The Slackware setup program handles installation of the software packages on your system. There are files that tell the setup program which packages must be installed, which ones are optional, and which ones are selected by default by the setup program.
A tagfile is in the first software series directory and is called tagfile. It lists the packages in that particular disk set and their status. The status can be:
Table 16-3. tagfile Status Options
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ADD | The package is required for proper system operation |
| SKP | The package will be automatically skipped |
| REC | The package is not required, but recommended |
| OPT | The package is optional |
The format is simply:
<package name>: <status> |
One package per line. The original tagfiles for each software series are stored as tagfile.org. So if you mess up yours, you can restore the original one.
Many administrators prefer writing their own tagfiles and starting the installer and selecting “full”. The setup program will read the tagfiles and perform the installation according to their contents. If you use REC or OPT, a dialog box will be presented to the user asking whether or not they want a particular package. Therefore, it is recommended that you stick with ADD and SKP when writing tagfiles for automated installs.
Just make sure your tagfiles are written to the same location as the originals. Or you can specify a custom tagfile path if you have custom tagfiles.