diff --git a/build/fietsje/deps_monogon.go b/build/fietsje/deps_monogon.go
index fc81bf5..f192b6c 100644
--- a/build/fietsje/deps_monogon.go
+++ b/build/fietsje/deps_monogon.go
@@ -62,8 +62,11 @@
 	p.collectOverride("github.com/mattn/go-shellwords", "v1.0.11")
 
 	// Used by //metropolis/build/mkimage
-	p.collect("github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs", "v1.0.0").use(
+	p.collect("github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs", "v1.2.0").use(
 		"gopkg.in/djherbis/times.v1",
+		"github.com/pkg/xattr",
+		"github.com/pierrec/lz4",
+		"github.com/ulikunitz/xz",
 	)
 
 	// Used by //metropolis/build/genosrelease
diff --git a/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/BUILD.bazel b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/BUILD.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c59706
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/BUILD.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library")
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = [
+        "core.go",
+        "install.go",
+    ],
+    importpath = "source.monogon.dev/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    deps = [
+        "//metropolis/proto/api:go_default_library",
+        "@com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs//:go_default_library",
+        "@com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs//disk:go_default_library",
+        "@com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs//filesystem:go_default_library",
+        "@com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs//partition/gpt:go_default_library",
+        "@org_golang_google_protobuf//proto:go_default_library",
+    ],
+)
diff --git a/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/core.go b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/core.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..545a408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/core.go
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+// Package core contains parts of metroctl which do significant amounts of work
+// beyond just providing a CLI for them.
+// This package is intended to be used for integrating with functions provided
+// by metroctl, for example for using them in integration tests or writing other
+// frontends providing functionality similar to metroctl (like a GUI or webapp).
+package core
diff --git a/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/install.go b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/install.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35b49ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metropolis/cli/metroctl/core/install.go
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+package core
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs"
+	"github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs/disk"
+	"github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs/filesystem"
+	"github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs/partition/gpt"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
+	"source.monogon.dev/metropolis/proto/api"
+)
+
+func mibToSectors(size uint64, logicalBlockSize int64) uint64 {
+	return (size * 1024 * 1024) / uint64(logicalBlockSize)
+}
+
+// Mask for aligning values to 1MiB boundaries. Go complains if you shift
+// 1 bits out of the value in a constant so the construction is a bit
+// convoluted.
+const align1MiBMask = (1<<44 - 1) << 20
+
+const MiB = 1024 * 1024
+
+type MakeInstallerImageArgs struct {
+	// Path to either a file or a disk which will contain the installer data.
+	TargetPath string
+
+	// Reader for the installer EFI executable. Mandatory.
+	Installer     io.Reader
+	InstallerSize uint64
+
+	// Optional NodeParameters to be embedded for use by the installer.
+	NodeParams *api.NodeParameters
+
+	// Optional Reader for a Metropolis bundle for use by the installer.
+	Bundle     io.Reader
+	BundleSize uint64
+}
+
+// MakeInstallerImage generates an installer disk image containing a GPT
+// partition table and a single FAT32 partition with an installer and optionally
+// with a bundle and/or Node Parameters.
+func MakeInstallerImage(args MakeInstallerImageArgs) error {
+	if args.Installer == nil {
+		return errors.New("Installer is mandatory")
+	}
+	if args.InstallerSize == 0 {
+		return errors.New("InstallerSize needs to be valid (>0)")
+	}
+	if args.Bundle != nil && args.BundleSize == 0 {
+		return errors.New("if a Bundle is passed BundleSize needs to be valid (>0)")
+	}
+
+	var err error
+	var nodeParamsRaw []byte
+	if args.NodeParams != nil {
+		nodeParamsRaw, err = proto.Marshal(args.NodeParams)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to marshal node params: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var img *disk.Disk
+	// The following section is a bit ugly, it would technically be nicer to
+	// just pack all clusters of the FAT32 together, figure out how many were
+	// needed at the end and truncate the partition there. But that would
+	// require writing a new FAT32 writer, the effort to do that is in no way
+	// proportional to its advantages. So let's just do some conservative
+	// calculations on how much space we need and call it a day.
+
+	// ~4MiB FAT32 headers, 1MiB alignment overhead (bitmask drops up to 1MiB),
+	// 5% filesystem overhead
+	partitionSizeBytes := (uint64(float32(5*MiB+args.BundleSize+args.InstallerSize+uint64(len(nodeParamsRaw))) * 1.05)) & align1MiBMask
+	// FAT32 has a minimum partition size of 32MiB, so clamp the lower partition
+	// size to that.
+	if partitionSizeBytes < 32*MiB {
+		partitionSizeBytes = 32 * MiB
+	}
+	// If creating an image, create it with minimal size, i.e. 1MiB at each
+	// end for partitioning metadata and alignment.
+	// 1MiB alignment is used as that will essentially guarantee that any
+	// partition is aligned to whatever internal block size is used by the
+	// storage device. Especially flash-based storage likes to use much bigger
+	// blocks than advertised as sectors which can degrade performance when
+	// partitions are misaligned.
+	calculatedImageBytes := 2*MiB + partitionSizeBytes
+
+	if _, err = os.Stat(args.TargetPath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		img, err = diskfs.Create(args.TargetPath, int64(calculatedImageBytes), diskfs.Raw)
+	} else {
+		img, err = diskfs.Open(args.TargetPath)
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create/open target: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer img.File.Close()
+	// This has an edge case where the data would technically fit but our 5%
+	// overhead are too conservative. But it is very rare and I don't really
+	// trust diskfs to generate good errors when it overflows so we'll just
+	// reject early.
+	if uint64(img.Size) < calculatedImageBytes {
+		return errors.New("target too small, data won't fit")
+	}
+
+	gptTable := &gpt.Table{
+		LogicalSectorSize:  int(img.LogicalBlocksize),
+		PhysicalSectorSize: int(img.PhysicalBlocksize),
+		ProtectiveMBR:      true,
+		Partitions: []*gpt.Partition{
+			{
+				Type:  gpt.EFISystemPartition,
+				Name:  "MetropolisInstaller",
+				Start: mibToSectors(1, img.LogicalBlocksize),
+				Size:  partitionSizeBytes,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	if err := img.Partition(gptTable); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to partition target: %w", err)
+	}
+	fs, err := img.CreateFilesystem(disk.FilesystemSpec{Partition: 1, FSType: filesystem.TypeFat32, VolumeLabel: "METRO_INST"})
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create target filesystem: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Create EFI partition structure.
+	for _, dir := range []string{"/EFI", "/EFI/BOOT", "/EFI/metropolis-installer"} {
+		if err := fs.Mkdir(dir); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+	}
+	// This needs to be a "Removable Media" according to the UEFI Specification
+	// V2.9 Section 3.5.1.1. This file is booted by any compliant UEFI firmware
+	// in absence of another bootable boot entry.
+	installerFile, err := fs.OpenFile("/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.EFI", os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := io.Copy(installerFile, args.Installer); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to copy installer file: %w", err)
+	}
+	if args.NodeParams != nil {
+		nodeParamsFile, err := fs.OpenFile("/EFI/metropolis-installer/nodeparams.pb", os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+		_, err = nodeParamsFile.Write(nodeParamsRaw)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to write node params: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	if args.Bundle != nil {
+		bundleFile, err := fs.OpenFile("/EFI/metropolis-installer/bundle.bin", os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+		if _, err := io.Copy(bundleFile, args.Bundle); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to copy bundle: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/third_party/go/repositories.bzl b/third_party/go/repositories.bzl
index c134586..9e7f712 100644
--- a/third_party/go/repositories.bzl
+++ b/third_party/go/repositories.bzl
@@ -551,8 +551,8 @@
     go_repository(
         name = "com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs",
         importpath = "github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs",
-        version = "v1.0.0",
-        sum = "h1:sLQnXItICiYgiHcYNNujKT9kOKnk7diOvZGEKvxrwpc=",
+        version = "v1.2.0",
+        sum = "h1:Ow4xorEDw1VNYKbC+SA/qQNwi5gWIwdKUxmUcLFST24=",
         build_extra_args = [
             "-go_naming_convention=go_default_library",
             "-go_naming_convention_external=go_default_library",
@@ -1742,6 +1742,16 @@
         ],
     )
     go_repository(
+        name = "com_github_pierrec_lz4",
+        importpath = "github.com/pierrec/lz4",
+        version = "v2.3.0+incompatible",
+        sum = "h1:CZzRn4Ut9GbUkHlQ7jqBXeZQV41ZSKWFc302ZU6lUTk=",
+        build_extra_args = [
+            "-go_naming_convention=go_default_library",
+            "-go_naming_convention_external=go_default_library",
+        ],
+    )
+    go_repository(
         name = "com_github_pkg_errors",
         importpath = "github.com/pkg/errors",
         version = "v0.9.1",
@@ -1752,6 +1762,16 @@
         ],
     )
     go_repository(
+        name = "com_github_pkg_xattr",
+        importpath = "github.com/pkg/xattr",
+        version = "v0.4.1",
+        sum = "h1:dhclzL6EqOXNaPDWqoeb9tIxATfBSmjqL0b4DpSjwRw=",
+        build_extra_args = [
+            "-go_naming_convention=go_default_library",
+            "-go_naming_convention_external=go_default_library",
+        ],
+    )
+    go_repository(
         name = "com_github_pquerna_cachecontrol",
         importpath = "github.com/pquerna/cachecontrol",
         version = "v0.0.0-20171018203845-0dec1b30a021",
@@ -2026,6 +2046,16 @@
         ],
     )
     go_repository(
+        name = "com_github_ulikunitz_xz",
+        importpath = "github.com/ulikunitz/xz",
+        version = "v0.5.6",
+        sum = "h1:jGHAfXawEGZQ3blwU5wnWKQJvAraT7Ftq9EXjnXYgt8=",
+        build_extra_args = [
+            "-go_naming_convention=go_default_library",
+            "-go_naming_convention_external=go_default_library",
+        ],
+    )
+    go_repository(
         name = "com_github_urfave_cli",
         importpath = "github.com/urfave/cli",
         version = "v1.22.1",
diff --git a/third_party/go/shelf.pb.text b/third_party/go/shelf.pb.text
index b3f3007..f4a2ed1 100644
--- a/third_party/go/shelf.pb.text
+++ b/third_party/go/shelf.pb.text
@@ -699,6 +699,13 @@
   semver: "v1.0.0"
 >
 entry: <
+  import_path: "github.com/diskfs/go-diskfs"
+  version: "v1.2.0"
+  bazel_name: "com_github_diskfs_go_diskfs"
+  sum: "h1:Ow4xorEDw1VNYKbC+SA/qQNwi5gWIwdKUxmUcLFST24="
+  semver: "v1.2.0"
+>
+entry: <
   import_path: "github.com/dnstap/golang-dnstap"
   version: "v0.2.0"
   bazel_name: "com_github_dnstap_golang_dnstap"
@@ -2064,6 +2071,13 @@
   semver: "v0.0.0-20180202154549-b0b1615b78e5"
 >
 entry: <
+  import_path: "github.com/pierrec/lz4"
+  version: "v2.3.0+incompatible"
+  bazel_name: "com_github_pierrec_lz4"
+  sum: "h1:CZzRn4Ut9GbUkHlQ7jqBXeZQV41ZSKWFc302ZU6lUTk="
+  semver: "v2.3.0+incompatible"
+>
+entry: <
   import_path: "github.com/pkg/errors"
   version: "ba968bfe8b2f7e042a574c888954fccecfa385b4"
   bazel_name: "com_github_pkg_errors"
@@ -2078,6 +2092,13 @@
   semver: "v0.9.1"
 >
 entry: <
+  import_path: "github.com/pkg/xattr"
+  version: "v0.4.1"
+  bazel_name: "com_github_pkg_xattr"
+  sum: "h1:dhclzL6EqOXNaPDWqoeb9tIxATfBSmjqL0b4DpSjwRw="
+  semver: "v0.4.1"
+>
+entry: <
   import_path: "github.com/pquerna/cachecontrol"
   version: "v0.0.0-20171018203845-0dec1b30a021"
   bazel_name: "com_github_pquerna_cachecontrol"
@@ -2400,6 +2421,13 @@
   semver: "v7.0.0+incompatible"
 >
 entry: <
+  import_path: "github.com/ulikunitz/xz"
+  version: "v0.5.6"
+  bazel_name: "com_github_ulikunitz_xz"
+  sum: "h1:jGHAfXawEGZQ3blwU5wnWKQJvAraT7Ftq9EXjnXYgt8="
+  semver: "v0.5.6"
+>
+entry: <
   import_path: "github.com/urfave/cli"
   version: "bfe2e925cfb6d44b40ad3a779165ea7e8aff9212"
   bazel_name: "com_github_urfave_cli"