wpa_supplicant autoconfigure removed in bookworm but not replaced with other mechanism, breaking network module

[guysoft]

In bookworm Raspberry Foundation/Ltd has removed wpa-suppilcant and switched to NetworkManger
In the network module we add a way to headless configure wpa-supplicant.

This is where its done in the network module:
https://github.com/guysoft/CustomPiOS/blob/devel/src/modules/network/start_chroot_script#L36

This is the issue on Rpi:
raspberrypi/bookworm-feedback#72

This is a related issue in FullPageOS:
guysoft/FullPageOS#570

What I think should be done is perhaps have an if statement depending on the distribution version, and use the solution here for bookworm, and perhaps add a symlnink from the old file. Open to other suggestions.
Might take me time to implement because I am busy theses days.

[guysoft]

Asked here NetworkManager if we need to generate a uuid or not:
https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/networkmanager/2024-August/000333.html

[guysoft]

Confirmed, providing no uuid just generates one.

[guysoft]

At this point this works, the question is if to adopt what @KwadFan was working on in Mainsail, the wrote their own solution.
https://github.com/KwadFan/MainsailOS-dev/tree/chore%2Fbookworm/src%2Fmodules%2Fheadless_nm

[KwadFan]

I dont mind doing a PR if wished. My goal here was to keep it simple as possible, because the users we are aiming for, dont want to spend to much effort to get this thing connected.

But this method is odd, if you really know how to deal with .nmconnection files, you simply dont have the "power" to setup what ever you want.
Also want to mention, maybe it is a good idea to push your network module in a different direction for the future, since Infrastructure as Code is a hard buzzword, it could make sense to have something like netplan.io instead of a set of scripts.

For now, I would suggest, running both versions inside your repo and let maintainer decide what to use.

As an example for FullPageOS, honestly I hadnt a usecase for it yet but, I think some of your users dont want to deal with complicated network setup, the simply want to connect it to their WiFi networks. Maybe "our" solution is more handy in terms of "ease of use". But I can imaging there are human beeings with a deeper need to setup network connection in a advanced way.

[guysoft]

I think that most people use rpi-imager. The question is what are the current usecase for this configuration ATM. Its still relevant for non-rpi images.

I want to ask foosel tomorrow what she thinks tool.

And if anyone else wants to comment here that would really help us decide what is the best move for the future.

[KwadFan]

In this case, I wanted a solution that works with Armbian based and Rpi based images in the same way.
We always recommend using rpi-imager overall, but what to do if you move the printer and forget changing wifi while its live in its old location? Most of the time users where used to get the sdcard and doing the wpa_supplicant thingy.
Therefor I wanted to mimmick that behaviour.

But, yes, at this point "we" need some handy input from our communities/devs/endusers about the methods!
So, from my side I encurage you all to leave a comment about this.

Regards Kwad

[guysoft]

In this case, I wanted a solution that works with Armbian based and Rpi based images in the same way.

Hey mention now @foosel , hope you have time to review this, would value what you think about it.
Will also note that CustomPiOS v2 is close to release and will have support to build seamlessly for armbian, libre.computer and other devices too, so what @KwadFan is saying might be relevant too.