Hi, I'm not sure if that helps, but in case someone with a similar Problem comes across this thread here is how I did a bare-metal install on a cloud-server. The Server-Provider offers the opportunity to boot a live-System for rescue-purposes, in this case that is debian, I have no acces to the serial-console, but I can boot the rescue-debian on the Server through the Webconsole of the Provider, and then login through ssh. So that's the prerequisite: a running live (in memory) Linux on the Server to be installed. Here are the steps:
1. Install prerequisites to compile the coreos-installer. In my case, there was "build-essential" and perhaps other Packages already installed in the live-System provided, I found out what was missing by simply doing Step 2 and going through the errors. Since the coreos-installer is written in Rust, you need at least Rust. For me it boiled down to:
``` # curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh # apt install libssl-dev pkg-config ```
2. Clone the Installer-sources and compile it:
``` # git clone https://github.com/coreos/coreos-installer.git # cd coreos-installer && make ```
3. This produces the bin in `./target/debug`. To run the Installer like in the docs, scp your Ignitionfile to the live-System and then:
``` # ./target/debug/coreos-installer install /dev/sda --ignition /path/to/your/file.ign ```
Of cause adjust `/dev/sda` to your environment.
That's how it worked for me.
__ s.