Before building packages, clone or download [this repository](https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet/tree/main) and [install Go](https://golang.org/doc/install).
Building Windows packages requires Docker to be installed.
### Packaging support
- **macOS** - `.pkg` package generation with (optional) [notarization](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution) and codesigning - Persistence via `launchd`.
| --use-system-configuration | Try to read --fleet-url and --enroll-secret using configuration in the host (currently only macOS profiles are supported) |
| --host-identifier | Sets the host identifier that orbit and osquery will use when enrolling to Fleet. Options: `uuid` and `instance` (requires Fleet >= v4.42.0) (default: `uuid`) |
| FLEET\_PREVENT\_SCRIPT\_TEMPDIR\_DELETION | If set to a non-empty value, prevents deletion of the temporary directory where the scripts being executed are stored. Those are located in the temporary directory of the system, under a sub-directory starting with `fleet-`. |
[Fleet Desktop](./Fleet-desktop.md) is a menu bar icon available on macOS, Windows, and Linux that gives your end users visibility into the security posture of their machine.
Fleetd uses the concept of "update channels" to determine the version of Orbit, Fleet Desktop, osquery, and any extensions (extension support coming soon) to run. This concept is modeled from the common versioning convention for Docker containers.
Additionally, `stable` and `edge` are special channel names. The `stable` channel will provide the most recent osquery version that Fleet deems to be stable. When a new version of osquery is released, it's added to the `edge` channel for beta testing. Fleet then provides input to the osquery TSC based on testing. After the version is declared stable by the osquery TSC, Fleet will promote the version to `stable` ASAP.
Fleetd's packager can automate the codesigning and notarization steps to allow the resulting package to generate packages that appear "trusted" when installed on macOS hosts. Signing and notarization are supported only on macOS hosts.
For signing, a "Developer ID Installer" certificate must be available on the build machine ([generation instructions](https://help.apple.com/xcode/mac/current/#/dev154b28f09)). Use `security find-identity -v` to verify the existence of this certificate and make note of the identifier provided in the left column.
For notarization, valid App Store Connect credentials must be available on the build machine. Set these in the environment variables `AC_USERNAME` and `AC_PASSWORD`. It's common to configure this via [app-specific passwords](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204397). Some organizations (notably those with Apple Enterprise Developer Accounts) may also need to specify `AC_TEAM_ID`. This value can be found on the [Apple Developer "Membership" page](https://developer.apple.com/account/#!/membership) under "Team ID."
Build a signed and notarized macOS package with an invocation like the following:
You can use the `--debug` option in `fleetctl package` to generate installers in "debug mode." This mode increases the verbosity of logging for orbit and osqueryd (log DEBUG level).
## Orbit
Orbit is an [osquery](https://github.com/osquery/osquery) runtime and autoupdater that is bundled in Fleetd. With Orbit, it's easy to deploy osquery, manage configurations, and stay up to date. Orbit eases the deployment of osquery connected with a [Fleet server](https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet) and is a (near) drop-in replacement for osquery in a variety of deployment scenarios.
Orbit is the recommended agent for Fleet. But Orbit can be used with or without Fleet, and Fleet can be used with or without Orbit.
### Usage
General information and flag documentation can be accessed by running `orbit --help`.
#### Permissions
Orbit generally expects root permissions to be able to create and access its working files.
To get root level permissions:
##### macOS/Linux
Prefix `orbit` commands with `sudo` (`sudo orbit ...`) or run in a root shell.
##### Windows
Run Powershell or cmd.exe with "Run as administrator" and start `orbit` commands from that shell.
#### Osquery shell
Run an `osqueryi` shell with `orbit osqueryi` or `orbit shell`.
#### Connect to a Fleet server
Use the `--fleet-url` and `--enroll-secret` flags to connect to a Fleet server.
Use `--fleet_certificate` to provide a path to a certificate bundle when necessary for osquery to verify the authenticity of the Fleet server (typically when using a Windows client or self-signed certificates):
Orbit can be used as a near drop-in replacement for `osqueryd`, enhancing standard osquery with autoupdate capabilities. Orbit passes through any options after `--` directly to the `osqueryd` instance.
For example, the following would be a typical drop-in usage of Orbit:
```sh
orbit -- --flagfile=flags.txt
```
#### Osquery extensions
Orbit can be used to remotely deploy and manage osquery extensions. This saves the time and energy required to maintain extensions using a separate tool like Munki or an MDM solution.
The following document explains how you can generate a TUF repository and installers that use it: [tools/tuf/test](https://github.com/fleetdm/fleet/tree/main/tools/tuf/test/README.md).
> Any features listed here are not recommended for use in production environments
**Using `fleetd` without enrolling Orbit**
*Only available in fleetd v1.15.1 on Linux and macOS*
It is possible to generate a fleetd package that does not connect to Fleet by omitting the `--fleet-url` and `--enroll-secret` flags when building a package.
This can be useful in situations where you would like to test using `fleetd` to manage osquery updates while still managing osquery command-line flags and extensions locally
but can result in a large volume of error logs. In fleetd v1.15.1, we added an experimental feature to reduce log chatter in this scenario.
Applying the environmental variable `"FLEETD_SILENCE_ENROLL_ERROR"=1` on a host will silence fleetd enrollment errors if a `--fleet-url` is not present.
This variable is read at launch and will require a restart of the Orbit service if it is not set before installing `fleetd` v1.15.1.
> With fleetctl preview running, you can find your Fleet enroll secret by selecting the "Add hosts" button on the Hosts page in the Fleet UI.
An installer configured to point at your Fleet instance has now been generated.
Now run that installer (double click, on a Mac) to enroll your own computer as a host in Fleet. Refresh after several seconds (≈30s), and you should now see your local computer as a new host in Fleet.
