pbl_man.adoc

update-bootloader(8) Manual Page

Name

update-bootloader, pbl - manage boot loader configuration.

Synopsis

update-bootloader [OPTIONS] IMAGE
pbl [OPTIONS] IMAGE

Description

update-bootloader is a light wrapper to unify some common boot loader configuration tasks.
pbl is an alternative name for the same program.

It is not intended to provide a comprehensive API to boot loader configuration.

Most notably, not all options make sense for all boot loaders.

Supported boot loaders have a sub directory in /usr/lib/bootloader containing a shell script for each option. To add support for a new boot loader create a new directoy with its name and add scripts for options you need.

Options

--install

Install (or update) boot loader.
Note that this does not update the boot loader configuration.

--config

Create (or update) boot loader configuration.

--show

Print current boot loader.

--loader _BOOTLOADER

Set current boot loader to BOOTLOADER.
Supported values: none, grub2, grub2-bls, grub2-efi, systemd-boot, u-boot.
Note that this only changes a config variable. To actually use the new boot loader, run update-bootloader --install and update-bootloader --config.

--default ENTRY

Set default boot entry to ENTRY.

--add-option OPTION

Add OPTION to default boot options.

--del-option OPTION

Delete OPTION from default boot options.

--get-option OPTION

Get OPTION from default boot options.

--add-kernel VERSION [KERNEL [INITRD]]

Add kernel with version VERSION. Optionally pass kernel and initrd explicitly.

--remove-kernel VERSION

Remove kernel with version VERSION.

--default-settings

Print default kernel, initrd, and boot options.

--log LOGFILE

Log messages to LOGFILE (default: /var/log/pbl.log).

--version

Show update-bootloader version.

--help

Write this help text.

Legacy options

--reinit

Re-install boot loader (equivalent to --install --config).

--add

Add new entry to boot loader configuration. Requires also --name, --image, and --initrd options. Use --add-kernel instead.

--image KERNEL

Use KERNEL as kernel when adding a boot loader entry.

--initrd INITRD

Use INITRD as initrd when adding a boot loader entry.

--name VERSION

Use VERSION as name for new boot loader entry.

--force

This option is ignored.

Files

/etc/sysconfig/bootloader

General boot loader related configuration settings.

/var/log/pbl.log

Default log file.

/usr/etc/logrotate.d/pbl

Logrotate rules for /var/log/pbl.log.

/usr/lib/bootloader

Directory with specific config scripts for each supported boot loader.

Examples

# display default boot loader
update-bootloader --show

# change default boot loader
update-bootloader --loader systemd-boot

# (re-)install default boot loader
update-bootloader --install

# update boot loader configuration
update-bootloader --config

See Also

bootloader_entry(8).

Links

• The Boot Loader Specification: https://uapi-group.org/specifications/specs/boot_loader_specification

• The Discoverable Partitions Specification: https://uapi-group.org/specifications/specs/discoverable_partitions_specification

• grub2: https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/grub.html

• shim: https://github.com/rhboot/shim

• systemd-boot: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd-boot.html

• u-boot: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot

• UEFI Specification: https://uefi.org/specifications