On Wed, Aug 16, 2017 at 08:14:27PM +0100, Brian Potkin wrote: > And, also unfortunately, you don't say why it is not possible. Talk > about information underload!
The assumption is that you have no files, so that debootstrap can extract debs, then when enough is there, it can redo the packages properly with dpkg and end up with a sane state for the packaging system. If there are already files there, how would debootstrap have a clue how to end up in a sane state where all the files present are accounted for in the packaging system? It only works now, because debootstrap is the only thing that puts files there and hence knows what to do to make the package system state match what is there. It has to require that no files exist when it starts to end up with something sane. -- Len Sorensen