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/////
vim:set ts=4 sw=4 syntax=asciidoc noet:
/////
mkinitcpio(8)
=============
Name
----
mkinitcpio - Create an initial ramdisk environment
Synopsis
--------
'mkinitcpio' [options]
Description
-----------
Creates an initial ramdisk environment for booting the linux kernel. The
initial ramdisk is in essence a very small environment (early userspace) which
loads various kernel modules and sets up necessary things before handing over
control to init. This makes it possible to have, for example, encrypted root
filesystems and root filesystems on a software RAID array. mkinitcpio allows
for easy extension with custom hooks, has autodetection at runtime, and many
other features.
Options
-------
*-A, \--add* 'hooks'::
Add the additional 'hooks' to the image. These will be processed in order
after all other hooks from the config file. Multiple hooks should be
comma-separated. This option can be specified multiple times.
*-c, \--config* 'config'::
Use 'config' file to generate the ramdisk. Default: /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
*-g, \--generate* 'filename'::
Generate a CPIO image as 'filename'. Default: no; this means nothing will be
written to the filesystem unless this option is specified.
*-H, \--hookhelp* 'hookname'::
Output help for hookname 'hookname'.
*-h, \--help*::
Output a short overview of available command-line switches.
*-k, \--kernel* 'kernelversion'::
Use 'kernelversion', instead of the current running kernel. This may be a
path to a kernel image or a specific kernel version.
*-L, \--listhooks*::
List all available hooks.
*-M, \--automods*::
Display modules found via autodetection. mkinitcpio will automatically try to
determine which kernel modules are needed to start your computer. This option
lists which modules were detected.
*-n, \--nocolor*::
Disable color output.
*-p, \--preset* 'preset'::
Build initramfs image(s) according to specified 'preset'. This may be a file in
/etc/mkinitcpio.d (without the .preset extension) or a full, absolute path to a
file.
*-S, \--skiphooks* 'hooks'::
Skip 'hooks' when generating the image. Multiple hooks should be comma-separated.
This option can be specified multiple times.
*-s, \--save*::
Saves the build directory for the initial ramdisk. Default: no; This means
the directory will not be retained if this option isn't specified. Useful for
debugging purposes.
*-t, \--builddir* 'tmpdir'::
Use 'tmpdir' as the temporary build directory instead of /tmp. 'tmpdir'
must exist. The 'TMPDIR' environment variable is also honored to set this
location, but the command line option will take precedence.
*-v, \--verbose*::
Verbose output. Outputs more information about what's happening during
creation of the ramdisk.
*-z, \--compress* 'compress'::
Override the compression method with the 'compress' program.
About Hooks
-----------
A hook is a script that executes in the initial ramdisk. Scripts are listed in
order of execution as a space separated string in the *HOOKS* variable in the
mkinitcpio configuration file. Hooks can, for example, set up the udev device
filesystem, load IDE modules, etc.
About Presets
-------------
A preset is a pre-defined definition on how to create an initial ramdisk.
Instead of specifying the configuration file and which output file, every time
you generate a new initial ramdisk, you define a preset and use the -p switch
to generate an initial ramdisk according to your preset. Presets are located in
/etc/mkinitcpio.d
Early Init Environment
----------------------
mkinitcpio gives special treatment to certain environment variables passed on
the kernel command line:
*break*['=<premount|postmount>']::
If specified, mkinitcpio will start a shell during early init. The optional
parameter controls when this occurs: when 'premount' or no parameter are
specified, the shell will be launched prior to mounting root. If 'postmount'
is specified, the shell will be launched after mounting root.
*disablehooks=*'hooklist'::
This is a comma separated list of hooks which will be skipped during early
init.
*earlymodules=*'modulelist'::
This is a comma separated list of modules which will be loaded prior to any
others. This is generally not needed, and usually points to a configuration
or kernel problem.
*quiet*::
Causes mkinitcpio to output fewer messages during boot. Errors will not be
suppressed.
*ro*::
Specifies that root should be mounted with readonly permissions. This is the
default behavior.
*rw*::
Specifies that root should be mounted with readwrite permissions. This is
generally only useful if your initramfs uses the 'fsck' hook.
*root=*'rootdevice'::
This variable describes the root partition which early init will mount
before passing control to the real init. mkinitcpio understands a variety of
formats, the most basic of which is the path to the block device, either
directly, such as '/dev/sda2', or using a udev symlink such as
'/dev/disk/by-label/CorsairF80-root'. Support for identification by LABEL or
UUID tags are also supported, such as, 'LABEL=CorsairF80-root'. As of
util-linux 2.22, PARTUUID is also supported. Identification via hex encoded
major/minor device ID is supported for legacy reasons, but should not be used.
*rootdelay=*'seconds'::
Sets the delay, in seconds, that mkinitcpio is willing to wait for the root
device to show up, if it is not available immediately. This defaults to 5
seconds. If an invalid integer is passed, this variable will have no effect.
These are only the variables that the core of mkinitcpio honor. Additional
hooks may look for other environment variables and should be documented by the
help output for the hook.
Files
-----
'/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'::
Default configuration file for mkinitcpio.
'/etc/mkinitcpio.d'::
Folder containing mkinitcpio presets.
'/usr/lib/initcpio'::
'/lib/initcpio'::
Files related to creating an initial ramdisk.
Examples
--------
*mkinitcpio*::
Perform a 'dry-run'. This will generate an initial ramdisk but will not
write anything. Use -g to create the real image.
*mkinitcpio -p linux*::
Create an initial ramdisk based on the 'linux' preset.
*mkinitcpio -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux*::
Create an initial ramdisk for the kernel at /boot/vmlinuz-linux. The
resulting image will be written to /boot/initramfs-linux.img.
See also
--------
A more thorough article on configuring mkinitcpio:
<http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_mkinitcpio>
*initrd*(4), *lsinitcpio*(1)
Bugs
----
Upon writing this manpage, there were no noticeable bugs present. Please visit
<http://bugs.archlinux.org/> for an up to date list.
Authors
-------
mkinitcpio is created by the Arch Linux Developer community.
Manpage written by:::
* Glenn 'RedShift' Matthys <glenn@opengate.be>
Manpage contributions by:::
* Jens 'byte' Adam <j_adam@web.de>
* Geir 'gejr' Vaagland
* Joerie 'Thralas' de Gram <j.de.gram@gmail.com>
Copyright
---------
Copyright (c) Arch Linux
|
