | Implies root filesystem setup | Already used by other tools |
+| arch-snap-install | Descriptive | Long |
+| snaparch | Short, memorable | Sounds like "snap" package manager |
+| archraid | Implies multi-disk | Doesn't mention snapshots |
+| arch-resilient | Implies reliability | Long, vague |
+
+** Recommendation
+*archsnap* - Short, memorable, emphasizes the snapshot capability that's the core
+value proposition of both ZFS and Btrfs configurations.
+
+* Btrfs Equivalent Features
+
+** Feature Parity Matrix
+
+| Feature (ZFS) | Btrfs Equivalent | Tool/Method |
+|---------------+------------------+-------------|
+| ZFS native encryption | LUKS2 + dm-crypt | cryptsetup |
+| zpool mirror | btrfs raid1 | mkfs.btrfs -d raid1 -m raid1 |
+| zpool stripe | btrfs raid0 | mkfs.btrfs -d raid0 |
+| zpool raidz1 | btrfs raid5 | NOT RECOMMENDED (unstable) |
+| zpool raidz2 | btrfs raid6 | NOT RECOMMENDED (unstable) |
+| ZFS datasets | Btrfs subvolumes | btrfs subvolume create |
+| zfs snapshot | btrfs snapshot | btrfs subvolume snapshot |
+| ZFSBootMenu | GRUB + grub-btrfs | grub-btrfs package |
+| sanoid/syncoid | btrbk or snapper | snapper + snap-pac |
+| zfs rollback | snapper rollback | snapper undochange |
+| Pre-pacman snapshots | snap-pac | snap-pac + snapper |
+
+** Important Btrfs Limitations
+
+*** RAID 5/6 is Unstable
+#+BEGIN_QUOTE
+"Parity RAID (RAID 5/6) code has multiple serious data-loss bugs in it."
+-- Btrfs Wiki
+#+END_QUOTE
+
+For multi-disk Btrfs, only offer:
+- *raid1* (mirror) - Stable, recommended
+- *raid10* (striped mirrors) - Requires 4+ disks
+- *raid0* (stripe) - No redundancy, not recommended for root
+
+*** No Native Encryption
+Btrfs doesn't have native encryption. Use LUKS2 as layer beneath:
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdX
+cryptsetup open /dev/sdX cryptroot
+mkfs.btrfs /dev/mapper/cryptroot
+#+END_SRC
+
+*** Bootloader Considerations
+- *GRUB* is required for booting into snapshots (via grub-btrfs)
+- *systemd-boot* can't boot from btrfs snapshots (kernel on FAT32 ESP)
+- ZFSBootMenu equivalent: GRUB + grub-btrfs + grub-btrfsd daemon
+
+* Recommended Btrfs Subvolume Layout
+
+Based on research from multiple sources, this layout provides optimal snapshot
+management and rollback capability:
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC
+btrfs volume (LABEL=archsnap)
+│
+├── @ (subvol) → mounted at /
+├── @home (subvol) → mounted at /home
+├── @snapshots (subvol) → mounted at /.snapshots
+├── @var_log (subvol) → mounted at /var/log
+├── @var_cache (subvol) → mounted at /var/cache
+└── @var_tmp (subvol) → mounted at /var/tmp
+#+END_SRC
+
+** Why This Layout?
+
+1. *@ for root* - Main system, snapshotted for rollbacks
+2. *@home separate* - User data not affected by system rollbacks
+3. *@snapshots separate* - Snapper requirement for snapshot storage
+4. *@var_log separate* - Logs persist across rollbacks, required for read-only snapshots
+5. *@var_cache separate* - Package cache excluded from snapshots (saves space)
+6. *@var_tmp separate* - Temp files excluded from snapshots
+
+** Mount Options
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+# Recommended mount options
+BTRFS_OPTS="noatime,compress=zstd,space_cache=v2,discard=async"
+
+# Example fstab entries (NO subvolid - allows rollback)
+UUID=xxx  /           btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@           0 0
+UUID=xxx  /home       btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@home       0 0
+UUID=xxx  /.snapshots btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@snapshots  0 0
+UUID=xxx  /var/log    btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@var_log    0 0
+UUID=xxx  /var/cache  btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@var_cache  0 0
+UUID=xxx  /var/tmp    btrfs  $BTRFS_OPTS,subvol=@var_tmp    0 0
+#+END_SRC
+
+*CRITICAL*: Do NOT use subvolid= in fstab - it breaks rollbacks!
+
+* Snapshot Management Stack
+
+** Recommended: Snapper + snap-pac + grub-btrfs + btrfs-assistant
+
+| Component | Purpose | Package |
+|-----------+---------+---------|
+| snapper | Snapshot creation, retention, rollback | snapper |
+| snap-pac | Automatic pre/post pacman snapshots | snap-pac |
+| grub-btrfs | Bootable snapshot menu in GRUB | grub-btrfs |
+| grub-btrfsd | Auto-update GRUB on snapshot changes | grub-btrfs (service) |
+| btrfs-assistant | GUI for snapshot management | btrfs-assistant (AUR) |
+| snapper-gui | Alternative lightweight GUI | snapper-gui (AUR) |
+
+** Alternative: btrbk
+
+btrbk is simpler than snapper and handles both snapshots and remote backups:
+#+BEGIN_SRC conf
+# /etc/btrbk.conf
+snapshot_preserve_min   2d
+snapshot_preserve       24h 7d 4w 12m
+
+volume /
+  snapshot_dir /.snapshots
+  subvolume @
+#+END_SRC
+
+** Retention Policy (Snapper)
+
+Default snapper timeline for root:
+#+BEGIN_SRC conf
+# /etc/snapper/configs/root
+TIMELINE_CREATE="yes"
+TIMELINE_CLEANUP="yes"
+TIMELINE_MIN_AGE="1800"
+TIMELINE_LIMIT_HOURLY="5"
+TIMELINE_LIMIT_DAILY="7"
+TIMELINE_LIMIT_WEEKLY="0"
+TIMELINE_LIMIT_MONTHLY="0"
+TIMELINE_LIMIT_YEARLY="0"
+#+END_SRC
+
+Keeps: 5 hourly + 7 daily = ~12 snapshots at any time.
+
+* Multi-Disk Btrfs Setup
+
+** Mirror (2+ disks) - RECOMMENDED
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+# Create mirrored filesystem
+mkfs.btrfs -L archsnap -d raid1 -m raid1 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2
+
+# Mount using ANY device (btrfs auto-discovers others)
+mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
+
+# Create subvolumes
+btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@
+btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@home
+# ... etc
+#+END_SRC
+
+** Stripe (2+ disks) - NOT RECOMMENDED for root
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+# Striped data, mirrored metadata (default)
+mkfs.btrfs -L archsnap -d raid0 -m raid1 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2
+#+END_SRC
+
+Metadata is mirrored by default even in raid0 mode for safety.
+
+** Converting Single to Mirror
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+# Add second device to existing filesystem
+mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
+btrfs device add /dev/sdb2 /mnt
+btrfs balance start -dconvert=raid1 -mconvert=raid1 /mnt
+#+END_SRC
+
+* Reference Repositories Cloned
+
+Located in =reference-repos/=:
+
+| Repository | Purpose |
+|------------+---------|
+| grub-btrfs | GRUB snapshot menu integration |
+| easy-arch | Automated Arch+Btrfs installer |
+| arch-btrfs-installation | Manual install guide |
+| btrfs-assistant | GUI snapshot manager |
+| snap-pac | Pacman hook for snapper |
+| btrbk | Alternative snapshot/backup tool |
+| buttermanager | GUI btrfs management |
+| alis | Arch Linux Install Script (multi-fs) |
+
+* Installer Architecture Changes
+
+** Current Structure (ZFS-only)
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC
+install-archzfs
+├── Phase 1: Configuration gathering (fzf prompts)
+├── Phase 2: Disk partitioning (EFI + ZFS)
+├── Phase 3: ZFS pool/dataset creation
+├── Phase 4: Pacstrap base system
+├── Phase 5: System configuration
+├── Phase 6: ZFSBootMenu installation
+├── Phase 7: Genesis snapshot
+└── Phase 8: Cleanup
+#+END_SRC
+
+** Proposed Structure (Multi-filesystem)
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC
+install-archsnap
+├── Phase 1: Configuration gathering
+│   ├── Hostname, timezone, locale, keymap
+│   ├── Disk selection (multi-select)
+│   ├── RAID level (if multi-disk)
+│   ├── NEW: Filesystem selection (ZFS / Btrfs)
+│   ├── Encryption passphrase
+│   ├── Root password
+│   ├── NEW: Initial user password
+│   └── SSH configuration
+│
+├── Phase 2: Disk partitioning
+│   ├── EFI partition (same for both)
+│   └── Root partition (type depends on FS choice)
+│
+├── Phase 3: Filesystem creation
+│   ├── IF ZFS: create pool + datasets
+│   └── IF Btrfs: create volume + subvolumes
+│
+├── Phase 4: Pacstrap base system
+│   ├── Common packages
+│   ├── IF ZFS: zfs-dkms, zfs-utils
+│   └── IF Btrfs: btrfs-progs, snapper, snap-pac, grub-btrfs
+│
+├── Phase 5: System configuration
+│   ├── Common config (locale, timezone, hostname)
+│   ├── IF ZFS: ZFS-specific configs
+│   └── IF Btrfs: snapper configs, grub-btrfs configs
+│
+├── Phase 6: Bootloader installation
+│   ├── IF ZFS: ZFSBootMenu
+│   └── IF Btrfs: GRUB + grub-btrfs
+│
+├── Phase 7: Genesis snapshot
+│   ├── IF ZFS: zfs snapshot -r zroot@genesis
+│   └── IF Btrfs: snapper create -c root -d "genesis"
+│
+└── Phase 8: Cleanup
+#+END_SRC
+
+** Code Organization
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC bash
+install-archsnap
+├── lib/
+│   ├── common.sh      # Shared functions (colors, prompts, fzf)
+│   ├── disk.sh        # Partitioning (shared)
+│   ├── zfs.sh         # ZFS-specific functions
+│   ├── btrfs.sh       # Btrfs-specific functions
+│   └── config.sh      # Config file handling
+├── configs/
+│   ├── snapper-root.conf
+│   └── btrbk.conf.example
+└── install-archsnap   # Main script
+#+END_SRC
+
+* Testing Strategy
+
+** VM Test Matrix
+
+| Config | Disks | Filesystem | RAID | Test |
+|--------+-------+------------+------+------|
+| Single ZFS | 1 | ZFS | - | Install, boot, rollback |
+| Single Btrfs | 1 | Btrfs | - | Install, boot, rollback |
+| Mirror ZFS | 2 | ZFS | mirror | Install, fail disk, recover |
+| Mirror Btrfs | 2 | Btrfs | raid1 | Install, fail disk, recover |
+| RAIDZ1 ZFS | 3 | ZFS | raidz1 | Install, fail disk, recover |
+
+** Test Scenarios
+
+1. *Fresh Install*
+   - Single disk, multi-disk
+   - Interactive and config-file modes
+
+2. *Snapshot Operations*
+   - Manual snapshot creation
+   - Automatic pre-pacman snapshots
+   - Boot into snapshot
+   - Rollback to snapshot
+
+3. *Failure Recovery*
+   - Single disk failure (mirror/raidz)
+   - Corrupt boot
+   - Kernel update breaks system
+
+4. *Encryption*
+   - ZFS native encryption
+   - LUKS + Btrfs encryption
+
+** Test Scripts
+
+#+BEGIN_SRC
+scripts/
+├── test-zfs-single.sh
+├── test-zfs-mirror.sh
+├── test-zfs-raidz.sh
+├── test-btrfs-single.sh
+├── test-btrfs-mirror.sh
+└── test-configs/
+    ├── zfs-single.conf
+    ├── zfs-mirror.conf
+    ├── btrfs-single.conf
+    └── btrfs-mirror.conf
+#+END_SRC
+
+* CLI and GUI Tools
+
+** CLI Tools to Install (Both Filesystems)
+
+| Tool | Purpose |
+|------+---------|
+| archsnap-snapshot | Create manual snapshot (wrapper) |
+| archsnap-rollback | Interactive rollback (fzf-based) |
+| archsnap-list | List snapshots |
+| archsnap-prune | Manual pruning |
+
+These would be thin wrappers that detect the filesystem and call the appropriate
+underlying tool (zfs/snapper/btrbk).
+
+** GUI Options
+
+*** For Btrfs
+- *btrfs-assistant* (recommended) - Full-featured, actively maintained
+- *snapper-gui* - Lighter weight alternative
+
+*** For ZFS
+- No equivalent mature GUI exists
+- Could build a simple zenity/yad wrapper
+
+* Implementation Phases
+
+** Phase 1: Refactor Current Installer
+1. Extract common functions to lib/common.sh
+2. Extract ZFS-specific code to lib/zfs.sh
+3. Add filesystem selection prompt
+4. Rename project to archsnap
+
+** Phase 2: Implement Btrfs Support
+1. Create lib/btrfs.sh with btrfs-specific functions
+2. Implement subvolume creation
+3. Implement snapper configuration
+4. Implement GRUB + grub-btrfs installation
+5. Create btrfs genesis snapshot
+
+** Phase 3: Testing Infrastructure
+1. Create test configs for all scenarios
+2. Update test-vm.sh for btrfs testing
+3. Create automated test suite
+4. Test multi-disk configurations
+
+** Phase 4: CLI Tools
+1. Create archsnap-snapshot wrapper
+2. Create archsnap-rollback wrapper
+3. Update documentation
+
+** Phase 5: Documentation & Polish
+1. Update README for dual-filesystem support
+2. Create BTRFS-specific documentation
+3. Update troubleshooting guides
+
+* Sources
+
+** Btrfs Installation
+- [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Btrfs][Arch Wiki - Btrfs]]
+- [[https://github.com/egara/arch-btrfs-installation][arch-btrfs-installation]]
+- [[https://gist.github.com/mjkstra/96ce7a5689d753e7a6bdd92cdc169bae][Modern Arch+Btrfs Guide]]
+
+** Snapshot Management
+- [[https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs][grub-btrfs]]
+- [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Snapper][Arch Wiki - Snapper]]
+- [[https://github.com/wesbarnett/snap-pac][snap-pac]]
+- [[https://github.com/digint/btrbk][btrbk]]
+
+** GUI Tools
+- [[https://gitlab.com/btrfs-assistant/btrfs-assistant][btrfs-assistant]]
+- [[https://github.com/egara/buttermanager][buttermanager]]
+
+** Multi-Disk
+- [[https://archive.kernel.org/oldwiki/btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Using_Btrfs_with_Multiple_Devices.html][Btrfs Wiki - Multiple Devices]]
+- [[https://thelinuxcode.com/set-up-btrfs-raid/][How to Set Up Btrfs RAID]]