[Grml] Adding packages

[Lars-Erik Helander]

I am new to grml and I hope someone would be able to help me on this topic.

I am running grml off a USB stick with a persistent home.
I am using a number of packages not available in grml so I put these
in a "debs" directory on the root of my live partition (showing up
under /live/image/debs) and use the debs boot option.
This works fine and all these packages gets installed when I boot.

Problem 1: Adding another package to the "debs" directory
Since the /live/image tree is mounted read-only I cannot add/remove
any .deb files in the "debs" directory.
What I do now is that I boot some other system than by USB booted grml
system; mounts the USB stick and copy/remove files to/from the "debs"
directory; boot from the USB stick.
I would like to be able to do this without having to start some other
system, but do this in the system booted from the USB stick.
Is there a method that would allow me to do that.

Problem 2: Avoid installation at boot
The above method (putting .deb files in the "debs" directory) is very
useful for finding out the packages you need to have. Once you know
what packages you would need than you would be better off with a
method that would not require you to install the packages on each
boot, but that these packages came pre-installed.
A natural way would be to either add these packages to the live system
package set somehow.
As I can see the live system consist of a squashfs file and a file
that points out the name of this file.
Is there a way to either extend the existing squashfs file or to add
some additional squashfs (or other fs-type) file that will be mounted
along the original squashfs file?

Kind Regards

/Lars