Steps to prepare kickstart file for unattended installation of Ubuntu

The Ubuntu Installer supports automating installs via preconfiguration files. A preconfiguration file can be loaded from the network or from removable media, and used to fill in answers to questions asked during the installation process.

To generate a Kickstart file, install the system-config-kickstart package:

sudo apt-get install system-config-kickstart

And run system-config-kickstart. This offers you a graphical user interface to the various options available:

The output file looks like this:

#Generated by Kickstart Configurator
#platform=x86

#System language
lang en_US
#Language modules to install
langsupport en_US
#System keyboard
keyboard us
#System mouse
mouse
#System timezone
timezone America/New_York
#Root password
rootpw <SOME_PASSWORD>
#Initial user
user grudev --fullname "Alex Grudev" --password <SOME_PASSWORD>
#Reboot after installation
reboot
#Use text mode install
text
#Install OS instead of upgrade
install
#Use CDROM installation media
cdrom
#System bootloader configuration
bootloader --location=mbr
#Clear the Master Boot Record
zerombr yes
#Partition clearing information
clearpart --all --initlabel
#System authorization infomation
auth  --useshadow  --enablemd5
#Network information
network --bootproto=dhcp --device=eth0
#Firewall configuration
firewall --disabled
#Do not configure the X Window System
skipx