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diff --git a/docs/grub.texi b/docs/grub.texi new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8b4b3b --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/grub.texi @@ -0,0 +1,7015 @@ +\input texinfo +@c -*-texinfo-*- +@c %**start of header +@setfilename grub.info +@include version.texi +@settitle GNU GRUB Manual @value{VERSION} +@c Unify all our little indices for now. +@syncodeindex fn cp +@syncodeindex vr cp +@syncodeindex ky cp +@syncodeindex pg cp +@syncodeindex tp cp +@c %**end of header + +@footnotestyle separate +@paragraphindent 3 +@finalout + +@copying +This manual is for GNU GRUB (version @value{VERSION}, +@value{UPDATED}). + +Copyright @copyright{} 1999,2000,2001,2002,2004,2006,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. + +@quotation +Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document +under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or +any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no +Invariant Sections. +@end quotation +@end copying + +@dircategory Kernel +@direntry +* GRUB: (grub). The GRand Unified Bootloader +* grub-install: (grub)Invoking grub-install. Install GRUB on your drive +* grub-mkconfig: (grub)Invoking grub-mkconfig. Generate GRUB configuration +* grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2: (grub)Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2. +* grub-mkrelpath: (grub)Invoking grub-mkrelpath. +* grub-mkrescue: (grub)Invoking grub-mkrescue. Make a GRUB rescue image +* grub-mount: (grub)Invoking grub-mount. Mount a file system using GRUB +* grub-probe: (grub)Invoking grub-probe. Probe device information +* grub-script-check: (grub)Invoking grub-script-check. +@end direntry + +@setchapternewpage odd + +@titlepage +@sp 10 +@title the GNU GRUB manual +@subtitle The GRand Unified Bootloader, version @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}. +@author Gordon Matzigkeit +@author Yoshinori K. Okuji +@author Colin Watson +@author Colin D. Bennett +@c The following two commands start the copyright page. +@page +@vskip 0pt plus 1filll +@insertcopying +@end titlepage + +@c Output the table of contents at the beginning. +@contents + +@finalout +@headings double + +@ifnottex +@node Top +@top GNU GRUB manual + +This is the documentation of GNU GRUB, the GRand Unified Bootloader, +a flexible and powerful boot loader program for a wide range of +architectures. + +This edition documents version @value{VERSION}. + +@insertcopying +@end ifnottex + +@menu +* Introduction:: Capturing the spirit of GRUB +* Naming convention:: Names of your drives in GRUB +* OS-specific notes about grub tools:: + Some notes about OS-specific behaviour of GRUB + tools +* Installation:: Installing GRUB on your drive +* Booting:: How to boot different operating systems +* Configuration:: Writing your own configuration file +* Theme file format:: Format of GRUB theme files +* Network:: Downloading OS images from a network +* Serial terminal:: Using GRUB via a serial line +* Vendor power-on keys:: Changing GRUB behaviour on vendor power-on keys +* Images:: GRUB image files +* Core image size limitation:: GRUB image files size limitations +* Filesystem:: Filesystem syntax and semantics +* Interface:: The menu and the command-line +* Environment:: GRUB environment variables +* Commands:: The list of available builtin commands +* Internationalisation:: Topics relating to language support +* Security:: Authentication, authorisation, and signatures +* Platform limitations:: The list of platform-specific limitations +* Platform-specific operations:: Platform-specific operations +* Supported kernels:: The list of supported kernels +* Troubleshooting:: Error messages produced by GRUB +* Invoking grub-install:: How to use the GRUB installer +* Invoking grub-mkconfig:: Generate a GRUB configuration file +* Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2:: + Generate GRUB password hashes +* Invoking grub-mkrelpath:: Make system path relative to its root +* Invoking grub-mkrescue:: Make a GRUB rescue image +* Invoking grub-mount:: Mount a file system using GRUB +* Invoking grub-probe:: Probe device information for GRUB +* Invoking grub-script-check:: Check GRUB script file for syntax errors +* Obtaining and Building GRUB:: How to obtain and build GRUB +* Reporting bugs:: Where you should send a bug report +* Future:: Some future plans on GRUB +* Copying This Manual:: Copying This Manual +* Index:: +@end menu + + +@node Introduction +@chapter Introduction to GRUB + +@menu +* Overview:: What exactly GRUB is and how to use it +* History:: From maggot to house fly +* Changes from GRUB Legacy:: Differences from previous versions +* Features:: GRUB features +* Role of a boot loader:: The role of a boot loader +@end menu + + +@node Overview +@section Overview + +Briefly, a @dfn{boot loader} is the first software program that runs when +a computer starts. It is responsible for loading and transferring +control to an operating system @dfn{kernel} software (such as Linux or +GNU Mach). The kernel, in turn, initializes the rest of the operating +system (e.g. a GNU system). + +GNU GRUB is a very powerful boot loader, which can load a wide variety +of free operating systems, as well as proprietary operating systems with +chain-loading@footnote{@dfn{chain-load} is the mechanism for loading +unsupported operating systems by loading another boot loader. It is +typically used for loading DOS or Windows.}. GRUB is designed to +address the complexity of booting a personal computer; both the +program and this manual are tightly bound to that computer platform, +although porting to other platforms may be addressed in the future. + +One of the important features in GRUB is flexibility; GRUB understands +filesystems and kernel executable formats, so you can load an arbitrary +operating system the way you like, without recording the physical +position of your kernel on the disk. Thus you can load the kernel +just by specifying its file name and the drive and partition where the +kernel resides. + +When booting with GRUB, you can use either a command-line interface +(@pxref{Command-line interface}), or a menu interface (@pxref{Menu +interface}). Using the command-line interface, you type the drive +specification and file name of the kernel manually. In the menu +interface, you just select an OS using the arrow keys. The menu is +based on a configuration file which you prepare beforehand +(@pxref{Configuration}). While in the menu, you can switch to the +command-line mode, and vice-versa. You can even edit menu entries +before using them. + +In the following chapters, you will learn how to specify a drive, a +partition, and a file name (@pxref{Naming convention}) to GRUB, how to +install GRUB on your drive (@pxref{Installation}), and how to boot your +OSes (@pxref{Booting}), step by step. + + +@node History +@section History of GRUB + +GRUB originated in 1995 when Erich Boleyn was trying to boot the GNU +Hurd with the University of Utah's Mach 4 microkernel (now known as GNU +Mach). Erich and Brian Ford designed the Multiboot Specification +(@pxref{Top, Multiboot Specification, Motivation, multiboot, The Multiboot +Specification}), because they were determined not to add to the large +number of mutually-incompatible PC boot methods. + +Erich then began modifying the FreeBSD boot loader so that it would +understand Multiboot. He soon realized that it would be a lot easier +to write his own boot loader from scratch than to keep working on the +FreeBSD boot loader, and so GRUB was born. + +Erich added many features to GRUB, but other priorities prevented him +from keeping up with the demands of its quickly-expanding user base. In +1999, Gordon Matzigkeit and Yoshinori K. Okuji adopted GRUB as an +official GNU package, and opened its development by making the latest +sources available via anonymous CVS. @xref{Obtaining and Building +GRUB}, for more information. + +Over the next few years, GRUB was extended to meet many needs, but it +quickly became clear that its design was not keeping up with the extensions +being made to it, and we reached the point where it was very difficult to +make any further changes without breaking existing features. Around 2002, +Yoshinori K. Okuji started work on PUPA (Preliminary Universal Programming +Architecture for GNU GRUB), aiming to rewrite the core of GRUB to make it +cleaner, safer, more robust, and more powerful. PUPA was eventually renamed +to GRUB 2, and the original version of GRUB was renamed to GRUB Legacy. +Small amounts of maintenance continued to be done on GRUB Legacy, but the +last release (0.97) was made in 2005 and at the time of writing it seems +unlikely that there will be another. + +By around 2007, GNU/Linux distributions started to use GRUB 2 to limited +extents, and by the end of 2009 multiple major distributions were installing +it by default. + + +@node Changes from GRUB Legacy +@section Differences from previous versions + +GRUB 2 is a rewrite of GRUB (@pxref{History}), although it shares many +characteristics with the previous version, now known as GRUB Legacy. Users +of GRUB Legacy may need some guidance to find their way around this new +version. + +@itemize @bullet +@item +The configuration file has a new name (@file{grub.cfg} rather than +@file{menu.lst} or @file{grub.conf}), new syntax (@pxref{Configuration}) and +many new commands (@pxref{Commands}). Configuration cannot be copied over +directly, although most GRUB Legacy users should not find the syntax too +surprising. + +@item +@file{grub.cfg} is typically automatically generated by +@command{grub-mkconfig} (@pxref{Simple configuration}). This makes it +easier to handle versioned kernel upgrades. + +@item +Partition numbers in GRUB device names now start at 1, not 0 (@pxref{Naming +convention}). + +@item +The configuration file is now written in something closer to a full +scripting language: variables, conditionals, and loops are available. + +@item +A small amount of persistent storage is available across reboots, using the +@command{save_env} and @command{load_env} commands in GRUB and the +@command{grub-editenv} utility. This is not available in all configurations +(@pxref{Environment block}). + +@item +GRUB 2 has more reliable ways to find its own files and those of target +kernels on multiple-disk systems, and has commands (@pxref{search}) to find +devices using file system labels or Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs). + +@item +GRUB 2 is available for several other types of system in addition to the PC +BIOS systems supported by GRUB Legacy: PC EFI, PC coreboot, PowerPC, SPARC, +and MIPS Lemote Yeeloong are all supported. + +@item +Many more file systems are supported, including but not limited to ext4, +HFS+, and NTFS. + +@item +GRUB 2 can read files directly from LVM and RAID devices. + +@item +A graphical terminal and a graphical menu system are available. + +@item +GRUB 2's interface can be translated, including menu entry names. + +@item +The image files (@pxref{Images}) that make up GRUB have been reorganised; +Stage 1, Stage 1.5, and Stage 2 are no more. + +@item +GRUB 2 puts many facilities in dynamically loaded modules, allowing the core +image to be smaller, and allowing the core image to be built in more +flexible ways. +@end itemize + + +@node Features +@section GRUB features + +The primary requirement for GRUB is that it be compliant with the +@dfn{Multiboot Specification}, which is described in @ref{Top, Multiboot +Specification, Motivation, multiboot, The Multiboot Specification}. + +The other goals, listed in approximate order of importance, are: + +@itemize @bullet{} +@item +Basic functions must be straightforward for end-users. + +@item +Rich functionality to support kernel experts and designers. + +@item +Backward compatibility for booting FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and +Linux. Proprietary kernels (such as DOS, Windows NT, and OS/2) are +supported via a chain-loading function. +@end itemize + +Except for specific compatibility modes (chain-loading and the Linux +@dfn{piggyback} format), all kernels will be started in much the same +state as in the Multiboot Specification. Only kernels loaded at 1 megabyte +or above are presently supported. Any attempt to load below that +boundary will simply result in immediate failure and an error message +reporting the problem. + +In addition to the requirements above, GRUB has the following features +(note that the Multiboot Specification doesn't require all the features +that GRUB supports): + +@table @asis +@item Recognize multiple executable formats +Support many of the @dfn{a.out} variants plus @dfn{ELF}. Symbol +tables are also loaded. + +@item Support non-Multiboot kernels +Support many of the various free 32-bit kernels that lack Multiboot +compliance (primarily FreeBSD, NetBSD@footnote{The NetBSD/i386 kernel +is Multiboot-compliant, but lacks support for Multiboot modules.}, +OpenBSD, and Linux). Chain-loading of other boot loaders is also +supported. + +@item Load multiples modules +Fully support the Multiboot feature of loading multiple modules. + +@item Load a configuration file +Support a human-readable text configuration file with preset boot +commands. You can also load another configuration file dynamically and +embed a preset configuration file in a GRUB image file. The list of +commands (@pxref{Commands}) are a superset of those supported on the +command-line. An example configuration file is provided in +@ref{Configuration}. + +@item Provide a menu interface +A menu interface listing preset boot commands, with a programmable +timeout, is available. There is no fixed limit on the number of boot +entries, and the current implementation has space for several hundred. + +@item Have a flexible command-line interface +A fairly flexible command-line interface, accessible from the menu, +is available to edit any preset commands, or write a new boot command +set from scratch. If no configuration file is present, GRUB drops to +the command-line. + +The list of commands (@pxref{Commands}) are a subset of those supported +for configuration files. Editing commands closely resembles the Bash +command-line (@pxref{Command Line Editing, Bash, Command Line Editing, +features, Bash Features}), with @key{TAB}-completion of commands, +devices, partitions, and files in a directory depending on context. + +@item Support multiple filesystem types +Support multiple filesystem types transparently, plus a useful explicit +blocklist notation. The currently supported filesystem types are @dfn{Amiga +Fast FileSystem (AFFS)}, @dfn{AtheOS fs}, @dfn{BeFS}, +@dfn{BtrFS} (including raid0, raid1, raid10, gzip and lzo), +@dfn{cpio} (little- and big-endian bin, odc and newc variants), +@dfn{Linux ext2/ext3/ext4}, @dfn{DOS FAT12/FAT16/FAT32}, +@dfn{exFAT}, @dfn{F2FS}, @dfn{HFS}, @dfn{HFS+}, +@dfn{ISO9660} (including Joliet, Rock-ridge and multi-chunk files), +@dfn{JFS}, @dfn{Minix fs} (versions 1, 2 and 3), @dfn{nilfs2}, +@dfn{NTFS} (including compression), @dfn{ReiserFS}, @dfn{ROMFS}, +@dfn{Amiga Smart FileSystem (SFS)}, @dfn{Squash4}, @dfn{tar}, @dfn{UDF}, +@dfn{BSD UFS/UFS2}, @dfn{XFS}, and @dfn{ZFS} (including lzjb, gzip, +zle, mirror, stripe, raidz1/2/3 and encryption in AES-CCM and AES-GCM). +@xref{Filesystem}, for more information. + +@item Support automatic decompression +Can decompress files which were compressed by @command{gzip} or +@command{xz}@footnote{Only CRC32 data integrity check is supported (xz default +is CRC64 so one should use --check=crc32 option). LZMA BCJ filters are +supported.}. This function is both automatic and transparent to the user +(i.e. all functions operate upon the uncompressed contents of the specified +files). This greatly reduces a file size and loading time, a +particularly great benefit for floppies.@footnote{There are a few +pathological cases where loading a very badly organized ELF kernel might +take longer, but in practice this never happen.} + +It is conceivable that some kernel modules should be loaded in a +compressed state, so a different module-loading command can be specified +to avoid uncompressing the modules. + +@item Access data on any installed device +Support reading data from any or all floppies or hard disk(s) recognized +by the BIOS, independent of the setting of the root device. + +@item Be independent of drive geometry translations +Unlike many other boot loaders, GRUB makes the particular drive +translation irrelevant. A drive installed and running with one +translation may be converted to another translation without any adverse +effects or changes in GRUB's configuration. + +@item Detect all installed @sc{ram} +GRUB can generally find all the installed @sc{ram} on a PC-compatible +machine. It uses an advanced BIOS query technique for finding all +memory regions. As described on the Multiboot Specification (@pxref{Top, +Multiboot Specification, Motivation, multiboot, The Multiboot +Specification}), not all kernels make use of this information, but GRUB +provides it for those who do. + +@item Support Logical Block Address mode +In traditional disk calls (called @dfn{CHS mode}), there is a geometry +translation problem, that is, the BIOS cannot access over 1024 +cylinders, so the accessible space is limited to at least 508 MB and to +at most 8GB. GRUB can't universally solve this problem, as there is no +standard interface used in all machines. However, several newer machines +have the new interface, Logical Block Address (@dfn{LBA}) mode. GRUB +automatically detects if LBA mode is available and uses it if +available. In LBA mode, GRUB can access the entire disk. + +@item Support network booting +GRUB is basically a disk-based boot loader but also has network +support. You can load OS images from a network by using the @dfn{TFTP} +protocol. + +@item Support remote terminals +To support computers with no console, GRUB provides remote terminal +support, so that you can control GRUB from a remote host. Only serial +terminal support is implemented at the moment. +@end table + + +@node Role of a boot loader +@section The role of a boot loader + +The following is a quotation from Gordon Matzigkeit, a GRUB fanatic: + +@quotation +Some people like to acknowledge both the operating system and kernel when +they talk about their computers, so they might say they use +``GNU/Linux'' or ``GNU/Hurd''. Other people seem to think that the +kernel is the most important part of the system, so they like to call +their GNU operating systems ``Linux systems.'' + +I, personally, believe that this is a grave injustice, because the +@emph{boot loader} is the most important software of all. I used to +refer to the above systems as either ``LILO''@footnote{The LInux LOader, +a boot loader that everybody uses, but nobody likes.} or ``GRUB'' +systems. + +Unfortunately, nobody ever understood what I was talking about; now I +just use the word ``GNU'' as a pseudonym for GRUB. + +So, if you ever hear people talking about their alleged ``GNU'' systems, +remember that they are actually paying homage to the best boot loader +around@dots{} GRUB! +@end quotation + +We, the GRUB maintainers, do not (usually) encourage Gordon's level of +fanaticism, but it helps to remember that boot loaders deserve +recognition. We hope that you enjoy using GNU GRUB as much as we did +writing it. + + +@node Naming convention +@chapter Naming convention + +The device syntax used in GRUB is a wee bit different from what you may +have seen before in your operating system(s), and you need to know it so +that you can specify a drive/partition. + +Look at the following examples and explanations: + +@example +(fd0) +@end example + +First of all, GRUB requires that the device name be enclosed with +@samp{(} and @samp{)}. The @samp{fd} part means that it is a floppy +disk. The number @samp{0} is the drive number, which is counted from +@emph{zero}. This expression means that GRUB will use the whole floppy +disk. + +@example +(hd0,msdos2) +@end example + +Here, @samp{hd} means it is a hard disk drive. The first integer +@samp{0} indicates the drive number, that is, the first hard disk, +the string @samp{msdos} indicates the partition scheme, while +the second integer, @samp{2}, indicates the partition number (or the +@sc{pc} slice number in the BSD terminology). The partition numbers are +counted from @emph{one}, not from zero (as was the case in previous +versions of GRUB). This expression means the second partition of the +first hard disk drive. In this case, GRUB uses one partition of the +disk, instead of the whole disk. + +@example +(hd0,msdos5) +@end example + +This specifies the first @dfn{extended partition} of the first hard disk +drive. Note that the partition numbers for extended partitions are +counted from @samp{5}, regardless of the actual number of primary +partitions on your hard disk. + +@example +(hd1,msdos1,bsd1) +@end example + +This means the BSD @samp{a} partition on first @sc{pc} slice number +of the second hard disk. + +Of course, to actually access the disks or partitions with GRUB, you +need to use the device specification in a command, like @samp{set +root=(fd0)} or @samp{parttool (hd0,msdos3) hidden-}. To help you find out +which number specifies a partition you want, the GRUB command-line +(@pxref{Command-line interface}) options have argument +completion. This means that, for example, you only need to type + +@example +set root=( +@end example + +followed by a @key{TAB}, and GRUB will display the list of drives, +partitions, or file names. So it should be quite easy to determine the +name of your target partition, even with minimal knowledge of the +syntax. + +Note that GRUB does @emph{not} distinguish IDE from SCSI - it simply +counts the drive numbers from zero, regardless of their type. Normally, +any IDE drive number is less than any SCSI drive number, although that +is not true if you change the boot sequence by swapping IDE and SCSI +drives in your BIOS. + +Now the question is, how to specify a file? Again, consider an +example: + +@example +(hd0,msdos1)/vmlinuz +@end example + +This specifies the file named @samp{vmlinuz}, found on the first +partition of the first hard disk drive. Note that the argument +completion works with file names, too. + +That was easy, admit it. Now read the next chapter, to find out how to +actually install GRUB on your drive. + +@node OS-specific notes about grub tools +@chapter OS-specific notes about grub tools + +On OS which have device nodes similar to Unix-like OS GRUB tools use the +OS name. E.g. for GNU/Linux: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install /dev/sda} +@end example + +On AROS we use another syntax. For volumes: + +@example +//:<volume name> +@end example + +E.g. + +@example +//:DH0 +@end example + +For disks we use syntax: +@example +//:<driver name>/unit/flags +@end example + +E.g. + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install //:ata.device/0/0} +@end example + +On Windows we use UNC path. For volumes it's typically + +@example +\\?\Volume@{<GUID>@} +\\?\<drive letter>: +@end example + +E.g. + +@example +\\?\Volume@{17f34d50-cf64-4b02-800e-51d79c3aa2ff@} +\\?\C: +@end example + + +For disks it's + +@example +\\?\PhysicalDrive<number> +@end example + +E.g. + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install \\?\PhysicalDrive0} +@end example + +Beware that you may need to further escape the backslashes depending on your +shell. + +When compiled with cygwin support then cygwin drive names are automatically +when needed. E.g. + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install /dev/sda} +@end example + +@node Installation +@chapter Installation + +In order to install GRUB as your boot loader, you need to first +install the GRUB system and utilities under your UNIX-like operating +system (@pxref{Obtaining and Building GRUB}). You can do this either +from the source tarball, or as a package for your OS. + +After you have done that, you need to install the boot loader on a +drive (floppy or hard disk) by using the utility +@command{grub-install} (@pxref{Invoking grub-install}) on a UNIX-like OS. + +GRUB comes with boot images, which are normally put in the directory +@file{/usr/lib/grub/<cpu>-<platform>} (for BIOS-based machines +@file{/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc}). Hereafter, the directory where GRUB images are +initially placed (normally @file{/usr/lib/grub/<cpu>-<platform>}) will be +called the @dfn{image directory}, and the directory where the boot +loader needs to find them (usually @file{/boot}) will be called +the @dfn{boot directory}. + +@menu +* Installing GRUB using grub-install:: +* Making a GRUB bootable CD-ROM:: +* Device map:: +* BIOS installation:: +@end menu + + +@node Installing GRUB using grub-install +@section Installing GRUB using grub-install + +For information on where GRUB should be installed on PC BIOS platforms, +@pxref{BIOS installation}. + +In order to install GRUB under a UNIX-like OS (such +as @sc{gnu}), invoke the program @command{grub-install} (@pxref{Invoking +grub-install}) as the superuser (@dfn{root}). + +The usage is basically very simple. You only need to specify one +argument to the program, namely, where to install the boot loader. The +argument has to be either a device file (like @samp{/dev/hda}). +For example, under Linux the following will install GRUB into the MBR +of the first IDE disk: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install /dev/sda} +@end example + +Likewise, under GNU/Hurd, this has the same effect: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install /dev/hd0} +@end example + +But all the above examples assume that GRUB should put images under +the @file{/boot} directory. If you want GRUB to put images under a directory +other than @file{/boot}, you need to specify the option +@option{--boot-directory}. The typical usage is that you create a GRUB +boot floppy with a filesystem. Here is an example: + +@example +@group +# @kbd{mke2fs /dev/fd0} +# @kbd{mount -t ext2 /dev/fd0 /mnt} +# @kbd{mkdir /mnt/boot} +# @kbd{grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/fd0} +# @kbd{umount /mnt} +@end group +@end example + +Some BIOSes have a bug of exposing the first partition of a USB drive as a +floppy instead of exposing the USB drive as a hard disk (they call it +``USB-FDD'' boot). In such cases, you need to install like this: + +@example +# @kbd{losetup /dev/loop0 /dev/sdb1} +# @kbd{mount /dev/loop0 /mnt/usb} +# @kbd{grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/usb/bugbios --force --allow-floppy /dev/loop0} +@end example + +This install doesn't conflict with standard install as long as they are in +separate directories. + +On EFI systems for fixed disk install you have to mount EFI System Partition. +If you mount it at @file{/boot/efi} then you don't need any special arguments: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install} +@end example + +Otherwise you need to specify where your EFI System partition is mounted: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install --efi-directory=/mnt/efi} +@end example + +For removable installs you have to use @option{--removable} and specify both +@option{--boot-directory} and @option{--efi-directory}: + +@example +# @kbd{grub-install --efi-directory=/mnt/usb --boot-directory=/mnt/usb/boot --removable} +@end example + +@node Making a GRUB bootable CD-ROM +@section Making a GRUB bootable CD-ROM + +GRUB supports the @dfn{no emulation mode} in the El Torito +specification@footnote{El Torito is a specification for bootable CD +using BIOS functions.}. This means that you can use the whole CD-ROM +from GRUB and you don't have to make a floppy or hard disk image file, +which can cause compatibility problems. + +For booting from a CD-ROM, GRUB uses a special image called +@file{cdboot.img}, which is concatenated with @file{core.img}. The +@file{core.img} used for this should be built with at least the +@samp{iso9660} and @samp{biosdisk} modules. Your bootable CD-ROM will +usually also need to include a configuration file @file{grub.cfg} and some +other GRUB modules. + +To make a simple generic GRUB rescue CD, you can use the +@command{grub-mkrescue} program (@pxref{Invoking grub-mkrescue}): + +@example +$ @kbd{grub-mkrescue -o grub.iso} +@end example + +You will often need to include other files in your image. To do this, first +make a top directory for the bootable image, say, @samp{iso}: + +@example +$ @kbd{mkdir iso} +@end example + +Make a directory for GRUB: + +@example +$ @kbd{mkdir -p iso/boot/grub} +@end example + +If desired, make the config file @file{grub.cfg} under @file{iso/boot/grub} +(@pxref{Configuration}), and copy any files and directories for the disc to the +directory @file{iso/}. + +Finally, make the image: + +@example +$ @kbd{grub-mkrescue -o grub.iso iso} +@end example + +This produces a file named @file{grub.iso}, which then can be burned +into a CD (or a DVD), or written to a USB mass storage device. + +The root device will be set up appropriately on entering your +@file{grub.cfg} configuration file, so you can refer to file names on the CD +without needing to use an explicit device name. This makes it easier to +produce rescue images that will work on both optical drives and USB mass +storage devices. + + +@node Device map +@section The map between BIOS drives and OS devices + +If the device map file exists, the GRUB utilities (@command{grub-probe}, +etc.) read it to map BIOS drives to OS devices. This file consists of lines +like this: + +@example +(@var{device}) @var{file} +@end example + +@var{device} is a drive specified in the GRUB syntax (@pxref{Device +syntax}), and @var{file} is an OS file, which is normally a device file. + +Historically, the device map file was used because GRUB device names had to +be used in the configuration file, and they were derived from BIOS drive +numbers. The map between BIOS drives and OS devices cannot always be +guessed correctly: for example, GRUB will get the order wrong if you +exchange the boot sequence between IDE and SCSI in your BIOS. + +Unfortunately, even OS device names are not always stable. Modern versions +of the Linux kernel may probe drives in a different order from boot to boot, +and the prefix (@file{/dev/hd*} versus @file{/dev/sd*}) may change depending +on the driver subsystem in use. As a result, the device map file required +frequent editing on some systems. + +GRUB avoids this problem nowadays by using UUIDs or file system labels when +generating @file{grub.cfg}, and we advise that you do the same for any +custom menu entries you write. If the device map file does not exist, then +the GRUB utilities will assume a temporary device map on the fly. This is +often good enough, particularly in the common case of single-disk systems. + +However, the device map file is not entirely obsolete yet, and it is +used for overriding when current environment is different from the one on boot. +Most common case is if you use a partition or logical volume as a disk for +virtual machine. You can put any comments in the file if needed, +as the GRUB utilities assume that a line is just a comment if +the first character is @samp{#}. + + +@node BIOS installation +@section BIOS installation + +@heading MBR + +The partition table format traditionally used on PC BIOS platforms is called +the Master Boot Record (MBR) format; this is the format that allows up to +four primary partitions and additional logical partitions. With this +partition table format, there are two ways to install GRUB: it can be +embedded in the area between the MBR and the first partition (called by +various names, such as the "boot track", "MBR gap", or "embedding area", and +which is usually at least 1000 KiB), or the core image can be installed in a +file system and a list of the blocks that make it up can be stored in the +first sector of that partition. + +Modern tools usually leave MBR gap of at least 1023 KiB. This amount is +sufficient to cover most configurations. Hence this value is recommended +by the GRUB team. + +Historically many tools left only 31 KiB of space. This is not enough to +parse reliably difficult structures like Btrfs, ZFS, RAID or LVM, or to +use difficult disk access methods like ahci. Hence GRUB will warn if attempted +to install into small MBR gap except in a small number of configurations +that were grandfathered. The grandfathered config must: + +* use biosdisk as disk access module for @file{/boot} +* not use any additional partition maps to access @file{/boot} +* @file{/boot} must be on one of following filesystems: + * AFFS, AFS, BFS, cpio, newc, odc, ext2/3/4, FAT, exFAT, + F2FS, HFS, uncompressed HFS+, ISO9660, JFS, Minix, Minix2, Minix3, NILFS2, + NTFS, ReiserFS, ROMFS, SFS, tar, UDF, UFS1, UFS2, XFS + +MBR gap has few technical problems. There is no way to reserve space in +the embedding area with complete safety, and some proprietary software is +known to use it to make it difficult for users to work around licensing +restrictions. GRUB works it around by detecting sectors by other software and +avoiding them and protecting its own sectors using Reed-Solomon encoding. + +GRUB team recommends having MBR gap of at least 1000 KiB + +Should it be not possible GRUB has support for a fallback solution which is +heavily recommended against. Installing to a filesystem means that GRUB is +vulnerable to its blocks being moved around by filesystem features such as +tail packing, or even by aggressive fsck implementations, so this approach +is quite fragile; and this approach can only be used if the @file{/boot} +filesystem is on the same disk that the BIOS boots from, so that GRUB does +not have to rely on guessing BIOS drive numbers. + +The GRUB development team generally recommends embedding GRUB before the +first partition, unless you have special requirements. You must ensure that +the first partition starts at least 1000 KiB (2000 sectors) from the start of +the disk; on modern disks, it is often a performance advantage to align +partitions on larger boundaries anyway, so the first partition might start 1 +MiB from the start of the disk. + +@heading GPT + +Some newer systems use the GUID Partition Table (GPT) format. This was +specified as part of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), but it can +also be used on BIOS platforms if system software supports it; for example, +GRUB and GNU/Linux can be used in this configuration. With this format, it +is possible to reserve a whole partition for GRUB, called the BIOS Boot +Partition. GRUB can then be embedded into that partition without the risk +of being overwritten by other software and without being contained in a +filesystem which might move its blocks around. + +When creating a BIOS Boot Partition on a GPT system, you should make sure +that it is at least 31 KiB in size. (GPT-formatted disks are not usually +particularly small, so we recommend that you make it larger than the bare +minimum, such as 1 MiB, to allow plenty of room for growth.) You must also +make sure that it has the proper partition type. Using GNU Parted, you can +set this using a command such as the following: + +@example +# @kbd{parted /dev/@var{disk} set @var{partition-number} bios_grub on} +@end example + +If you are using gdisk, set the partition type to @samp{0xEF02}. With +partitioning programs that require setting the GUID directly, it should be +@samp{21686148-6449-6e6f-744e656564454649}. + +@strong{Caution:} Be very careful which partition you select! When GRUB +finds a BIOS Boot Partition during installation, it will automatically +overwrite part of it. Make sure that the partition does not contain any +other data. + + +@node Booting +@chapter Booting + +GRUB can load Multiboot-compliant kernels in a consistent way, +but for some free operating systems you need to use some OS-specific +magic. + +@menu +* General boot methods:: How to boot OSes with GRUB generally +* Loopback booting:: Notes on booting from loopbacks +* LVM cache booting:: Notes on booting from LVM cache logical volume +* OS-specific notes:: Notes on some operating systems +@end menu + + +@node General boot methods +@section How to boot operating systems + +GRUB has two distinct boot methods. One of the two is to load an +operating system directly, and the other is to chain-load another boot +loader which then will load an operating system actually. Generally +speaking, the former is more desirable, because you don't need to +install or maintain other boot loaders and GRUB is flexible enough to +load an operating system from an arbitrary disk/partition. However, +the latter is sometimes required, since GRUB doesn't support all the +existing operating systems natively. + +@menu +* Loading an operating system directly:: +* Chain-loading:: +@end menu + + +@node Loading an operating system directly +@subsection How to boot an OS directly with GRUB + +Multiboot (@pxref{Top, Multiboot Specification, Motivation, multiboot, +The Multiboot Specification}) is the native format supported by GRUB. +For the sake of convenience, there is also support for Linux, FreeBSD, +NetBSD and OpenBSD. If you want to boot other operating systems, you +will have to chain-load them (@pxref{Chain-loading}). + +FIXME: this section is incomplete. + +@enumerate +@item +Run the command @command{boot} (@pxref{boot}). +@end enumerate + +However, DOS and Windows have some deficiencies, so you might have to +use more complicated instructions. @xref{DOS/Windows}, for more +information. + + +@node Chain-loading +@subsection Chain-loading an OS + +Operating systems that do not support Multiboot and do not have specific +support in GRUB (specific support is available for Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD +and OpenBSD) must be chain-loaded, which involves loading another boot +loader and jumping to it in real mode. + +The @command{chainloader} command (@pxref{chainloader}) is used to set this +up. It is normally also necessary to load some GRUB modules and set the +appropriate root device. Putting this together, we get something like this, +for a Windows system on the first partition of the first hard disk: + +@verbatim +menuentry "Windows" { + insmod chain + insmod ntfs + set root=(hd0,1) + chainloader +1 +} +@end verbatim +@c FIXME: document UUIDs. + +On systems with multiple hard disks, an additional workaround may be +required. @xref{DOS/Windows}. + +Chain-loading is only supported on PC BIOS and EFI platforms. + +@node Loopback booting +@section Loopback booting +GRUB is able to read from an image (be it one of CD or HDD) stored on +any of its accessible storages (refer to @pxref{loopback} command). +However the OS itself should be able to find its root. This usually +involves running a userspace program running before the real root +is discovered. This is achieved by GRUB loading a specially made +small image and passing it as ramdisk to the kernel. This is achieved +by commands @command{kfreebsd_module}, @command{knetbsd_module_elf}, +@command{kopenbsd_ramdisk}, @command{initrd} (@pxref{initrd}), +@command{initrd16} (@pxref{initrd}), @command{multiboot_module}, +@command{multiboot2_module} or @command{xnu_ramdisk} +depending on the loader. Note that for knetbsd the image must be put +inside miniroot.kmod and the whole miniroot.kmod has to be loaded. In +kopenbsd payload this is disabled by default. Aditionally behaviour of +initial ramdisk depends on command line options. Several distributors provide +the image for this purpose or it's integrated in their standard ramdisk and +activated by special option. Consult your kernel and distribution manual for +more details. Other loaders like appleloader, chainloader (BIOS, EFI, coreboot), +freedos, ntldr and plan9 provide no possibility of loading initial ramdisk and +as far as author is aware the payloads in question don't support either initial +ramdisk or discovering loopback boot in other way and as such not bootable this +way. Please consider alternative boot methods like copying all files +from the image to actual partition. Consult your OS documentation for +more details + +@node LVM cache booting +@section Booting from LVM cache logical volume + +The LVM cache logical volume is the logical volume consisting of the original +and the cache pool logical volume. The original is usually on a larger and +slower storage device while the cache pool is on a smaller and faster one. The +performance of the original volume can be improved by storing the frequently +used data on the cache pool to utilize the greater performance of faster +device. + +GRUB boots from LVM cache logical volume merely by reading it's original +logical volume so that dirty data in cache pool volume is disregarded. This is +not a problem for "writethrough" cache mode as it ensures that any data written +will be stored both on the cache and the origin LV. For the other cache mode +"writeback", which delays writing from the cache pool back to the origin LV to +boost performance, GRUB may fail to boot in the wake of accidental power outage +due to it's inability to assemble the cache device for reading the required +dirty data left behind. The situation will be improved after adding full +support to the LVM cache logical volume in the future. + +@node OS-specific notes +@section Some caveats on OS-specific issues + +Here, we describe some caveats on several operating systems. + +@menu +* GNU/Hurd:: +* GNU/Linux:: +* NetBSD:: +* DOS/Windows:: +@end menu + + +@node GNU/Hurd +@subsection GNU/Hurd + +Since GNU/Hurd is Multiboot-compliant, it is easy to boot it; there is +nothing special about it. But do not forget that you have to specify a +root partition to the kernel. + +@enumerate +@item +Set GRUB's root device to the same drive as GNU/Hurd's. The command +@code{search --set=root --file /boot/gnumach.gz} or similar may help you +(@pxref{search}). + +@item +Load the kernel and the modules, like this: + +@example +@group +grub> @kbd{multiboot /boot/gnumach.gz root=device:hd0s1} +grub> @kbd{module /hurd/ext2fs.static ext2fs --readonly \ + --multiboot-command-line='$@{kernel-command-line@}' \ + --host-priv-port='$@{host-port@}' \ + --device-master-port='$@{device-port@}' \ + --exec-server-task='$@{exec-task@}' -T typed '$@{root@}' \ + '$(task-create)' '$(task-resume)'} +grub> @kbd{module /lib/ld.so.1 exec /hurd/exec '$(exec-task=task-create)'} +@end group +@end example + +@item +Finally, run the command @command{boot} (@pxref{boot}). +@end enumerate + + +@node GNU/Linux +@subsection GNU/Linux + +It is relatively easy to boot GNU/Linux from GRUB, because it somewhat +resembles to boot a Multiboot-compliant OS. + +@enumerate +@item +Set GRUB's root device to the same drive as GNU/Linux's. The command +@code{search --set=root --file /vmlinuz} or similar may help you +(@pxref{search}). + +@item +Load the kernel using the command @command{linux} (@pxref{linux}): + +@example +grub> @kbd{linux /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1} +@end example + +If you need to specify some kernel parameters, just append them to the +command. For example, to set @option{acpi} to @samp{off}, do this: + +@example +grub> @kbd{linux /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 acpi=off} +@end example + +See the documentation in the Linux source tree for complete information on +the available options. + +With @command{linux} GRUB uses 32-bit protocol. Some BIOS services like APM +or EDD aren't available with this protocol. In this case you need to use +@command{linux16} + +@example +grub> @kbd{linux16 /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 acpi=off} +@end example + +@item +If you use an initrd, execute the command @command{initrd} (@pxref{initrd}) +after @command{linux}: + +@example +grub> @kbd{initrd /initrd} +@end example + +If you used @command{linux16} you need to use @command{initrd16}: + +@example +grub> @kbd{initrd16 /initrd} +@end example + +@item +Finally, run the command @command{boot} (@pxref{boot}). +@end enumerate + + +@node NetBSD +@subsection NetBSD + +Booting a NetBSD kernel from GRUB is also relatively easy: first set +GRUB's root device, then load the kernel and the modules, and finally +run @command{boot}. + +@enumerate +@item +Set GRUB's root device to the partition holding the NetBSD root file +system. For a disk with a NetBSD disk label, this is usually the first +partition (a:). In that case, and assuming that the partition is on the +first hard disk, set GRUB's root device as follows: + +@example +grub> @kbd{insmod part_bsd} +grub> @kbd{set root=(hd0,netbsd1)} +@end example + +For a disk with a GUID Partition Table (GPT), and assuming that the +NetBSD root partition is the third GPT partition, do this: + +@example +grub> @kbd{insmod part_gpt} +grub> @kbd{set root=(hd0,gpt3)} +@end example + +@item +Load the kernel using the command @command{knetbsd}: + +@example +grub> @kbd{knetbsd /netbsd} +@end example + +Various options may be given to @command{knetbsd}. These options are, +for the most part, the same as in the NetBSD boot loader. For instance, +to boot the system in single-user mode and with verbose messages, do +this: + +@example +grub> @kbd{knetbsd /netbsd -s -v} +@end example + +@item +If needed, load kernel modules with the command +@command{knetbsd_module_elf}. A typical example is the module for the +root file system: + +@example +grub> @kbd{knetbsd_module_elf /stand/amd64/6.0/modules/ffs/ffs.kmod} +@end example + +@item +Finally, run the command @command{boot} (@pxref{boot}). +@end enumerate + + +@node DOS/Windows +@subsection DOS/Windows + +GRUB cannot boot DOS or Windows directly, so you must chain-load them +(@pxref{Chain-loading}). However, their boot loaders have some critical +deficiencies, so it may not work to just chain-load them. To overcome +the problems, GRUB provides you with two helper functions. + +If you have installed DOS (or Windows) on a non-first hard disk, you +have to use the disk swapping technique, because that OS cannot boot +from any disks but the first one. The workaround used in GRUB is the +command @command{drivemap} (@pxref{drivemap}), like this: + +@example +drivemap -s (hd0) (hd1) +@end example + +This performs a @dfn{virtual} swap between your first and second hard +drive. + +@strong{Caution:} This is effective only if DOS (or Windows) uses BIOS +to access the swapped disks. If that OS uses a special driver for the +disks, this probably won't work. + +Another problem arises if you installed more than one set of DOS/Windows +onto one disk, because they could be confused if there are more than one +primary partitions for DOS/Windows. Certainly you should avoid doing +this, but there is a solution if you do want to do so. Use the partition +hiding/unhiding technique. + +If GRUB @dfn{hides} a DOS (or Windows) partition (@pxref{parttool}), DOS (or +Windows) will ignore the partition. If GRUB @dfn{unhides} a DOS (or Windows) +partition, DOS (or Windows) will detect the partition. Thus, if you have +installed DOS (or Windows) on the first and the second partition of the +first hard disk, and you want to boot the copy on the first partition, do +the following: + +@example +@group +parttool (hd0,1) hidden- +parttool (hd0,2) hidden+ +set root=(hd0,1) +chainloader +1 +parttool @verb{'${root}'} boot+ +boot +@end group +@end example + + +@node Configuration +@chapter Writing your own configuration file + +GRUB is configured using @file{grub.cfg}, usually located under +@file{/boot/grub}. This file is quite flexible, but most users will not +need to write the whole thing by hand. + +@menu +* Simple configuration:: Recommended for most users +* Root Identifcation Heuristics:: Summary on how the root file system is identified. +* Shell-like scripting:: For power users and developers +* Multi-boot manual config:: For non-standard multi-OS scenarios +* Embedded configuration:: Embedding a configuration file into GRUB +@end menu + + +@node Simple configuration +@section Simple configuration handling + +The program @command{grub-mkconfig} (@pxref{Invoking grub-mkconfig}) +generates @file{grub.cfg} files suitable for most cases. It is suitable for +use when upgrading a distribution, and will discover available kernels and +attempt to generate menu entries for them. + +@command{grub-mkconfig} does have some limitations. While adding extra +custom menu entries to the end of the list can be done by editing +@file{/etc/grub.d/40_custom} or creating @file{/boot/grub/custom.cfg}, +changing the order of menu entries or changing their titles may require +making complex changes to shell scripts stored in @file{/etc/grub.d/}. This +may be improved in the future. In the meantime, those who feel that it +would be easier to write @file{grub.cfg} directly are encouraged to do so +(@pxref{Booting}, and @ref{Shell-like scripting}), and to disable any system +provided by their distribution to automatically run @command{grub-mkconfig}. + +The file @file{/etc/default/grub} controls the operation of +@command{grub-mkconfig}. It is sourced by a shell script, and so must be +valid POSIX shell input; normally, it will just be a sequence of +@samp{KEY=value} lines, but if the value contains spaces or other special +characters then it must be quoted. For example: + +@example +GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT="console serial" +@end example + +Valid keys in @file{/etc/default/grub} are as follows: + +@table @samp +@item GRUB_DEFAULT +The default menu entry. This may be a number, in which case it identifies +the Nth entry in the generated menu counted from zero, or the title of a +menu entry, or the special string @samp{saved}. Using the id may be +useful if you want to set a menu entry as the default even though there may +be a variable number of entries before it. + +For example, if you have: + +@verbatim +menuentry 'Example GNU/Linux distribution' --class gnu-linux --id example-gnu-linux { + ... +} +@end verbatim + +then you can make this the default using: + +@example +GRUB_DEFAULT=example-gnu-linux +@end example + +Previously it was documented the way to use entry title. While this still +works it's not recommended since titles often contain unstable device names +and may be translated + +If you set this to @samp{saved}, then the default menu entry will be that +saved by @samp{GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT} or @command{grub-set-default}. This relies on +the environment block, which may not be available in all situations +(@pxref{Environment block}). + +The default is @samp{0}. + +@item GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT +If this option is set to @samp{true}, then, when an entry is selected, save +it as a new default entry for use by future runs of GRUB. This is only +useful if @samp{GRUB_DEFAULT=saved}; it is a separate option because +@samp{GRUB_DEFAULT=saved} is useful without this option, in conjunction with +@command{grub-set-default}. Unset by default. +This option relies on the environment block, which may not be available in +all situations (@pxref{Environment block}). + +@item GRUB_TIMEOUT +Boot the default entry this many seconds after the menu is displayed, unless +a key is pressed. The default is @samp{5}. Set to @samp{0} to boot +immediately without displaying the menu, or to @samp{-1} to wait +indefinitely. + +If @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE} is set to @samp{countdown} or @samp{hidden}, +the timeout is instead counted before the menu is displayed. + +@item GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE +If this option is unset or set to @samp{menu}, then GRUB will display the +menu and then wait for the timeout set by @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT} to expire +before booting the default entry. Pressing a key interrupts the timeout. + +If this option is set to @samp{countdown} or @samp{hidden}, then, before +displaying the menu, GRUB will wait for the timeout set by @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT} +to expire. If @key{ESC} or @key{F4} are pressed, or @key{SHIFT} is held down +during that time, it will display the menu and wait for input. If a hotkey +associated with a menu entry is pressed, it will boot the associated menu entry +immediately. If the timeout expires before either of these happens, it will +boot the default entry. In the @samp{countdown} case, it will show a one-line +indication of the remaining time. + +@item GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON +@itemx GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON +@itemx GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE_BUTTON +@itemx GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS +Variants of the corresponding variables without the @samp{_BUTTON} suffix, +used to support vendor-specific power buttons. @xref{Vendor power-on keys}. + +@item GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR +Set by distributors of GRUB to their identifying name. This is used to +generate more informative menu entry titles. + +@item GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT +Select the terminal input device. You may select multiple devices here, +separated by spaces. + +Valid terminal input names depend on the platform, but may include +@samp{console} (native platform console), @samp{serial} (serial terminal), +@samp{serial_<port>} (serial terminal with explicit port selection), +@samp{at_keyboard} (PC AT keyboard), or @samp{usb_keyboard} (USB keyboard +using the HID Boot Protocol, for cases where the firmware does not handle +this). + +The default is to use the platform's native terminal input. + +@item GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT +Select the terminal output device. You may select multiple devices here, +separated by spaces. + +Valid terminal output names depend on the platform, but may include +@samp{console} (native platform console), @samp{serial} (serial terminal), +@samp{serial_<port>} (serial terminal with explicit port selection), +@samp{gfxterm} (graphics-mode output), @samp{vga_text} (VGA text output), +@samp{mda_text} (MDA text output), @samp{morse} (Morse-coding using system +beeper) or @samp{spkmodem} (simple data protocol using system speaker). + +@samp{spkmodem} is useful when no serial port is available. Connect the output +of sending system (where GRUB is running) to line-in of receiving system +(usually developer machine). +On receiving system compile @samp{spkmodem-recv} from +@samp{util/spkmodem-recv.c} and run: + +@example +parecord --channels=1 --rate=48000 --format=s16le | ./spkmodem-recv +@end example + +The default is to use the platform's native terminal output. + +@item GRUB_TERMINAL +If this option is set, it overrides both @samp{GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT} and +@samp{GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT} to the same value. + +@item GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND +A command to configure the serial port when using the serial console. +@xref{serial}. Defaults to @samp{serial}. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX +Command-line arguments to add to menu entries for the Linux kernel. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT +Unless @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY} is set to @samp{true}, two menu +entries will be generated for each Linux kernel: one default entry and one +entry for recovery mode. This option lists command-line arguments to add +only to the default menu entry, after those listed in +@samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX}. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_NETBSD +@itemx GRUB_CMDLINE_NETBSD_DEFAULT +As @samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX} and @samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT}, but for +NetBSD. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_GNUMACH +As @samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX}, but for GNU Mach. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN +@itemx GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN_DEFAULT +The values of these options are passed to Xen hypervisor Xen menu entries, +for all respectively normal entries. + +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN_REPLACE +@item GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_XEN_REPLACE_DEFAULT +The values of these options replace the values of @samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX} +and @samp{GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT} for Linux and Xen menu entries. + +@item GRUB_EARLY_INITRD_LINUX_CUSTOM +@itemx GRUB_EARLY_INITRD_LINUX_STOCK +List of space-separated early initrd images to be loaded from @samp{/boot}. +This is for loading things like CPU microcode, firmware, ACPI tables, crypto +keys, and so on. These early images will be loaded in the order declared, +and all will be loaded before the actual functional initrd image. + +@samp{GRUB_EARLY_INITRD_LINUX_STOCK} is for your distribution to declare +images that are provided by the distribution. It should not be modified +without understanding the consequences. They will be loaded first. + +@samp{GRUB_EARLY_INITRD_LINUX_CUSTOM} is for your custom created images. + +The default stock images are as follows, though they may be overridden by +your distribution: +@example +intel-uc.img intel-ucode.img amd-uc.img amd-ucode.img early_ucode.cpio microcode.cpio +@end example + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID +Normally, @command{grub-mkconfig} will generate menu entries that use +universally-unique identifiers (UUIDs) to identify the root filesystem to +the Linux kernel, using a @samp{root=UUID=...} kernel parameter. This is +usually more reliable, but in some cases it may not be appropriate. To +disable the use of UUIDs, set this option to @samp{true}. + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID +If @command{grub-mkconfig} cannot identify the root filesystem via its +universally-unique indentifier (UUID), @command{grub-mkconfig} can use the UUID +of the partition containing the filesystem to identify the root filesystem to +the Linux kernel via a @samp{root=PARTUUID=...} kernel parameter. This is not +as reliable as using the filesystem UUID, but is more reliable than using the +Linux device names. When @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} is set to +@samp{false}, the Linux kernel version must be 2.6.37 (3.10 for systems using +the MSDOS partition scheme) or newer. This option defaults to @samp{true}. To +enable the use of partition UUIDs, set this option to @samp{false}. + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY +If this option is set to @samp{true}, disable the generation of recovery +mode menu entries. + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_UUID +Normally, @command{grub-mkconfig} will generate menu entries that use +universally-unique identifiers (UUIDs) to identify various filesystems to +search for files. This is usually more reliable, but in some cases it may +not be appropriate. To disable this use of UUIDs, set this option to +@samp{true}. Setting this option to @samp{true}, will also set the options +@samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID} and @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} to +@samp{true}, unless they have been explicilty set to @samp{false}. + +@item GRUB_VIDEO_BACKEND +If graphical video support is required, either because the @samp{gfxterm} +graphical terminal is in use or because @samp{GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX} is set, +then @command{grub-mkconfig} will normally load all available GRUB video +drivers and use the one most appropriate for your hardware. If you need to +override this for some reason, then you can set this option. + +After @command{grub-install} has been run, the available video drivers are +listed in @file{/boot/grub/video.lst}. + +@item GRUB_GFXMODE +Set the resolution used on the @samp{gfxterm} graphical terminal. Note that +you can only use modes which your graphics card supports via VESA BIOS +Extensions (VBE), so for example native LCD panel resolutions may not be +available. The default is @samp{auto}, which tries to select a preferred +resolution. @xref{gfxmode}. + +@item GRUB_BACKGROUND +Set a background image for use with the @samp{gfxterm} graphical terminal. +The value of this option must be a file readable by GRUB at boot time, and +it must end with @file{.png}, @file{.tga}, @file{.jpg}, or @file{.jpeg}. +The image will be scaled if necessary to fit the screen. + +@item GRUB_THEME +Set a theme for use with the @samp{gfxterm} graphical terminal. + +@item GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX +Set to @samp{text} to force the Linux kernel to boot in normal text mode, +@samp{keep} to preserve the graphics mode set using @samp{GRUB_GFXMODE}, +@samp{@var{width}x@var{height}}[@samp{x@var{depth}}] to set a particular +graphics mode, or a sequence of these separated by commas or semicolons to +try several modes in sequence. @xref{gfxpayload}. + +Depending on your kernel, your distribution, your graphics card, and the +phase of the moon, note that using this option may cause GNU/Linux to suffer +from various display problems, particularly during the early part of the +boot sequence. If you have problems, set this option to @samp{text} and +GRUB will tell Linux to boot in normal text mode. + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER +The @command{grub-mkconfig} has a feature to use the external +@command{os-prober} program to discover other operating systems installed on +the same machine and generate appropriate menu entries for them. It is disabled +by default since automatic and silent execution of @command{os-prober}, and +creating boot entries based on that data, is a potential attack vector. Set +this option to @samp{false} to enable this feature in the +@command{grub-mkconfig} command. + +@item GRUB_OS_PROBER_SKIP_LIST +List of space-separated FS UUIDs of filesystems to be ignored from os-prober +output. For efi chainloaders it's <UUID>@@<EFI FILE> + +@item GRUB_DISABLE_SUBMENU +Normally, @command{grub-mkconfig} will generate top level menu entry for +the kernel with highest version number and put all other found kernels +or alternative menu entries for recovery mode in submenu. For entries returned +by @command{os-prober} first entry will be put on top level and all others +in submenu. If this option is set to @samp{true}, flat menu with all entries +on top level will be generated instead. Changing this option will require +changing existing values of @samp{GRUB_DEFAULT}, @samp{fallback} (@pxref{fallback}) +and @samp{default} (@pxref{default}) environment variables as well as saved +default entry using @command{grub-set-default} and value used with +@command{grub-reboot}. + +@item GRUB_ENABLE_CRYPTODISK +If set to @samp{y}, @command{grub-mkconfig} and @command{grub-install} will +check for encrypted disks and generate additional commands needed to access +them during boot. Note that in this case unattended boot is not possible +because GRUB will wait for passphrase to unlock encrypted container. + +@item GRUB_INIT_TUNE +Play a tune on the speaker when GRUB starts. This is particularly useful +for users unable to see the screen. The value of this option is passed +directly to @ref{play}. + +@item GRUB_BADRAM +If this option is set, GRUB will issue a @ref{badram} command to filter +out specified regions of RAM. + +@item GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES +This option may be set to a list of GRUB module names separated by spaces. +Each module will be loaded as early as possible, at the start of +@file{grub.cfg}. + +@end table + +The following options are still accepted for compatibility with existing +configurations, but have better replacements: + +@table @samp +@item GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT +Wait this many seconds before displaying the menu. If @key{ESC} or @key{F4} are +pressed, or @key{SHIFT} is held down during that time, display the menu and wait +for input according to @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT}. If a hotkey associated with a menu +entry is pressed, boot the associated menu entry immediately. If the timeout +expires before either of these happens, display the menu for the number of +seconds specified in @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT} before booting the default entry. + +If you set @samp{GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT}, you should also set +@samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT=0} so that the menu is not displayed at all unless +@key{ESC} or @key{F4} are pressed, or @key{SHIFT} is held down. + +This option is unset by default, and is deprecated in favour of the less +confusing @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=countdown} or +@samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden}. + +@item GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET +In conjunction with @samp{GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT}, set this to @samp{true} to +suppress the verbose countdown while waiting for a key to be pressed before +displaying the menu. + +This option is unset by default, and is deprecated in favour of the less +confusing @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=countdown}. + +@item GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_BUTTON +Variant of @samp{GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT}, used to support vendor-specific power +buttons. @xref{Vendor power-on keys}. + +This option is unset by default, and is deprecated in favour of the less +confusing @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=countdown} or +@samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden}. + +@end table + +For more detailed customisation of @command{grub-mkconfig}'s output, you may +edit the scripts in @file{/etc/grub.d} directly. +@file{/etc/grub.d/40_custom} is particularly useful for adding entire custom +menu entries; simply type the menu entries you want to add at the end of +that file, making sure to leave at least the first two lines intact. + +@node Root Identifcation Heuristics +@section Root Identifcation Heuristics +If the target operating system uses the Linux kernel, @command{grub-mkconfig} +attempts to identify the root file system via a heuristic algoirthm. This +algorithm selects the identification method of the root file system by +considering three factors. The first is if an initrd for the target operating +system is also present. The second is @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID} and if set +to @samp{true}, prevents @command{grub-mkconfig} from identifying the root file +system by its UUID. The third is @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} and if set +to @samp{true}, prevents @command{grub-mkconfig} from identifying the root file +system via the UUID of its enclosing partition. If the variables are assigned +any other value, that value is considered equivalent to @samp{false}. The +variables are also considered to be set to @samp{false} if they are not set. + +When booting, the Linux kernel will delegate the task of mounting the root +filesystem to the initrd. Most initrd images determine the root file system by +checking the Linux kernel's command-line for the @samp{root} key and use its +value as the identification method of the root file system. To improve the +reliability of booting, most initrd images also allow the root file system to be +identified by its UUID. Because of this behavior, the @command{grub-mkconfig} +command will set @samp{root} to @samp{root=UUID=...} to provide the initrd with +the filesystem UUID of the root file system. + +If no initrd is detected or @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID} is set to @samp{true} +then @command{grub-command} will identify the root filesystem by setting the +kernel command-line variable @samp{root} to @samp{root=PARTUUID=...} unless +@samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} is also set to @samp{true}. If +@samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} is also set to @samp{true}, +@command{grub-command} will identify by its Linux device name. + +The following table summarizes the behavior of the @command{grub-mkconfig} +command. + +@multitable {detected} {GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} {GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID} {Linux Root} +@headitem Initrd detected @tab GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID Set To @tab GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID Set To @tab Linux Root ID Method +@item false @tab false @tab false @tab part UUID +@item false @tab false @tab true @tab part UUID +@item false @tab true @tab false @tab dev name +@item false @tab true @tab true @tab dev name +@item true @tab false @tab false @tab fs UUID +@item true @tab false @tab true @tab part UUID +@item true @tab true @tab false @tab fs UUID +@item true @tab true @tab true @tab dev name +@end multitable + +Remember, @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_PARTUUID} and @samp{GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID} +are also considered to be set to @samp{false} when they are unset. + +@node Shell-like scripting +@section Writing full configuration files directly + +@c Some of this section is derived from the GNU Bash manual page, also +@c copyrighted by the FSF. + +@file{grub.cfg} is written in GRUB's built-in scripting language, which has +a syntax quite similar to that of GNU Bash and other Bourne shell +derivatives. + +@heading Words + +A @dfn{word} is a sequence of characters considered as a single unit by +GRUB. Words are separated by @dfn{metacharacters}, which are the following +plus space, tab, and newline: + +@example +@{ @} | & $ ; < > +@end example + +Quoting may be used to include metacharacters in words; see below. + +@heading Reserved words + +Reserved words have a special meaning to GRUB. The following words are +recognised as reserved when unquoted and either the first word of a simple +command or the third word of a @code{for} command: + +@example +! [[ ]] @{ @} +case do done elif else esac fi for function +if in menuentry select then time until while +@end example + +Not all of these reserved words have a useful purpose yet; some are reserved +for future expansion. + +@heading Quoting + +Quoting is used to remove the special meaning of certain characters or +words. It can be used to treat metacharacters as part of a word, to prevent +reserved words from being recognised as such, and to prevent variable +expansion. + +There are three quoting mechanisms: the escape character, single quotes, and +double quotes. + +A non-quoted backslash (\) is the @dfn{escape character}. It preserves the +literal value of the next character that follows, with the exception of +newline. + +Enclosing characters in single quotes preserves the literal value of each +character within the quotes. A single quote may not occur between single +quotes, even when preceded by a backslash. + +Enclosing characters in double quotes preserves the literal value of all +characters within the quotes, with the exception of @samp{$} and @samp{\}. +The @samp{$} character retains its special meaning within double quotes. +The backslash retains its special meaning only when followed by one of the +following characters: @samp{$}, @samp{"}, @samp{\}, or newline. A +backslash-newline pair is treated as a line continuation (that is, it is +removed from the input stream and effectively ignored@footnote{Currently a +backslash-newline pair within a variable name is not handled properly, so +use this feature with some care.}). A double quote may be quoted within +double quotes by preceding it with a backslash. + +@heading Variable expansion + +The @samp{$} character introduces variable expansion. The variable name to +be expanded may be enclosed in braces, which are optional but serve to +protect the variable to be expanded from characters immediately following it +which could be interpreted as part of the name. + +Normal variable names begin with an alphabetic character, followed by zero +or more alphanumeric characters. These names refer to entries in the GRUB +environment (@pxref{Environment}). + +Positional variable names consist of one or more digits. They represent +parameters passed to function calls, with @samp{$1} representing the first +parameter, and so on. + +The special variable name @samp{?} expands to the exit status of the most +recently executed command. When positional variable names are active, other +special variable names @samp{@@}, @samp{*} and @samp{#} are defined and they +expand to all positional parameters with necessary quoting, positional +parameters without any quoting, and positional parameter count respectively. + +@heading Comments + +A word beginning with @samp{#} causes that word and all remaining characters +on that line to be ignored. + +@heading Simple commands + +A @dfn{simple command} is a sequence of words separated by spaces or tabs +and terminated by a semicolon or a newline. The first word specifies the +command to be executed. The remaining words are passed as arguments to the +invoked command. + +The return value of a simple command is its exit status. If the reserved +word @code{!} precedes the command, then the return value is instead the +logical negation of the command's exit status. + +@heading Compound commands + +A @dfn{compound command} is one of the following: + +@table @asis +@item for @var{name} in @var{word} @dots{}; do @var{list}; done +The list of words following @code{in} is expanded, generating a list of +items. The variable @var{name} is set to each element of this list in turn, +and @var{list} is executed each time. The return value is the exit status +of the last command that executes. If the expansion of the items following +@code{in} results in an empty list, no commands are executed, and the return +status is 0. + +@item if @var{list}; then @var{list}; [elif @var{list}; then @var{list};] @dots{} [else @var{list};] fi +The @code{if} @var{list} is executed. If its exit status is zero, the +@code{then} @var{list} is executed. Otherwise, each @code{elif} @var{list} +is executed in turn, and if its exit status is zero, the corresponding +@code{then} @var{list} is executed and the command completes. Otherwise, +the @code{else} @var{list} is executed, if present. The exit status is the +exit status of the last command executed, or zero if no condition tested +true. + +@item while @var{cond}; do @var{list}; done +@itemx until @var{cond}; do @var{list}; done +The @code{while} command continuously executes the @code{do} @var{list} as +long as the last command in @var{cond} returns an exit status of zero. The +@code{until} command is identical to the @code{while} command, except that +the test is negated; the @code{do} @var{list} is executed as long as the +last command in @var{cond} returns a non-zero exit status. The exit status +of the @code{while} and @code{until} commands is the exit status of the last +@code{do} @var{list} command executed, or zero if none was executed. + +@item function @var{name} @{ @var{command}; @dots{} @} +This defines a function named @var{name}. The @dfn{body} of the function is +the list of commands within braces, each of which must be terminated with a +semicolon or a newline. This list of commands will be executed whenever +@var{name} is specified as the name of a simple command. Function +definitions do not affect the exit status in @code{$?}. When executed, the +exit status of a function is the exit status of the last command executed in +the body. + +@item menuentry @var{title} [@option{--class=class} @dots{}] [@option{--users=users}] [@option{--unrestricted}] [@option{--hotkey=key}] [@option{--id=id}] @{ @var{command}; @dots{} @} +@xref{menuentry}. +@end table + +@heading Built-in Commands + +Some built-in commands are also provided by GRUB script to help script +writers perform actions that are otherwise not possible. For example, these +include commands to jump out of a loop without fully completing it, etc. + +@table @asis +@item break [@code{n}] +Exit from within a @code{for}, @code{while}, or @code{until} loop. If +@code{n} is specified, break @code{n} levels. @code{n} must be greater than +or equal to 1. If @code{n} is greater than the number of enclosing loops, +all enclosing loops are exited. The return value is 0 unless @code{n} is +not greater than or equal to 1. + +@item continue [@code{n}] +Resume the next iteration of the enclosing @code{for}, @code{while} or +@code{until} loop. If @code{n} is specified, resume at the @code{n}th +enclosing loop. @code{n} must be greater than or equal to 1. If @code{n} +is greater than the number of enclosing loops, the last enclosing loop (the +@dfn{top-level} loop) is resumed. The return value is 0 unless @code{n} is +not greater than or equal to 1. + +@item return [@code{n}] +Causes a function to exit with the return value specified by @code{n}. If +@code{n} is omitted, the return status is that of the last command executed +in the function body. If used outside a function the return status is +false. + +@item setparams [@code{arg}] @dots{} +Replace positional parameters starting with @code{$1} with arguments to +@command{setparams}. + +@item shift [@code{n}] +The positional parameters from @code{n}+1 @dots{} are renamed to +@code{$1}@dots{}. Parameters represented by the numbers @code{$#} down to +@code{$#}-@code{n}+1 are unset. @code{n} must be a non-negative number less +than or equal to @code{$#}. If @code{n} is 0, no parameters are changed. +If @code{n} is not given, it is assumed to be 1. If @code{n} is greater +than @code{$#}, the positional parameters are not changed. The return +status is greater than zero if @code{n} is greater than @code{$#} or less +than zero; otherwise 0. + +@end table + +@node Multi-boot manual config +@section Multi-boot manual config + +Currently autogenerating config files for multi-boot environments depends on +os-prober and has several shortcomings. Due to that it is disabled by default. +It is advised to use the power of GRUB syntax and do it yourself. A possible +configuration is detailed here, feel free to adjust to your needs. + +First create a separate GRUB partition, big enough to hold GRUB. Some of the +following entries show how to load OS installer images from this same partition, +for that you obviously need to make the partition large enough to hold those +images as well. +Mount this partition on/mnt/boot and disable GRUB in all OSes and manually +install self-compiled latest GRUB with: + +@code{grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sda} + +In all the OSes install GRUB tools but disable installing GRUB in bootsector, +so you'll have menu.lst and grub.cfg available for use. Also disable os-prober +use by setting: + +@code{GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=true} + +in /etc/default/grub + +Then write a grub.cfg (/mnt/boot/grub/grub.cfg): + +@example + +menuentry "OS using grub2" @{ + insmod xfs + search --set=root --label OS1 --hint hd0,msdos8 + configfile /boot/grub/grub.cfg +@} + +menuentry "OS using grub2-legacy" @{ + insmod ext2 + search --set=root --label OS2 --hint hd0,msdos6 + legacy_configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst +@} + +menuentry "Windows XP" @{ + insmod ntfs + search --set=root --label WINDOWS_XP --hint hd0,msdos1 + ntldr /ntldr +@} + +menuentry "Windows 7" @{ + insmod ntfs + search --set=root --label WINDOWS_7 --hint hd0,msdos2 + ntldr /bootmgr +@} + +menuentry "FreeBSD" @{ + insmod zfs + search --set=root --label freepool --hint hd0,msdos7 + kfreebsd /freebsd@@/boot/kernel/kernel + kfreebsd_module_elf /freebsd@@/boot/kernel/opensolaris.ko + kfreebsd_module_elf /freebsd@@/boot/kernel/zfs.ko + kfreebsd_module /freebsd@@/boot/zfs/zpool.cache type=/boot/zfs/zpool.cache + set kFreeBSD.vfs.root.mountfrom=zfs:freepool/freebsd + set kFreeBSD.hw.psm.synaptics_support=1 +@} + +menuentry "experimental GRUB" @{ + search --set=root --label GRUB --hint hd0,msdos5 + multiboot /experimental/grub/i386-pc/core.img +@} + +menuentry "Fedora 16 installer" @{ + search --set=root --label GRUB --hint hd0,msdos5 + linux /fedora/vmlinuz lang=en_US keymap=sg resolution=1280x800 + initrd /fedora/initrd.img +@} + +menuentry "Fedora rawhide installer" @{ + search --set=root --label GRUB --hint hd0,msdos5 + linux /fedora/vmlinuz repo=ftp://mirror.switch.ch/mirror/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/x86_64 lang=en_US keymap=sg resolution=1280x800 + initrd /fedora/initrd.img +@} + +menuentry "Debian sid installer" @{ + search --set=root --label GRUB --hint hd0,msdos5 + linux /debian/dists/sid/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/vmlinuz + initrd /debian/dists/sid/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/initrd.gz +@} + +@end example + +Notes: +@itemize +@item Argument to search after --label is FS LABEL. You can also use UUIDs with --fs-uuid UUID instead of --label LABEL. You could also use direct @code{root=hd0,msdosX} but this is not recommended due to device name instability. +@end itemize + +@node Embedded configuration +@section Embedding a configuration file into GRUB + +GRUB supports embedding a configuration file directly into the core image, +so that it is loaded before entering normal mode. This is useful, for +example, when it is not straightforward to find the real configuration file, +or when you need to debug problems with loading that file. +@command{grub-install} uses this feature when it is not using BIOS disk +functions or when installing to a different disk from the one containing +@file{/boot/grub}, in which case it needs to use the @command{search} +command (@pxref{search}) to find @file{/boot/grub}. + +To embed a configuration file, use the @option{-c} option to +@command{grub-mkimage}. The file is copied into the core image, so it may +reside anywhere on the file system, and may be removed after running +@command{grub-mkimage}. + +After the embedded configuration file (if any) is executed, GRUB will load +the @samp{normal} module (@pxref{normal}), which will then read the real +configuration file from @file{$prefix/grub.cfg}. By this point, the +@code{root} variable will also have been set to the root device name. For +example, @code{prefix} might be set to @samp{(hd0,1)/boot/grub}, and +@code{root} might be set to @samp{hd0,1}. Thus, in most cases, the embedded +configuration file only needs to set the @code{prefix} and @code{root} +variables, and then drop through to GRUB's normal processing. A typical +example of this might look like this: + +@example +@group +search.fs_uuid 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef root +set prefix=($root)/boot/grub +@end group +@end example + +(The @samp{search_fs_uuid} module must be included in the core image for this +example to work.) + +In more complex cases, it may be useful to read other configuration files +directly from the embedded configuration file. This allows such things as +reading files not called @file{grub.cfg}, or reading files from a directory +other than that where GRUB's loadable modules are installed. To do this, +include the @samp{configfile} and @samp{normal} modules in the core image, +and embed a configuration file that uses the @command{configfile} command to +load another file. The following example of this also requires the +@command{echo}, @command{search_label}, and @command{test} modules to be +included in the core image: + +@example +@group +search.fs_label grub root +if [ -e /boot/grub/example/test1.cfg ]; then + set prefix=($root)/boot/grub + configfile /boot/grub/example/test1.cfg +else + if [ -e /boot/grub/example/test2.cfg ]; then + set prefix=($root)/boot/grub + configfile /boot/grub/example/test2.cfg + else + echo "Could not find an example configuration file!" + fi +fi +@end group +@end example + +The embedded configuration file may not contain menu entries directly, but +may only read them from elsewhere using @command{configfile}. + +@node Theme file format +@chapter Theme file format +@section Introduction +The GRUB graphical menu supports themes that can customize the layout and +appearance of the GRUB boot menu. The theme is configured through a plain +text file that specifies the layout of the various GUI components (including +the boot menu, timeout progress bar, and text messages) as well as the +appearance using colors, fonts, and images. Example is available in docs/example_theme.txt + +@section Theme Elements +@subsection Colors + +Colors can be specified in several ways: + +@itemize +@item HTML-style ``#RRGGBB'' or ``#RGB'' format, where *R*, *G*, and *B* are hexadecimal digits (e.g., ``#8899FF'') +@item as comma-separated decimal RGB values (e.g., ``128, 128, 255'') +@item with ``SVG 1.0 color names'' (e.g., ``cornflowerblue'') which must be specified in lowercase. +@end itemize +@subsection Fonts +The fonts GRUB uses ``PFF2 font format'' bitmap fonts. Fonts are specified +with full font names. Currently there is no +provision for a preference list of fonts, or deriving one font from another. +Fonts are loaded with the ``loadfont'' command in GRUB (@ref{loadfont}). To see the list of +loaded fonts, execute the ``lsfonts'' command (@ref{lsfonts}). If there are too many fonts to +fit on screen, do ``set pager=1'' before executing ``lsfonts''. + + +@subsection Progress Bar + +@float Figure, Pixmap-styled progress bar +@c @image{Theme_progress_bar,,,,png} +@end float + +@float Figure, Plain progress bar, drawn with solid color. +@c @image{Theme_progress_bar_filled,,,,png} +@end float + +Progress bars are used to display the remaining time before GRUB boots the +default menu entry. To create a progress bar that will display the remaining +time before automatic boot, simply create a ``progress_bar'' component with +the id ``__timeout__''. This indicates to GRUB that the progress bar should +be updated as time passes, and it should be made invisible if the countdown to +automatic boot is interrupted by the user. + +Progress bars may optionally have text displayed on them. This text is +controlled by variable ``text'' which contains a printf template with the +only argument %d is the number of seconds remaining. Additionally special +values ``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_SHORT@@'', ``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_MIDDLE@@'', +``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_LONG@@'' are replaced with standard and translated +templates. + +@subsection Circular Progress Indicator + +@c @image{Theme_circular_progress,,,,.png} + +The circular progress indicator functions similarly to the progress bar. When +given an id of ``__timeout__'', GRUB updates the circular progress indicator's +value to indicate the time remaining. For the circular progress indicator, +there are two images used to render it: the *center* image, and the *tick* +image. The center image is rendered in the center of the component, while the +tick image is used to render each mark along the circumference of the +indicator. + + +@subsection Labels + +Text labels can be placed on the boot screen. The font, color, and horizontal +alignment can be specified for labels. If a label is given the id +``__timeout__'', then the ``text'' property for that label is also updated +with a message informing the user of the number of seconds remaining until +automatic boot. This is useful in case you want the text displayed somewhere +else instead of directly on the progress bar. + + +@subsection Boot Menu + +@c @image{Theme_boot_menu,,,,.png} + +The boot menu where GRUB displays the menu entries from the ``grub.cfg'' file. +It is a list of items, where each item has a title and an optional icon. The +icon is selected based on the *classes* specified for the menu entry. If +there is a PNG file named ``myclass.png'' in the ``grub/themes/icons'' +directory, it will be displayed for items which have the class *myclass*. The +boot menu can be customized in several ways, such as the font and color used +for the menu entry title, and by specifying styled boxes for the menu itself +and for the selected item highlight. + + +@subsection Styled Boxes + +One of the most important features for customizing the layout is the use of + *styled boxes*. A styled box is composed of 9 rectangular (and potentially +empty) regions, which are used to seamlessly draw the styled box on screen: + +@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.3 0.3 +@item Northwest (nw) @tab North (n) @tab Northeast (ne) +@item West (w) @tab Center (c) @tab East (e) +@item Southwest (sw) @tab South (s) @tab Southeast (se) +@end multitable + +To support any size of box on screen, the center slice and the slices for the +top, bottom, and sides are all scaled to the correct size for the component on +screen, using the following rules: + +@enumerate +@item The edge slices (north, south, east, and west) are scaled in the direction of the edge they are adjacent to. For instance, the west slice is scaled vertically. +@item The corner slices (northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest) are not scaled. +@item The center slice is scaled to fill the remaining space in the middle. +@end enumerate + +As an example of how an image might be sliced up, consider the styled box +used for a terminal view. + +@float Figure, An example of the slices (in red) used for a terminal window. This drawing was created and sliced in Inkscape_, as the next section explains. +@c @image{Box_slice_example_terminal,,,,.png} +@end float + +@subsection Creating Styled Box Images + +The Inkscape_ scalable vector graphics editor is a very useful tool for +creating styled box images. One process that works well for slicing a drawing +into the necessary image slices is: + +@enumerate +@item Create or open the drawing you'd like use. +@item Create a new layer on the top of the layer stack. Make it visible. Select this layer as the current layer. +@item Draw 9 rectangles on your drawing where you'd like the slices to be. Clear the fill option, and set the stroke to 1 pixel wide solid stroke. The corners of the slices must meet precisely; if it is off by a single pixel, it will probably be evident when the styled box is rendered in the GRUB menu. You should probably go to File | Document Properties | Grids and enable a grid or create a guide (click on one of the rulers next to the drawing and drag over the drawing; release the mouse button to place the guide) to help place the rectangles precisely. +@item Right click on the center slice rectangle and choose Object Properties. Change the "Id" to ``slice_c`` and click Set. Repeat this for the remaining 8 rectangles, giving them Id values of ``slice_n``, ``slice_ne``, ``slice_e``, and so on according to the location. +@item Save the drawing. +@item Select all the slice rectangles. With the slice layer selected, you can simply press Ctrl+A to select all rectangles. The status bar should indicate that 9 rectangles are selected. +@item Click the layer hide icon for the slice layer in the layer palette. The rectangles will remain selected, even though they are hidden. +@item Choose File | Export Bitmap and check the *Batch export 9 selected objects* box. Make sure that *Hide all except selected* is unchecked. click *Export*. This will create PNG files in the same directory as the drawing, named after the slices. These can now be used for a styled box in a GRUB theme. +@end enumerate + +@section Theme File Manual + +The theme file is a plain text file. Lines that begin with ``#`` are ignored +and considered comments. (Note: This may not be the case if the previous line +ended where a value was expected.) + +The theme file contains two types of statements: +@enumerate +@item Global properties. +@item Component construction. +@end enumerate + +@subsection Global Properties + +@subsection Format + +Global properties are specified with the simple format: +@itemize +@item name1: value1 +@item name2: "value which may contain spaces" +@item name3: #88F +@end itemize + +In this example, name3 is assigned a color value. + + +@subsection Global Property List + +@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.6 +@item title-text + @tab Specifies the text to display at the top center of the screen as a title. +@item title-font + @tab Defines the font used for the title message at the top of the screen. +@item title-color + @tab Defines the color of the title message. +@item message-font + @tab Currently unused. Left for backward compatibility. +@item message-color + @tab Currently unused. Left for backward compatibility. +@item message-bg-color + @tab Currently unused. Left for backward compatibility. +@item desktop-image + @tab Specifies the image to use as the background. It will be scaled + to fit the screen size or proportionally scaled depending on the scale + method. +@item desktop-image-scale-method + @tab Specifies the scaling method for the *desktop-image*. Options are + ``stretch``, ``crop``, ``padding``, ``fitwidth``, ``fitheight``. + ``stretch`` for fitting the screen size. Otherwise it is proportional + scaling of a part of *desktop-image* to the part of the screen. + ``crop`` part of the *desktop-image* will be proportionally scaled to + fit the screen sizes. ``padding`` the entire *desktop-image* will be + contained on the screen. ``fitwidth`` for fitting the *desktop-image*'s + width with screen width. ``fitheight`` for fitting the *desktop-image*'s + height with the screen height. Default is ``stretch``. +@item desktop-image-h-align + @tab Specifies the horizontal alignment of the *desktop-image* if + *desktop-image-scale-method* isn't equeal to ``stretch``. Options are + ``left``, ``center``, ``right``. Default is ``center``. +@item desktop-image-v-align + @tab Specifies the vertical alignment of the *desktop-image* if + *desktop-image-scale-method* isn't equeal to ``stretch``. Options are + ``top``, ``center``, ``bottom``. Default is ``center``. +@item desktop-color + @tab Specifies the color for the background if *desktop-image* is not + specified. +@item terminal-box + @tab Specifies the file name pattern for the styled box slices used for the + command line terminal window. For example, ``terminal-box: terminal_*.png`` + will use the images ``terminal_c.png`` as the center area, ``terminal_n.png`` + as the north (top) edge, ``terminal_nw.png`` as the northwest (upper left) + corner, and so on. If the image for any slice is not found, it will simply + be left empty. +@item terminal-border + @tab Specifies the border width of the terminal window. +@item terminal-left + @tab Specifies the left coordinate of the terminal window. +@item terminal-top + @tab Specifies the top coordinate of the terminal window. +@item terminal-width + @tab Specifies the width of the terminal window. +@item terminal-height + @tab Specifies the height of the terminal window. +@end multitable + + +@subsection Component Construction + +Greater customizability comes is provided by components. A tree of components +forms the user interface. *Containers* are components that can contain other +components, and there is always a single root component which is an instance +of a *canvas* container. + +Components are created in the theme file by prefixing the type of component +with a '+' sign: + +@code{ + label @{ text="GRUB" font="aqui 11" color="#8FF" @} } + +properties of a component are specified as "name = value" (whitespace +surrounding tokens is optional and is ignored) where *value* may be: +@itemize +@item a single word (e.g., ``align = center``, ``color = #FF8080``), +@item a quoted string (e.g., ``text = "Hello, World!"``), or +@item a tuple (e.g., ``preferred_size = (120, 80)``). +@end itemize + +@subsection Component List + +The following is a list of the components and the properties they support. + +@itemize +@item label + A label displays a line of text. + + Properties: + @multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.7 + @item id + @tab Set to ``__timeout__`` to display the time elapsed to an automatical + boot of the default entry. + @item text + @tab The text to display. If ``id`` is set to ``__timeout__`` and no + ``text`` property is set then the amount of seconds will be shown. + If set to ``@@KEYMAP_SHORT@@``, ``@@KEYMAP_MIDDLE@@`` or + ``@@KEYMAP_LONG@@`` then predefined hotkey information will be shown. + @item font + @tab The font to use for text display. + @item color + @tab The color of the text. + @item align + @tab The horizontal alignment of the text within the component. + Options are ``left``, ``center`` and ``right``. + @item visible + @tab Set to ``false`` to hide the label. + @end multitable + +@item image + A component that displays an image. The image is scaled to fit + the component. + + Properties: + + @multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.7 + @item file + @tab The full path to the image file to load. + @end multitable + +@item progress_bar + Displays a horizontally oriented progress bar. It can be rendered using + simple solid filled rectangles, or using a pair of pixmap styled boxes. + + Properties: + + @multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.7 + @item id + @tab Set to ``__timeout__`` to display the time elapsed to an automatical + boot of the default entry. + @item fg_color + @tab The foreground color for plain solid color rendering. + @item bg_color + @tab The background color for plain solid color rendering. + @item border_color + @tab The border color for plain solid color rendering. + @item text_color + @tab The text color. + @item bar_style + @tab The styled box specification for the frame of the progress bar. + Example: ``progress_frame_*.png`` + If the value is equal to ``highlight_style`` then no styled boxes + will be shown. + @item highlight_style + @tab The styled box specification for the highlighted region of the + progress bar. This box will be used to paint just the highlighted region + of the bar, and will be increased in size as the bar nears completion. + Example: ``progress_hl_*.png``. + If the value is equal to ``bar_style`` then no styled boxes + will be shown. + @item highlight_overlay + @tab If this option is set to ``true`` then the highlight box + side slices (every slice except the center slice) will overlay the + frame box side slices. And the center slice of the highlight box + can move all the way (from top to bottom), being drawn on the center + slice of the frame box. That way we can make a progress bar with + round-shaped edges so there won't be a free space from the highlight to + the frame in top and bottom scrollbar positions. Default is ``false``. + @item font + @tab The font to use for progress bar. + @item text + @tab The text to display on the progress bar. If the progress bar's ID + is set to ``__timeout__`` and the value of this property is set to + ``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_SHORT@@``, ``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_MIDDLE@@`` + or ``@@TIMEOUT_NOTIFICATION_LONG@@``, then GRUB will update this + property with an informative message as the timeout approaches. + @end multitable + +@item circular_progress + Displays a circular progress indicator. The appearance of this component + is determined by two images: the *center* image and the *tick* image. The + center image is generally larger and will be drawn in the center of the + component. Around the circumference of a circle within the component, the + tick image will be drawn a certain number of times, depending on the + properties of the component. + + Properties: + + @multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.6 + @item id + @tab Set to ``__timeout__`` to display the time elapsed to an automatical + boot of the default entry. + @item center_bitmap + @tab The file name of the image to draw in the center of the component. + @item tick_bitmap + @tab The file name of the image to draw for the tick marks. + @item num_ticks + @tab The number of ticks that make up a full circle. + @item ticks_disappear + @tab Boolean value indicating whether tick marks should progressively appear, + or progressively disappear as *value* approaches *end*. Specify + ``true`` or ``false``. Default is ``false``. + @item start_angle + @tab The position of the first tick mark to appear or disappear. + Measured in "parrots", 1 "parrot" = 1 / 256 of the full circle. + Use values ``xxx deg`` or ``xxx \xc2\xb0`` to set the angle in degrees. + @end multitable + +@item boot_menu + Displays the GRUB boot menu. It allows selecting items and executing them. + + Properties: + + @multitable @columnfractions 0.4 0.5 + @item item_font + @tab The font to use for the menu item titles. + @item selected_item_font + @tab The font to use for the selected menu item, or ``inherit`` (the default) + to use ``item_font`` for the selected menu item as well. + @item item_color + @tab The color to use for the menu item titles. + @item selected_item_color + @tab The color to use for the selected menu item, or ``inherit`` (the default) + to use ``item_color`` for the selected menu item as well. + @item icon_width + @tab The width of menu item icons. Icons are scaled to the specified size. + @item icon_height + @tab The height of menu item icons. + @item item_height + @tab The height of each menu item in pixels. + @item item_padding + @tab The amount of space in pixels to leave on each side of the menu item + contents. + @item item_icon_space + @tab The space between an item's icon and the title text, in pixels. + @item item_spacing + @tab The amount of space to leave between menu items, in pixels. + @item menu_pixmap_style + @tab The image file pattern for the menu frame styled box. + Example: ``menu_*.png`` (this will use images such as ``menu_c.png``, + ``menu_w.png``, `menu_nw.png``, etc.) + @item item_pixmap_style + @tab The image file pattern for the item styled box. + @item selected_item_pixmap_style + @tab The image file pattern for the selected item highlight styled box. + @item scrollbar + @tab Boolean value indicating whether the scroll bar should be drawn if the + frame and thumb styled boxes are configured. + @item scrollbar_frame + @tab The image file pattern for the entire scroll bar. + Example: ``scrollbar_*.png`` + @item scrollbar_thumb + @tab The image file pattern for the scroll bar thumb (the part of the scroll + bar that moves as scrolling occurs). + Example: ``scrollbar_thumb_*.png`` + @item scrollbar_thumb_overlay + @tab If this option is set to ``true`` then the scrollbar thumb + side slices (every slice except the center slice) will overlay the + scrollbar frame side slices. And the center slice of the scrollbar_thumb + can move all the way (from top to bottom), being drawn on the center + slice of the scrollbar frame. That way we can make a scrollbar with + round-shaped edges so there won't be a free space from the thumb to + the frame in top and bottom scrollbar positions. Default is ``false``. + @item scrollbar_slice + @tab The menu frame styled box's slice in which the scrollbar will be + drawn. Possible values are ``west``, ``center``, ``east`` (default). + ``west`` - the scrollbar will be drawn in the west slice (right-aligned). + ``east`` - the scrollbar will be drawn in the east slice (left-aligned). + ``center`` - the scrollbar will be drawn in the center slice. + Note: in case of ``center`` slice: + a) If the scrollbar should be drawn then boot menu entry's width is + decreased by the scrollbar's width and the scrollbar is drawn at the + right side of the center slice. + b) If the scrollbar won't be drawn then the boot menu entry's width + is the width of the center slice. + c) We don't necessary need the menu pixmap box to display the scrollbar. + @item scrollbar_left_pad + @tab The left scrollbar padding in pixels. + Unused if ``scrollbar_slice`` is ``west``. + @item scrollbar_right_pad + @tab The right scrollbar padding in pixels. + Unused if ``scrollbar_slice`` is ``east``. + @item scrollbar_top_pad + @tab The top scrollbar padding in pixels. + @item scrollbar_bottom_pad + @tab The bottom scrollbar padding in pixels. + @item visible + @tab Set to ``false`` to hide the boot menu. + @end multitable + +@item canvas + Canvas is a container that allows manual placement of components within it. + It does not alter the positions of its child components. It assigns all + child components their preferred sizes. + +@item hbox + The *hbox* container lays out its children from left to right, giving each + one its preferred width. The height of each child is set to the maximum of + the preferred heights of all children. + +@item vbox + The *vbox* container lays out its children from top to bottom, giving each + one its preferred height. The width of each child is set to the maximum of + the preferred widths of all children. +@end itemize + + +@subsection Common properties + +The following properties are supported by all components: +@table @samp +@item left + The distance from the left border of container to left border of the object in either of three formats: + @multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.7 + @item x @tab Value in pixels + @item p% @tab Percentage + @item p%+x @tab mixture of both + @end multitable +@item top + The distance from the left border of container to left border of the object in same format. +@item width + The width of object in same format. +@item height + The height of object in same format. +@item id + The identifier for the component. This can be any arbitrary string. + The ID can be used by scripts to refer to various components in the GUI + component tree. Currently, there is one special ID value that GRUB + recognizes: + + @multitable @columnfractions 0.2 0.7 + @item ``__timeout__`` + @tab Component with this ID will be updated by GRUB and will indicate + time elapsed to an automatical boot of the default entry. + Affected components: ``label``, ``circular_progress``, ``progress_bar``. + @end multitable +@end table + + + +@node Network +@chapter Booting GRUB from the network + +The following instructions don't work for *-emu, i386-qemu, i386-coreboot, +i386-multiboot, mips_loongson, mips-arc and mips_qemu_mips + +To generate a netbootable directory, run: + +@example +@group +grub-mknetdir --net-directory=/srv/tftp --subdir=/boot/grub -d /usr/lib/grub/<platform> +@end group +@end example + +E.g. for i386-pc: + +@example +@group +grub-mknetdir --net-directory=/srv/tftp --subdir=/boot/grub -d /usr/lib/grub/i386-pc +@end group +@end example + +Then follow instructions printed out by grub-mknetdir on configuring your DHCP +server. + +The grub.cfg file is placed in the same directory as the path output by +grub-mknetdir hereafter referred to as FWPATH. GRUB will search for its +configuration files in order using the following rules where the appended +value corresponds to a value on the client machine. + +@example +@group +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-@samp{(UUID OF MACHINE)} +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-@samp{(MAC ADDRESS OF NIC)} +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-@samp{(IPv4 OR IPv6 ADDRESS)} +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg +@end group +@end example + +The UUID is the Client Machine Identifier Option Definition as specified in +RFC 4578. The client will only attempt to loouk up a UUID config file if it +was provided by the DHCP server. + +The client will only attempt to look up an IPv6 address config once, however, +it will try the IPv4 multiple times. The concrete example below shows what +would happen under the IPv4 case. + +@example +@group +UUID: 7726a678-7fc0-4853-a4f6-c85ac36a120a +MAC: 52:54:00:ec:33:81 +IPV4: 10.0.0.130 (0A000082) +@end group +@end example + +@example +@group +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-7726a678-7fc0-4853-a4f6-c85ac36a120a +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-52-54-00-ec-33-81 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A000082 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A00008 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A0000 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A000 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A00 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A0 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0A +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg-0 +@samp{(FWPATH)}/grub.cfg +@end group +@end example + +This feature is enabled by default but it can be disabled by setting the +@samp{feature_net_search_cfg} to @samp{n}. Since this happens before the +configuration file is read by GRUB, this option has to be disabled in an +embedded configuration file (@pxref{Embedded configuration}). + +After GRUB has started, files on the TFTP server will be accessible via the +@samp{(tftp)} device. + +The server IP address can be controlled by changing the +@samp{(tftp)} device name to @samp{(tftp,@var{server-ip})}. Note that +this should be changed both in the prefix and in any references to the +device name in the configuration file. + +GRUB provides several environment variables which may be used to inspect or +change the behaviour of the PXE device. In the following description +@var{<interface>} is placeholder for the name of network interface (platform +dependent): + +@table @samp +@item net_@var{<interface>}_ip +The network interface's IP address. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_mac +The network interface's MAC address. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_hostname +The client host name provided by DHCP. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_domain +The client domain name provided by DHCP. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_rootpath +The path to the client's root disk provided by DHCP. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_extensionspath +The path to additional DHCP vendor extensions provided by DHCP. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_boot_file +The boot file name provided by DHCP. Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_dhcp_server_name +The name of the DHCP server responsible for these boot parameters. +Read-only. + +@item net_@var{<interface>}_next_server +The IP address of the next (usually, TFTP) server provided by DHCP. +Read-only. + +@item net_default_interface +Initially set to name of network interface that was used to load grub. +Read-write, although setting it affects only interpretation of +@samp{net_default_ip} and @samp{net_default_mac} + +@item net_default_ip +The IP address of default interface. Read-only. This is alias for the +@samp{net_$@{net_default_interface@}_ip}. + +@item net_default_mac +The default interface's MAC address. Read-only. This is alias for the +@samp{net_$@{net_default_interface@}_mac}. + +@item net_default_server +The default server used by network drives (@pxref{Device syntax}). Read-write, +although setting this is only useful before opening a network device. + +@end table + + +@node Serial terminal +@chapter Using GRUB via a serial line + +This chapter describes how to use the serial terminal support in GRUB. + +If you have many computers or computers with no display/keyboard, it +could be very useful to control the computers through serial +communications. To connect one computer with another via a serial line, +you need to prepare a null-modem (cross) serial cable, and you may need +to have multiport serial boards, if your computer doesn't have extra +serial ports. In addition, a terminal emulator is also required, such as +minicom. Refer to a manual of your operating system, for more +information. + +As for GRUB, the instruction to set up a serial terminal is quite +simple. Here is an example: + +@example +@group +grub> @kbd{serial --unit=0 --speed=9600} +grub> @kbd{terminal_input serial; terminal_output serial} +@end group +@end example + +The command @command{serial} initializes the serial unit 0 with the +speed 9600bps. The serial unit 0 is usually called @samp{COM1}, so, if +you want to use COM2, you must specify @samp{--unit=1} instead. This +command accepts many other options, so please refer to @ref{serial}, +for more details. + +The commands @command{terminal_input} (@pxref{terminal_input}) and +@command{terminal_output} (@pxref{terminal_output}) choose which type of +terminal you want to use. In the case above, the terminal will be a +serial terminal, but you can also pass @code{console} to the command, +as @samp{terminal_input serial console}. In this case, a terminal in which +you press any key will be selected as a GRUB terminal. In the example above, +note that you need to put both commands on the same command line, as you +will lose the ability to type commands on the console after the first +command. + +However, note that GRUB assumes that your terminal emulator is +compatible with VT100 by default. This is true for most terminal +emulators nowadays, but you should pass the option @option{--dumb} to +the command if your terminal emulator is not VT100-compatible or +implements few VT100 escape sequences. If you specify this option then +GRUB provides you with an alternative menu interface, because the normal +menu requires several fancy features of your terminal. + + +@node Vendor power-on keys +@chapter Using GRUB with vendor power-on keys + +Some laptop vendors provide an additional power-on button which boots +another OS. GRUB supports such buttons with the @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON}, +@samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE_BUTTON}, @samp{GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON}, and +@samp{GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS} variables in default/grub (@pxref{Simple +configuration}). @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON}, +@samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE_BUTTON}, and @samp{GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON} are used +instead of the corresponding variables without the @samp{_BUTTON} suffix +when powered on using the special button. @samp{GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS} +is vendor-specific and partially model-specific. Values known to the GRUB +team are: + +@table @key +@item Dell XPS M1330M +121:3 +@item Dell XPS M1530 +85:3 +@item Dell Latitude E4300 +85:3 +@item Asus EeePC 1005PE +84:1 (unconfirmed) +@item LENOVO ThinkPad T410s (2912W1C) +101:3 +@end table + +To take full advantage of this function, install GRUB into the MBR +(@pxref{Installing GRUB using grub-install}). + +If you have a laptop which has a similar feature and not in the above list +could you figure your address and contribute? +To discover the address do the following: +@itemize +@item boot normally +@item +@example +sudo modprobe nvram +sudo cat /dev/nvram | xxd > normal_button.txt +@end example +@item boot using vendor button +@item +@example +sudo modprobe nvram +sudo cat /dev/nvram | xxd > normal_vendor.txt +@end example +@end itemize + +Then compare these text files and find where a bit was toggled. E.g. in +case of Dell XPS it was: +@example +byte 0x47: 20 --> 28 +@end example +It's a bit number 3 as seen from following table: +@multitable @columnfractions .2 .2 +@item 0 @tab 01 +@item 1 @tab 02 +@item 2 @tab 04 +@item 3 @tab 08 +@item 4 @tab 10 +@item 5 @tab 20 +@item 6 @tab 40 +@item 7 @tab 80 +@end multitable + +0x47 is decimal 71. Linux nvram implementation cuts first 14 bytes of +CMOS. So the real byte address in CMOS is 71+14=85 +So complete address is 85:3 + +@node Images +@chapter GRUB image files + +@c FIXME: parts of this section are specific to PC BIOS right now. + +GRUB consists of several images: a variety of bootstrap images for starting +GRUB in various ways, a kernel image, and a set of modules which are +combined with the kernel image to form a core image. Here is a short +overview of them. + +@table @file +@item boot.img +On PC BIOS systems, this image is the first part of GRUB to start. It is +written to a master boot record (MBR) or to the boot sector of a partition. +Because a PC boot sector is 512 bytes, the size of this image is exactly 512 +bytes. + +The sole function of @file{boot.img} is to read the first sector of the core +image from a local disk and jump to it. Because of the size restriction, +@file{boot.img} cannot understand any file system structure, so +@command{grub-install} hardcodes the location of the first sector of the +core image into @file{boot.img} when installing GRUB. + +@item diskboot.img +This image is used as the first sector of the core image when booting from a +hard disk. It reads the rest of the core image into memory and starts the +kernel. Since file system handling is not yet available, it encodes the +location of the core image using a block list format. + +@item cdboot.img +This image is used as the first sector of the core image when booting from a +CD-ROM drive. It performs a similar function to @file{diskboot.img}. + +@item pxeboot.img +This image is used as the start of the core image when booting from the +network using PXE. @xref{Network}. + +@item lnxboot.img +This image may be placed at the start of the core image in order to make +GRUB look enough like a Linux kernel that it can be booted by LILO using an +@samp{image=} section. + +@item kernel.img +This image contains GRUB's basic run-time facilities: frameworks for device +and file handling, environment variables, the rescue mode command-line +parser, and so on. It is rarely used directly, but is built into all core +images. + +@item core.img +This is the core image of GRUB. It is built dynamically from the kernel +image and an arbitrary list of modules by the @command{grub-mkimage} +program. Usually, it contains enough modules to access @file{/boot/grub}, +and loads everything else (including menu handling, the ability to load +target operating systems, and so on) from the file system at run-time. The +modular design allows the core image to be kept small, since the areas of +disk where it must be installed are often as small as 32KB. + +@xref{BIOS installation}, for details on where the core image can be +installed on PC systems. + +@item *.mod +Everything else in GRUB resides in dynamically loadable modules. These are +often loaded automatically, or built into the core image if they are +essential, but may also be loaded manually using the @command{insmod} +command (@pxref{insmod}). +@end table + +@heading For GRUB Legacy users + +GRUB 2 has a different design from GRUB Legacy, and so correspondences with +the images it used cannot be exact. Nevertheless, GRUB Legacy users often +ask questions in the terms they are familiar with, and so here is a brief +guide to how GRUB 2's images relate to that. + +@table @file +@item stage1 +Stage 1 from GRUB Legacy was very similar to @file{boot.img} in GRUB 2, and +they serve the same function. + +@item *_stage1_5 +In GRUB Legacy, Stage 1.5's function was to include enough filesystem code +to allow the much larger Stage 2 to be read from an ordinary filesystem. In +this respect, its function was similar to @file{core.img} in GRUB 2. +However, @file{core.img} is much more capable than Stage 1.5 was; since it +offers a rescue shell, it is sometimes possible to recover manually in the +event that it is unable to load any other modules, for example if partition +numbers have changed. @file{core.img} is built in a more flexible way, +allowing GRUB 2 to support reading modules from advanced disk types such as +LVM and RAID. + +GRUB Legacy could run with only Stage 1 and Stage 2 in some limited +configurations, while GRUB 2 requires @file{core.img} and cannot work +without it. + +@item stage2 +GRUB 2 has no single Stage 2 image. Instead, it loads modules from +@file{/boot/grub} at run-time. + +@item stage2_eltorito +In GRUB 2, images for booting from CD-ROM drives are now constructed using +@file{cdboot.img} and @file{core.img}, making sure that the core image +contains the @samp{iso9660} module. It is usually best to use the +@command{grub-mkrescue} program for this. + +@item nbgrub +There is as yet no equivalent for @file{nbgrub} in GRUB 2; it was used by +Etherboot and some other network boot loaders. + +@item pxegrub +In GRUB 2, images for PXE network booting are now constructed using +@file{pxeboot.img} and @file{core.img}, making sure that the core image +contains the @samp{pxe} and @samp{pxecmd} modules. @xref{Network}. +@end table + +@node Core image size limitation +@chapter Core image size limitation + +Heavily limited platforms: +@itemize +@item i386-pc (normal and PXE): the core image size (compressed) is limited by 458240 bytes. + kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss, uncompressed) is limited by 392704 bytes. + module size (uncompressed) + kernel.img (.text + .data, uncompressed) is limited by the size of contiguous chunk at 1M address. +@item sparc64-ieee1275: kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss) + modules + 256K (stack) + 2M (heap) is limited by space available at 0x4400. On most platforms it's just 3 or 4M since ieee1275 maps only so much. +@item i386-ieee1275: kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss) + modules is limited by memory available at 0x10000, at most 596K +@end itemize + +Lightly limited platforms: + +@itemize +@item *-xen: limited only by adress space and RAM size. +@item i386-qemu: kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss) is limited by 392704 bytes. + (core.img would be limited by ROM size but it's unlimited on qemu +@item All EFI platforms: limited by contiguous RAM size and possibly firmware bugs +@item Coreboot and multiboot. kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss) is limited by 392704 bytes. + module size is limited by the size of contiguous chunk at 1M address. +@item mipsel-loongson (ELF), mips(el)-qemu_mips (ELF): if uncompressed: + kernel.img (.text + .data) + modules is limited by the space from 80200000 forward + if compressed: + kernel.img (.text + .data, uncompressed) + modules (uncompressed) + + (modules + kernel.img (.text + .data)) (compressed) + + decompressor is limited by the space from 80200000 forward +@item mipsel-loongson (Flash), mips(el)-qemu_mips (Flash): kernel.img (.text + .data) + modules is limited by the space from 80200000 forward + core.img (final) is limited by flash size (512K on yeeloong and fulooong) +@item mips-arc: if uncompressed: + kernel.img (.text + .data) is limited by the space from 8bd00000 forward + modules + dummy decompressor is limited by the space from 8bd00000 backward + if compressed: + kernel.img (.text + .data, uncompressed) is limited by the space from 8bd00000 forward + modules (uncompressed) + (modules + kernel.img (.text + .data)) (compressed, aligned to 1M) + + 1M (decompressor + scratch space) is limited by the space from 8bd00000 backward +@item powerpc-ieee1275: kernel.img (.text + .data + .bss) + modules is limited by space available at 0x200000 +@end itemize + +@node Filesystem +@chapter Filesystem syntax and semantics + +GRUB uses a special syntax for specifying disk drives which can be +accessed by BIOS. Because of BIOS limitations, GRUB cannot distinguish +between IDE, ESDI, SCSI, or others. You must know yourself which BIOS +device is equivalent to which OS device. Normally, that will be clear if +you see the files in a device or use the command @command{search} +(@pxref{search}). + +@menu +* Device syntax:: How to specify devices +* File name syntax:: How to specify files +* Block list syntax:: How to specify block lists +@end menu + + +@node Device syntax +@section How to specify devices + +The device syntax is like this: + +@example +@code{(@var{device}[,@var{partmap-name1}@var{part-num1}[,@var{partmap-name2}@var{part-num2}[,...]]])} +@end example + +@samp{[]} means the parameter is optional. @var{device} depends on the disk +driver in use. BIOS and EFI disks use either @samp{fd} or @samp{hd} followed +by a digit, like @samp{fd0}, or @samp{cd}. +AHCI, PATA (ata), crypto, USB use the name of driver followed by a number. +Memdisk and host are limited to one disk and so it's refered just by driver +name. +RAID (md), ofdisk (ieee1275 and nand), LVM (lvm), LDM, virtio (vdsk) +and arcdisk (arc) use intrinsic name of disk prefixed by driver name. +Additionally just ``nand'' refers to the disk aliased as ``nand''. +Conflicts are solved by suffixing a number if necessarry. +Commas need to be escaped. +Loopback uses whatever name specified to @command{loopback} command. +Hostdisk uses names specified in device.map as long as it's of the form +[fhc]d[0-9]* or hostdisk/<OS DEVICE>. +For crypto and RAID (md) additionally you can use the syntax +<driver name>uuid/<uuid>. For LVM additionally you can use the syntax +lvmid/<volume-group-uuid>/<volume-uuid>. + +@example +(fd0) +(hd0) +(cd) +(ahci0) +(ata0) +(crypto0) +(usb0) +(cryptouuid/123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0) +(mduuid/123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0) +(lvm/system-root) +(lvmid/F1ikgD-2RES-306G-il9M-7iwa-4NKW-EbV1NV/eLGuCQ-L4Ka-XUgR-sjtJ-ffch-bajr-fCNfz5) +(md/myraid) +(md/0) +(ieee1275/disk2) +(ieee1275//pci@@1f\,0/ide@@d/disk@@2) +(nand) +(memdisk) +(host) +(myloop) +(hostdisk//dev/sda) +@end example + +@var{part-num} represents the partition number of @var{device}, starting +from one. @var{partname} is optional but is recommended since disk may have +several top-level partmaps. Specifying third and later component you can access +to subpartitions. + +The syntax @samp{(hd0)} represents using the entire disk (or the +MBR when installing GRUB), while the syntax @samp{(hd0,1)} +represents using the first partition of the disk (or the boot sector +of the partition when installing GRUB). + +@example +(hd0,msdos1) +(hd0,msdos1,msdos5) +(hd0,msdos1,bsd3) +(hd0,netbsd1) +(hd0,gpt1) +(hd0,1,3) +@end example + +If you enabled the network support, the special drives +@code{(@var{protocol}[,@var{server}])} are also available. Supported protocols +are @samp{http} and @samp{tftp}. If @var{server} is omitted, value of +environment variable @samp{net_default_server} is used. +Before using the network drive, you must initialize the network. +@xref{Network}, for more information. + +If you boot GRUB from a CD-ROM, @samp{(cd)} is available. @xref{Making +a GRUB bootable CD-ROM}, for details. + + +@node File name syntax +@section How to specify files + +There are two ways to specify files, by @dfn{absolute file name} and by +@dfn{block list}. + +An absolute file name resembles a Unix absolute file name, using +@samp{/} for the directory separator (not @samp{\} as in DOS). One +example is @samp{(hd0,1)/boot/grub/grub.cfg}. This means the file +@file{/boot/grub/grub.cfg} in the first partition of the first hard +disk. If you omit the device name in an absolute file name, GRUB uses +GRUB's @dfn{root device} implicitly. So if you set the root device to, +say, @samp{(hd1,1)} by the command @samp{set root=(hd1,1)} (@pxref{set}), +then @code{/boot/kernel} is the same as @code{(hd1,1)/boot/kernel}. + +On ZFS filesystem the first path component must be +@var{volume}@samp{@@}[@var{snapshot}]. +So @samp{/rootvol@@snap-129/boot/grub/grub.cfg} refers to file +@samp{/boot/grub/grub.cfg} in snapshot of volume @samp{rootvol} with name +@samp{snap-129}. Trailing @samp{@@} after volume name is mandatory even if +snapshot name is omitted. + + +@node Block list syntax +@section How to specify block lists + +A block list is used for specifying a file that doesn't appear in the +filesystem, like a chainloader. The syntax is +@code{[@var{offset}]+@var{length}[,[@var{offset}]+@var{length}]@dots{}}. +Here is an example: + +@example +@code{0+100,200+1,300+300} +@end example + +This represents that GRUB should read blocks 0 through 99, block 200, +and blocks 300 through 599. If you omit an offset, then GRUB assumes +the offset is zero. + +Like the file name syntax (@pxref{File name syntax}), if a blocklist +does not contain a device name, then GRUB uses GRUB's @dfn{root +device}. So @code{(hd0,2)+1} is the same as @code{+1} when the root +device is @samp{(hd0,2)}. + + +@node Interface +@chapter GRUB's user interface + +GRUB has both a simple menu interface for choosing preset entries from a +configuration file, and a highly flexible command-line for performing +any desired combination of boot commands. + +GRUB looks for its configuration file as soon as it is loaded. If one +is found, then the full menu interface is activated using whatever +entries were found in the file. If you choose the @dfn{command-line} menu +option, or if the configuration file was not found, then GRUB drops to +the command-line interface. + +@menu +* Command-line interface:: The flexible command-line interface +* Menu interface:: The simple menu interface +* Menu entry editor:: Editing a menu entry +@end menu + + +@node Command-line interface +@section The flexible command-line interface + +The command-line interface provides a prompt and after it an editable +text area much like a command-line in Unix or DOS. Each command is +immediately executed after it is entered@footnote{However, this +behavior will be changed in the future version, in a user-invisible +way.}. The commands (@pxref{Command-line and menu entry commands}) are a +subset of those available in the configuration file, used with exactly +the same syntax. + +Cursor movement and editing of the text on the line can be done via a +subset of the functions available in the Bash shell: + +@table @key +@item C-f +@itemx PC right key +Move forward one character. + +@item C-b +@itemx PC left key +Move back one character. + +@item C-a +@itemx HOME +Move to the start of the line. + +@item C-e +@itemx END +Move the the end of the line. + +@item C-d +@itemx DEL +Delete the character underneath the cursor. + +@item C-h +@itemx BS +Delete the character to the left of the cursor. + +@item C-k +Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the line. + +@item C-u +Kill backward from the cursor to the beginning of the line. + +@item C-y +Yank the killed text back into the buffer at the cursor. + +@item C-p +@itemx PC up key +Move up through the history list. + +@item C-n +@itemx PC down key +Move down through the history list. +@end table + +When typing commands interactively, if the cursor is within or before +the first word in the command-line, pressing the @key{TAB} key (or +@key{C-i}) will display a listing of the available commands, and if the +cursor is after the first word, the @kbd{@key{TAB}} will provide a +completion listing of disks, partitions, and file names depending on the +context. Note that to obtain a list of drives, one must open a +parenthesis, as @command{root (}. + +Note that you cannot use the completion functionality in the TFTP +filesystem. This is because TFTP doesn't support file name listing for +the security. + + +@node Menu interface +@section The simple menu interface + +The menu interface is quite easy to use. Its commands are both +reasonably intuitive and described on screen. + +Basically, the menu interface provides a list of @dfn{boot entries} to +the user to choose from. Use the arrow keys to select the entry of +choice, then press @key{RET} to run it. An optional timeout is +available to boot the default entry (the first one if not set), which is +aborted by pressing any key. + +Commands are available to enter a bare command-line by pressing @key{c} +(which operates exactly like the non-config-file version of GRUB, but +allows one to return to the menu if desired by pressing @key{ESC}) or to +edit any of the @dfn{boot entries} by pressing @key{e}. + +If you protect the menu interface with a password (@pxref{Security}), +all you can do is choose an entry by pressing @key{RET}, or press +@key{p} to enter the password. + + +@node Menu entry editor +@section Editing a menu entry + +The menu entry editor looks much like the main menu interface, but the +lines in the menu are individual commands in the selected entry instead +of entry names. + +If an @key{ESC} is pressed in the editor, it aborts all the changes made +to the configuration entry and returns to the main menu interface. + +Each line in the menu entry can be edited freely, and you can add new lines +by pressing @key{RET} at the end of a line. To boot the edited entry, press +@key{Ctrl-x}. + +Although GRUB unfortunately does not support @dfn{undo}, you can do almost +the same thing by just returning to the main menu using @key{ESC}. + + +@node Environment +@chapter GRUB environment variables + +GRUB supports environment variables which are rather like those offered by +all Unix-like systems. Environment variables have a name, which is unique +and is usually a short identifier, and a value, which is an arbitrary string +of characters. They may be set (@pxref{set}), unset (@pxref{unset}), or +looked up (@pxref{Shell-like scripting}) by name. + +A number of environment variables have special meanings to various parts of +GRUB. Others may be used freely in GRUB configuration files. + + +@menu +* Special environment variables:: +* Environment block:: +@end menu + + +@node Special environment variables +@section Special environment variables + +These variables have special meaning to GRUB. + +@menu +* biosnum:: +* check_signatures:: +* chosen:: +* cmdpath:: +* color_highlight:: +* color_normal:: +* config_directory:: +* config_file:: +* debug:: +* default:: +* fallback:: +* gfxmode:: +* gfxpayload:: +* gfxterm_font:: +* grub_cpu:: +* grub_platform:: +* icondir:: +* lang:: +* locale_dir:: +* menu_color_highlight:: +* menu_color_normal:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_boot_file:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_dhcp_server_name:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_domain:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_extensionspath:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_hostname:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_ip:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_mac:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_next_server:: +* net_@var{<interface>}_rootpath:: +* net_default_interface:: +* net_default_ip:: +* net_default_mac:: +* net_default_server:: +* pager:: +* prefix:: +* pxe_blksize:: +* pxe_default_gateway:: +* pxe_default_server:: +* root:: +* superusers:: +* theme:: +* timeout:: +* timeout_style:: +@end menu + + +@node biosnum +@subsection biosnum + +When chain-loading another boot loader (@pxref{Chain-loading}), GRUB may +need to know what BIOS drive number corresponds to the root device +(@pxref{root}) so that it can set up registers properly. If the +@var{biosnum} variable is set, it overrides GRUB's own means of guessing +this. + +For an alternative approach which also changes BIOS drive mappings for the +chain-loaded system, @pxref{drivemap}. + + +@node check_signatures +@subsection check_signatures + +This variable controls whether GRUB enforces digital signature +validation on loaded files. @xref{Using digital signatures}. + +@node chosen +@subsection chosen + +When executing a menu entry, GRUB sets the @var{chosen} variable to the +title of the entry being executed. + +If the menu entry is in one or more submenus, then @var{chosen} is set to +the titles of each of the submenus starting from the top level followed by +the title of the menu entry itself, separated by @samp{>}. + + +@node cmdpath +@subsection cmdpath + +The location from which @file{core.img} was loaded as an absolute +directory name (@pxref{File name syntax}). This is set by GRUB at +startup based on information returned by platform firmware. Not every +platform provides this information and some may return only device +without path name. + + +@node color_highlight +@subsection color_highlight + +This variable contains the ``highlight'' foreground and background terminal +colors, separated by a slash (@samp{/}). Setting this variable changes +those colors. For the available color names, @pxref{color_normal}. + +The default is @samp{black/light-gray}. + + +@node color_normal +@subsection color_normal + +This variable contains the ``normal'' foreground and background terminal +colors, separated by a slash (@samp{/}). Setting this variable changes +those colors. Each color must be a name from the following list: + +@itemize @bullet +@item black +@item blue +@item green +@item cyan +@item red +@item magenta +@item brown +@item light-gray +@item dark-gray +@item light-blue +@item light-green +@item light-cyan +@item light-red +@item light-magenta +@item yellow +@item white +@end itemize + +The default is @samp{light-gray/black}. + +The color support support varies from terminal to terminal. + +@samp{morse} has no color support at all. + +@samp{mda_text} color support is limited to highlighting by +black/white reversal. + +@samp{console} on ARC, EMU and IEEE1275, @samp{serial_*} and +@samp{spkmodem} are governed by terminfo and support +only 8 colors if in modes @samp{vt100-color} (default for console on emu), +@samp{arc} (default for console on ARC), @samp{ieee1275} (default +for console on IEEE1275). When in mode @samp{vt100} +then the color support is limited to highlighting by black/white +reversal. When in mode @samp{dumb} there is no color support. + +When console supports no colors this setting is ignored. +When console supports 8 colors, then the colors from the +second half of the previous list are mapped to the +matching colors of first half. + +@samp{console} on EFI and BIOS and @samp{vga_text} support all 16 colors. + +@samp{gfxterm} supports all 16 colors and would be theoretically extendable +to support whole rgb24 palette but currently there is no compelling reason +to go beyond the current 16 colors. + + +@node config_directory +@subsection config_directory + +This variable is automatically set by GRUB to the directory part of +current configuration file name (@pxref{config_file}). + + +@node config_file +@subsection config_file + +This variable is automatically set by GRUB to the name of configuration file that is being +processed by commands @command{configfile} (@pxref{configfile}) or @command{normal} +(@pxref{normal}). It is restored to the previous value when command completes. + + +@node debug +@subsection debug + +This variable may be set to enable debugging output from various components +of GRUB. The value is a list of debug facility names separated by +whitespace or @samp{,}, or @samp{all} to enable all available debugging +output. The facility names are the first argument to grub_dprintf. Consult +source for more details. + + +@node default +@subsection default + +If this variable is set, it identifies a menu entry that should be +selected by default, possibly after a timeout (@pxref{timeout}). The +entry may be identified by number (starting from 0 at each level of +the hierarchy), by title, or by id. + +For example, if you have: + +@verbatim +menuentry 'Example GNU/Linux distribution' --class gnu-linux --id example-gnu-linux { + ... +} +@end verbatim + +then you can make this the default using: + +@example +default=example-gnu-linux +@end example + +If the entry is in a submenu, then it must be identified using the +number, title, or id of each of the submenus starting from the top +level, followed by the number, title, or id of the menu entry itself, +with each element separated by @samp{>}. For example, take the +following menu structure: + +@example +GNU/Hurd --id gnu-hurd + Standard Boot --id=gnu-hurd-std + Rescue shell --id=gnu-hurd-rescue +Other platforms --id=other + Minix --id=minix + Version 3.4.0 --id=minix-3.4.0 + Version 3.3.0 --id=minix-3.3.0 + GRUB Invaders --id=grub-invaders +@end example + +The more recent release of Minix would then be identified as +@samp{Other platforms>Minix>Version 3.4.0}, or as @samp{1>0>0}, or as +@samp{other>minix>minix-3.4.0}. + +This variable is often set by @samp{GRUB_DEFAULT} (@pxref{Simple +configuration}), @command{grub-set-default}, or @command{grub-reboot}. + + +@node fallback +@subsection fallback + +If this variable is set, it identifies a menu entry that should be selected +if the default menu entry fails to boot. Entries are identified in the same +way as for @samp{default} (@pxref{default}). + + +@node gfxmode +@subsection gfxmode + +If this variable is set, it sets the resolution used on the @samp{gfxterm} +graphical terminal. Note that you can only use modes which your graphics +card supports via VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE), so for example native LCD +panel resolutions may not be available. The default is @samp{auto}, which +selects a platform-specific default that should look reasonable. Supported +modes can be listed by @samp{videoinfo} command in GRUB. + +The resolution may be specified as a sequence of one or more modes, +separated by commas (@samp{,}) or semicolons (@samp{;}); each will be tried +in turn until one is found. Each mode should be either @samp{auto}, +@samp{@var{width}x@var{height}}, or +@samp{@var{width}x@var{height}x@var{depth}}. + + +@node gfxpayload +@subsection gfxpayload + +If this variable is set, it controls the video mode in which the Linux +kernel starts up, replacing the @samp{vga=} boot option (@pxref{linux}). It +may be set to @samp{text} to force the Linux kernel to boot in normal text +mode, @samp{keep} to preserve the graphics mode set using @samp{gfxmode}, or +any of the permitted values for @samp{gfxmode} to set a particular graphics +mode (@pxref{gfxmode}). + +Depending on your kernel, your distribution, your graphics card, and the +phase of the moon, note that using this option may cause GNU/Linux to suffer +from various display problems, particularly during the early part of the +boot sequence. If you have problems, set this variable to @samp{text} and +GRUB will tell Linux to boot in normal text mode. + +The default is platform-specific. On platforms with a native text mode +(such as PC BIOS platforms), the default is @samp{text}. Otherwise the +default may be @samp{auto} or a specific video mode. + +This variable is often set by @samp{GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX} (@pxref{Simple +configuration}). + + +@node gfxterm_font +@subsection gfxterm_font + +If this variable is set, it names a font to use for text on the +@samp{gfxterm} graphical terminal. Otherwise, @samp{gfxterm} may use any +available font. + + +@node grub_cpu +@subsection grub_cpu + +In normal mode (@pxref{normal}), GRUB sets the @samp{grub_cpu} variable to +the CPU type for which GRUB was built (e.g. @samp{i386} or @samp{powerpc}). + + +@node grub_platform +@subsection grub_platform + +In normal mode (@pxref{normal}), GRUB sets the @samp{grub_platform} variable +to the platform for which GRUB was built (e.g. @samp{pc} or @samp{efi}). + + +@node icondir +@subsection icondir + +If this variable is set, it names a directory in which the GRUB graphical +menu should look for icons after looking in the theme's @samp{icons} +directory. @xref{Theme file format}. + + +@node lang +@subsection lang + +If this variable is set, it names the language code that the +@command{gettext} command (@pxref{gettext}) uses to translate strings. For +example, French would be named as @samp{fr}, and Simplified Chinese as +@samp{zh_CN}. + +@command{grub-mkconfig} (@pxref{Simple configuration}) will try to set a +reasonable default for this variable based on the system locale. + + +@node locale_dir +@subsection locale_dir + +If this variable is set, it names the directory where translation files may +be found (@pxref{gettext}), usually @file{/boot/grub/locale}. Otherwise, +internationalization is disabled. + +@command{grub-mkconfig} (@pxref{Simple configuration}) will set a reasonable +default for this variable if internationalization is needed and any +translation files are available. + + +@node menu_color_highlight +@subsection menu_color_highlight + +This variable contains the foreground and background colors to be used for +the highlighted menu entry, separated by a slash (@samp{/}). Setting this +variable changes those colors. For the available color names, +@pxref{color_normal}. + +The default is the value of @samp{color_highlight} +(@pxref{color_highlight}). + + +@node menu_color_normal +@subsection menu_color_normal + +This variable contains the foreground and background colors to be used for +non-highlighted menu entries, separated by a slash (@samp{/}). Setting this +variable changes those colors. For the available color names, +@pxref{color_normal}. + +The default is the value of @samp{color_normal} (@pxref{color_normal}). + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_boot_file +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_boot_file + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_dhcp_server_name +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_dhcp_server_name + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_domain +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_domain + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_extensionspath +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_extensionspath + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_hostname +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_hostname + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_ip +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_ip + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_mac +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_mac + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_next_server +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_next_server + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_@var{<interface>}_rootpath +@subsection net_@var{<interface>}_rootpath + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_default_interface +@subsection net_default_interface + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_default_ip +@subsection net_default_ip + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_default_mac +@subsection net_default_mac + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node net_default_server +@subsection net_default_server + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node pager +@subsection pager + +If set to @samp{1}, pause output after each screenful and wait for keyboard +input. The default is not to pause output. + + +@node prefix +@subsection prefix + +The location of the @samp{/boot/grub} directory as an absolute file name +(@pxref{File name syntax}). This is normally set by GRUB at startup based +on information provided by @command{grub-install}. GRUB modules are +dynamically loaded from this directory, so it must be set correctly in order +for many parts of GRUB to work. + + +@node pxe_blksize +@subsection pxe_blksize + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node pxe_default_gateway +@subsection pxe_default_gateway + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node pxe_default_server +@subsection pxe_default_server + +@xref{Network}. + + +@node root +@subsection root + +The root device name (@pxref{Device syntax}). Any file names that do not +specify an explicit device name are read from this device. The default is +normally set by GRUB at startup based on the value of @samp{prefix} +(@pxref{prefix}). + +For example, if GRUB was installed to the first partition of the first hard +disk, then @samp{prefix} might be set to @samp{(hd0,msdos1)/boot/grub} and +@samp{root} to @samp{hd0,msdos1}. + + +@node superusers +@subsection superusers + +This variable may be set to a list of superuser names to enable +authentication support. @xref{Security}. + + +@node theme +@subsection theme + +This variable may be set to a directory containing a GRUB graphical menu +theme. @xref{Theme file format}. + +This variable is often set by @samp{GRUB_THEME} (@pxref{Simple +configuration}). + + +@node timeout +@subsection timeout + +If this variable is set, it specifies the time in seconds to wait for +keyboard input before booting the default menu entry. A timeout of @samp{0} +means to boot the default entry immediately without displaying the menu; a +timeout of @samp{-1} (or unset) means to wait indefinitely. + +If @samp{timeout_style} (@pxref{timeout_style}) is set to @samp{countdown} +or @samp{hidden}, the timeout is instead counted before the menu is +displayed. + +This variable is often set by @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT} (@pxref{Simple +configuration}). + + +@node timeout_style +@subsection timeout_style + +This variable may be set to @samp{menu}, @samp{countdown}, or @samp{hidden} +to control the way in which the timeout (@pxref{timeout}) interacts with +displaying the menu. See the documentation of @samp{GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE} +(@pxref{Simple configuration}) for details. + + +@node Environment block +@section The GRUB environment block + +It is often useful to be able to remember a small amount of information from +one boot to the next. For example, you might want to set the default menu +entry based on what was selected the last time. GRUB deliberately does not +implement support for writing files in order to minimise the possibility of +the boot loader being responsible for file system corruption, so a GRUB +configuration file cannot just create a file in the ordinary way. However, +GRUB provides an ``environment block'' which can be used to save a small +amount of state. + +The environment block is a preallocated 1024-byte file, which normally lives +in @file{/boot/grub/grubenv} (although you should not assume this). At boot +time, the @command{load_env} command (@pxref{load_env}) loads environment +variables from it, and the @command{save_env} (@pxref{save_env}) command +saves environment variables to it. From a running system, the +@command{grub-editenv} utility can be used to edit the environment block. + +For safety reasons, this storage is only available when installed on a plain +disk (no LVM or RAID), using a non-checksumming filesystem (no ZFS), and +using BIOS or EFI functions (no ATA, USB or IEEE1275). + +@command{grub-mkconfig} uses this facility to implement +@samp{GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT} (@pxref{Simple configuration}). + + +@node Commands +@chapter The list of available commands + +In this chapter, we list all commands that are available in GRUB. + +Commands belong to different groups. A few can only be used in +the global section of the configuration file (or ``menu''); most +of them can be entered on the command-line and can be used either +anywhere in the menu or specifically in the menu entries. + +In rescue mode, only the @command{insmod} (@pxref{insmod}), @command{ls} +(@pxref{ls}), @command{set} (@pxref{set}), and @command{unset} +(@pxref{unset}) commands are normally available. If you end up in rescue +mode and do not know what to do, then @pxref{GRUB only offers a rescue +shell}. + +@menu +* Menu-specific commands:: +* General commands:: +* Command-line and menu entry commands:: +* Networking commands:: +@end menu + + +@node Menu-specific commands +@section The list of commands for the menu only + +The semantics used in parsing the configuration file are the following: + +@itemize @bullet +@item +The files @emph{must} be in plain-text format. + +@item +@samp{#} at the beginning of a line in a configuration file means it is +only a comment. + +@item +Options are separated by spaces. + +@item +All numbers can be either decimal or hexadecimal. A hexadecimal number +must be preceded by @samp{0x}, and is case-insensitive. +@end itemize + +These commands can only be used in the menu: + +@menu +* menuentry:: Start a menu entry +* submenu:: Group menu entries +@end menu + + +@node menuentry +@subsection menuentry + +@deffn Command menuentry @var{title} @ + [@option{--class=class} @dots{}] [@option{--users=users}] @ + [@option{--unrestricted}] [@option{--hotkey=key}] [@option{--id=id}] @ + [@var{arg} @dots{}] @{ @var{command}; @dots{} @} +This defines a GRUB menu entry named @var{title}. When this entry is +selected from the menu, GRUB will set the @var{chosen} environment variable +to value of @option{--id} if @option{--id} is given, execute the list of +commands given within braces, and if the last command in the list returned +successfully and a kernel was loaded it will execute the @command{boot} command. + +The @option{--class} option may be used any number of times to group menu +entries into classes. Menu themes may display different classes using +different styles. + +The @option{--users} option grants specific users access to specific menu +entries. @xref{Security}. + +The @option{--unrestricted} option grants all users access to specific menu +entries. @xref{Security}. + +The @option{--hotkey} option associates a hotkey with a menu entry. +@var{key} may be a single letter, or one of the aliases @samp{backspace}, +@samp{tab}, or @samp{delete}. + +The @option{--id} may be used to associate unique identifier with a menu entry. +@var{id} is string of ASCII aphanumeric characters, underscore and hyphen +and should not start with a digit. + +All other arguments including @var{title} are passed as positional parameters +when list of commands is executed with @var{title} always assigned to @code{$1}. +@end deffn + + +@node submenu +@subsection submenu + +@deffn Command submenu @var{title} @ + [@option{--class=class} @dots{}] [@option{--users=users}] @ + [@option{--unrestricted}] [@option{--hotkey=key}] [@option{--id=id}] @ + @{ @var{menu entries} @dots{} @} +This defines a submenu. An entry called @var{title} will be added to the +menu; when that entry is selected, a new menu will be displayed showing all +the entries within this submenu. + +All options are the same as in the @command{menuentry} command +(@pxref{menuentry}). +@end deffn + + +@node General commands +@section The list of general commands + +Commands usable anywhere in the menu and in the command-line. + +@menu +* serial:: Set up a serial device +* terminal_input:: Manage input terminals +* terminal_output:: Manage output terminals +* terminfo:: Define terminal type +@end menu + + +@node serial +@subsection serial + +@deffn Command serial [@option{--unit=unit}] [@option{--port=port}] [@option{--speed=speed}] [@option{--word=word}] [@option{--parity=parity}] [@option{--stop=stop}] +Initialize a serial device. @var{unit} is a number in the range 0-3 +specifying which serial port to use; default is 0, which corresponds to +the port often called COM1. @var{port} is the I/O port where the UART +is to be found; if specified it takes precedence over @var{unit}. +@var{speed} is the transmission speed; default is 9600. @var{word} and +@var{stop} are the number of data bits and stop bits. Data bits must +be in the range 5-8 and stop bits must be 1 or 2. Default is 8 data +bits and one stop bit. @var{parity} is one of @samp{no}, @samp{odd}, +@samp{even} and defaults to @samp{no}. + +The serial port is not used as a communication channel unless the +@command{terminal_input} or @command{terminal_output} command is used +(@pxref{terminal_input}, @pxref{terminal_output}). + +See also @ref{Serial terminal}. +@end deffn + + +@node terminal_input +@subsection terminal_input + +@deffn Command terminal_input [@option{--append}|@option{--remove}] @ + [terminal1] [terminal2] @dots{} +List or select an input terminal. + +With no arguments, list the active and available input terminals. + +With @option{--append}, add the named terminals to the list of active input +terminals; any of these may be used to provide input to GRUB. + +With @option{--remove}, remove the named terminals from the active list. + +With no options but a list of terminal names, make only the listed terminal +names active. +@end deffn + + +@node terminal_output +@subsection terminal_output + +@deffn Command terminal_output [@option{--append}|@option{--remove}] @ + [terminal1] [terminal2] @dots{} +List or select an output terminal. + +With no arguments, list the active and available output terminals. + +With @option{--append}, add the named terminals to the list of active output +terminals; all of these will receive output from GRUB. + +With @option{--remove}, remove the named terminals from the active list. + +With no options but a list of terminal names, make only the listed terminal +names active. +@end deffn + + +@node terminfo +@subsection terminfo + +@deffn Command terminfo [@option{-a}|@option{-u}|@option{-v}] [@option{-g WxH}] [term] [type] +Define the capabilities of your terminal by giving the name of an entry in +the terminfo database, which should correspond roughly to a @samp{TERM} +environment variable in Unix. + +The currently available terminal types are @samp{vt100}, @samp{vt100-color}, +@samp{ieee1275}, and @samp{dumb}. If you need other terminal types, please +contact us to discuss the best way to include support for these in GRUB. + +The @option{-a} (@option{--ascii}), @option{-u} (@option{--utf8}), and +@option{-v} (@option{--visual-utf8}) options control how non-ASCII text is +displayed. @option{-a} specifies an ASCII-only terminal; @option{-u} +specifies logically-ordered UTF-8; and @option{-v} specifies +"visually-ordered UTF-8" (in other words, arranged such that a terminal +emulator without bidirectional text support will display right-to-left text +in the proper order; this is not really proper UTF-8, but a workaround). + +The @option{-g} (@option{--geometry}) can be used to specify terminal geometry. + +If no option or terminal type is specified, the current terminal type is +printed. +@end deffn + + +@node Command-line and menu entry commands +@section The list of command-line and menu entry commands + +These commands are usable in the command-line and in menu entries. If +you forget a command, you can run the command @command{help} +(@pxref{help}). + +@menu +* [:: Check file types and compare values +* acpi:: Load ACPI tables +* authenticate:: Check whether user is in user list +* background_color:: Set background color for active terminal +* background_image:: Load background image for active terminal +* badram:: Filter out bad regions of RAM +* blocklist:: Print a block list +* boot:: Start up your operating system +* cat:: Show the contents of a file +* chainloader:: Chain-load another boot loader +* clear:: Clear the screen +* cmosclean:: Clear bit in CMOS +* cmosdump:: Dump CMOS contents +* cmostest:: Test bit in CMOS +* cmp:: Compare two files +* configfile:: Load a configuration file +* cpuid:: Check for CPU features +* crc:: Compute or check CRC32 checksums +* cryptomount:: Mount a crypto device +* cutmem:: Remove memory regions +* date:: Display or set current date and time +* devicetree:: Load a device tree blob +* distrust:: Remove a pubkey from trusted keys +* drivemap:: Map a drive to another +* echo:: Display a line of text +* eval:: Evaluate agruments as GRUB commands +* export:: Export an environment variable +* false:: Do nothing, unsuccessfully +* gettext:: Translate a string +* gptsync:: Fill an MBR based on GPT entries +* halt:: Shut down your computer +* hashsum:: Compute or check hash checksum +* help:: Show help messages +* initrd:: Load a Linux initrd +* initrd16:: Load a Linux initrd (16-bit mode) +* insmod:: Insert a module +* keystatus:: Check key modifier status +* linux:: Load a Linux kernel +* linux16:: Load a Linux kernel (16-bit mode) +* list_env:: List variables in environment block +* list_trusted:: List trusted public keys +* load_env:: Load variables from environment block +* loadfont:: Load font files +* loopback:: Make a device from a filesystem image +* ls:: List devices or files +* lsfonts:: List loaded fonts +* lsmod:: Show loaded modules +* md5sum:: Compute or check MD5 hash +* module:: Load module for multiboot kernel +* multiboot:: Load multiboot compliant kernel +* nativedisk:: Switch to native disk drivers +* normal:: Enter normal mode +* normal_exit:: Exit from normal mode +* parttool:: Modify partition table entries +* password:: Set a clear-text password +* password_pbkdf2:: Set a hashed password +* play:: Play a tune +* probe:: Retrieve device info +* rdmsr:: Read values from model-specific registers +* read:: Read user input +* reboot:: Reboot your computer +* regexp:: Test if regular expression matches string +* rmmod:: Remove a module +* save_env:: Save variables to environment block +* search:: Search devices by file, label, or UUID +* sendkey:: Emulate keystrokes +* set:: Set an environment variable +* sha1sum:: Compute or check SHA1 hash +* sha256sum:: Compute or check SHA256 hash +* sha512sum:: Compute or check SHA512 hash +* sleep:: Wait for a specified number of seconds +* smbios:: Retrieve SMBIOS information +* source:: Read a configuration file in same context +* test:: Check file types and compare values +* true:: Do nothing, successfully +* trust:: Add public key to list of trusted keys +* unset:: Unset an environment variable +@comment * vbeinfo:: List available video modes +* verify_detached:: Verify detached digital signature +* videoinfo:: List available video modes +@comment * xen_*:: Xen boot commands for AArch64 +* wrmsr:: Write values to model-specific registers +* xen_hypervisor:: Load xen hypervisor binary (only on AArch64) +* xen_module:: Load xen modules for xen hypervisor (only on AArch64) +@end menu + + +@node [ +@subsection [ +@deffn Command @code{[} expression @code{]} +Alias for @code{test @var{expression}} (@pxref{test}). +@end deffn + + +@node acpi +@subsection acpi + +@deffn Command acpi [@option{-1}|@option{-2}] @ + [@option{--exclude=table1,@dots{}}|@option{--load-only=table1,@dots{}}] @ + [@option{--oemid=id}] [@option{--oemtable=table}] @ + [@option{--oemtablerev=rev}] [@option{--oemtablecreator=creator}] @ + [@option{--oemtablecreatorrev=rev}] [@option{--no-ebda}] @ + filename @dots{} +Modern BIOS systems normally implement the Advanced Configuration and Power +Interface (ACPI), and define various tables that describe the interface +between an ACPI-compliant operating system and the firmware. In some cases, +the tables provided by default only work well with certain operating +systems, and it may be necessary to replace some of them. + +Normally, this command will replace the Root System Description Pointer +(RSDP) in the Extended BIOS Data Area to point to the new tables. If the +@option{--no-ebda} option is used, the new tables will be known only to +GRUB, but may be used by GRUB's EFI emulation. + +Note: The command is not allowed when lockdown is enforced (@pxref{Lockdown}). + Otherwise an attacker can instruct the GRUB to load an SSDT table to + overwrite the kernel lockdown configuration and later load and execute + unsigned code. +@end deffn + + +@node authenticate +@subsection authenticate +@deffn Command authenticate [userlist] +Check whether user is in @var{userlist} or listed in the value of variable +@samp{superusers}. See @pxref{superusers} for valid user list format. +If @samp{superusers} is empty, this command returns true. @xref{Security}. +@end deffn + + +@node background_color +@subsection background_color + +@deffn Command background_color color +Set background color for active terminal. For valid color specifications see +@pxref{Theme file format, ,Colors}. Background color can be changed only when +using @samp{gfxterm} for terminal output. + +This command sets color of empty areas without text. Text background color +is controlled by environment variables @var{color_normal}, @var{color_highlight}, +@var{menu_color_normal}, @var{menu_color_highlight}. @xref{Special environment variables}. +@end deffn + + +@node background_image +@subsection background_image + +@deffn Command background_image [[@option{--mode} @samp{stretch}|@samp{normal}] file] +Load background image for active terminal from @var{file}. Image is stretched +to fill up entire screen unless option @option{--mode} @samp{normal} is given. +Without arguments remove currently loaded background image. Background image +can be changed only when using @samp{gfxterm} for terminal output. + +@end deffn + + +@node badram +@subsection badram + +@deffn Command badram addr,mask[,addr,mask...] +Filter out bad RAM. + +This command notifies the memory manager that specified regions of +RAM ought to be filtered out (usually, because they're damaged). This +remains in effect after a payload kernel has been loaded by GRUB, as +long as the loaded kernel obtains its memory map from GRUB. Kernels that +support this include Linux, GNU Mach, the kernel of FreeBSD and Multiboot +kernels in general. + +Syntax is the same as provided by the @uref{http://www.memtest.org/, +Memtest86+ utility}: a list of address/mask pairs. Given a page-aligned +address and a base address / mask pair, if all the bits of the page-aligned +address that are enabled by the mask match with the base address, it means +this page is to be filtered. This syntax makes it easy to represent patterns +that are often result of memory damage, due to physical distribution of memory +cells. + +The command is similar to @command{cutmem} command. + +Note: The command is not allowed when lockdown is enforced (@pxref{Lockdown}). + This prevents removing EFI memory regions to potentially subvert the + security mechanisms provided by the UEFI secure boot. +@end deffn + +@node blocklist +@subsection blocklist + +@deffn Command blocklist file +Print a block list (@pxref{Block list syntax}) for @var{file}. +@end deffn + + +@node boot +@subsection boot + +@deffn Command boot +Boot the OS or chain-loader which has been loaded. Only necessary if +running the fully interactive command-line (it is implicit at the end of +a menu entry). +@end deffn + + +@node cat +@subsection cat + +@deffn Command cat [@option{--dos}] file +Display the contents of the file @var{file}. This command may be useful +to remind you of your OS's root partition: + +@example +grub> @kbd{cat /etc/fstab} +@end example + +If the @option{--dos} option is used, then carriage return / new line pairs +will be displayed as a simple new line. Otherwise, the carriage return will +be displayed as a control character (@samp{<d>}) to make it easier to see +when boot problems are caused by a file formatted using DOS-style line +endings. +@end deffn + + +@node chainloader +@subsection chainloader + +@deffn Command chainloader [@option{--force}] file +Load @var{file} as a chain-loader. Like any other file loaded by the +filesystem code, it can use the blocklist notation (@pxref{Block list +syntax}) to grab the first sector of the current partition with @samp{+1}. +If you specify the option @option{--force}, then load @var{file} forcibly, +whether it has a correct signature or not. This is required when you want to +load a defective boot loader, such as SCO UnixWare 7.1. +@end deffn + + +@node clear +@subsection clear + +@deffn Command clear +Clear the screen. +@end deffn + + +@node cmosclean +@subsection cmosclean + +@deffn Command cmosclean byte:bit +Clear value of bit in CMOS at location @var{byte}:@var{bit}. This command +is available only on platforms that support CMOS. +@end deffn + + +@node cmosdump +@subsection cmosdump + +@deffn Dump CMOS contents +Dump full CMOS contents as hexadecimal values. This command is available only +on platforms that support CMOS. +@end deffn + + +@node cmostest +@subsection cmostest + +@deffn Command cmostest byte:bit +Test value of bit in CMOS at location @var{byte}:@var{bit}. Exit status +is zero if bit is set, non zero otherwise. This command is available only +on platforms that support CMOS. +@end deffn + + +@node cmp +@subsection cmp + +@deffn Command cmp file1 file2 +Compare the file @var{file1} with the file @var{file2}. If they differ +in size, print the sizes like this: + +@example +Differ in size: 0x1234 [foo], 0x4321 [bar] +@end example + +If the sizes are equal but the bytes at an offset differ, then print the +bytes like this: + +@example +Differ at the offset 777: 0xbe [foo], 0xef [bar] +@end example + +If they are completely identical, nothing will be printed. +@end deffn + + +@node configfile +@subsection configfile + +@deffn Command configfile file +Load @var{file} as a configuration file. If @var{file} defines any menu +entries, then show a menu containing them immediately. Any environment +variable changes made by the commands in @var{file} will not be preserved +after @command{configfile} returns. +@end deffn + + +@node cpuid +@subsection cpuid + +@deffn Command cpuid [-l] [-p] +Check for CPU features. This command is only available on x86 systems. + +With the @option{-l} option, return true if the CPU supports long mode +(64-bit). + +With the @option{-p} option, return true if the CPU supports Physical +Address Extension (PAE). + +If invoked without options, this command currently behaves as if it had been +invoked with @option{-l}. This may change in the future. +@end deffn + + +@node crc +@subsection crc + +@deffn Command crc arg @dots{} +Alias for @code{hashsum --hash crc32 arg @dots{}}. See command @command{hashsum} +(@pxref{hashsum}) for full description. +@end deffn + + +@node cryptomount +@subsection cryptomount + +@deffn Command cryptomount device|@option{-u} uuid|@option{-a}|@option{-b} +Setup access to encrypted device. If necessary, passphrase +is requested interactively. Option @var{device} configures specific grub device +(@pxref{Naming convention}); option @option{-u} @var{uuid} configures device +with specified @var{uuid}; option @option{-a} configures all detected encrypted +devices; option @option{-b} configures all geli containers that have boot flag set. + +GRUB suports devices encrypted using LUKS, LUKS2 and geli. Note that necessary +modules (@var{luks}, @var{luks2} and @var{geli}) have to be loaded manually +before this command can be used. For LUKS2 only the PBKDF2 key derivation +function is supported, as Argon2 is not yet supported. + +Also, note that, unlike filesystem UUIDs, UUIDs for encrypted devices must be +specified without dash separators. +@end deffn + +@node cutmem +@subsection cutmem + +@deffn Command cutmem from[K|M|G] to[K|M|G] +Remove any memory regions in specified range. + +This command notifies the memory manager that specified regions of RAM ought to +be filtered out. This remains in effect after a payload kernel has been loaded +by GRUB, as long as the loaded kernel obtains its memory map from GRUB. Kernels +that support this include Linux, GNU Mach, the kernel of FreeBSD and Multiboot +kernels in general. + +The command is similar to @command{badram} command. + +Note: The command is not allowed when lockdown is enforced (@pxref{Lockdown}). + This prevents removing EFI memory regions to potentially subvert the + security mechanisms provided by the UEFI secure boot. +@end deffn + +@node date +@subsection date + +@deffn Command date [[year-]month-day] [hour:minute[:second]] +With no arguments, print the current date and time. + +Otherwise, take the current date and time, change any elements specified as +arguments, and set the result as the new date and time. For example, `date +01-01' will set the current month and day to January 1, but leave the year, +hour, minute, and second unchanged. +@end deffn + + +@node devicetree +@subsection devicetree + +@deffn Command devicetree file +Load a device tree blob (.dtb) from a filesystem, for later use by a Linux +kernel. Does not perform merging with any device tree supplied by firmware, +but rather replaces it completely. + +Note: The command is not allowed when lockdown is enforced (@pxref{Lockdown}). + This is done to prevent subverting various security mechanisms. +@end deffn + +@node distrust +@subsection distrust + +@deffn Command distrust pubkey_id +Remove public key @var{pubkey_id} from GRUB's keyring of trusted keys. +@var{pubkey_id} is the last four bytes (eight hexadecimal digits) of +the GPG v4 key id, which is also the output of @command{list_trusted} +(@pxref{list_trusted}). Outside of GRUB, the key id can be obtained +using @code{gpg --fingerprint}). +These keys are used to validate signatures when environment variable +@code{check_signatures} is set to @code{enforce} +(@pxref{check_signatures}), and by some invocations of +@command{verify_detached} (@pxref{verify_detached}). @xref{Using +digital signatures}, for more information. +@end deffn + +@node drivemap +@subsection drivemap + +@deffn Command drivemap @option{-l}|@option{-r}|[@option{-s}] @ + from_drive to_drive +Without options, map the drive @var{from_drive} to the drive @var{to_drive}. +This is necessary when you chain-load some operating systems, such as DOS, +if such an OS resides at a non-first drive. For convenience, any partition +suffix on the drive is ignored, so you can safely use @verb{'${root}'} as a +drive specification. + +With the @option{-s} option, perform the reverse mapping as well, swapping +the two drives. + +With the @option{-l} option, list the current mappings. + +With the @option{-r} option, reset all mappings to the default values. + +For example: + +@example +drivemap -s (hd0) (hd1) +@end example +@end deffn + + +@node echo +@subsection echo + +@deffn Command echo [@option{-n}] [@option{-e}] string @dots{} +Display the requested text and, unless the @option{-n} option is used, a +trailing new line. If there is more than one string, they are separated by +spaces in the output. As usual in GRUB commands, variables may be +substituted using @samp{$@{var@}}. + +The @option{-e} option enables interpretation of backslash escapes. The +following sequences are recognised: + +@table @code +@item \\ +backslash + +@item \a +alert (BEL) + +@item \c +suppress trailing new line + +@item \f +form feed + +@item \n +new line + +@item \r +carriage return + +@item \t +horizontal tab + +@item \v +vertical tab +@end table + +When interpreting backslash escapes, backslash followed by any other +character will print that character. +@end deffn + + +@node eval +@subsection eval + +@deffn Command eval string ... +Concatenate arguments together using single space as separator and evaluate +result as sequence of GRUB commands. +@end deffn + + +@node export +@subsection export + +@deffn Command export envvar +Export the environment variable @var{envvar}. Exported variables are visible +to subsidiary configuration files loaded using @command{configfile}. +@end deffn + + +@node false +@subsection false + +@deffn Command false +Do nothing, unsuccessfully. This is mainly useful in control constructs +such as @code{if} and @code{while} (@pxref{Shell-like scripting}). +@end deffn + + +@node gettext +@subsection gettext + +@deffn Command gettext string +Translate @var{string} into the current language. + +The current language code is stored in the @samp{lang} variable in GRUB's +environment (@pxref{lang}). Translation files in MO format are read from +@samp{locale_dir} (@pxref{locale_dir}), usually @file{/boot/grub/locale}. +@end deffn + + +@node gptsync +@subsection gptsync + +@deffn Command gptsync device [partition[+/-[type]]] @dots{} +Disks using the GUID Partition Table (GPT) also have a legacy Master Boot +Record (MBR) partition table for compatibility with the BIOS and with older +operating systems. The legacy MBR can only represent a limited subset of +GPT partition entries. + +This command populates the legacy MBR with the specified @var{partition} +entries on @var{device}. Up to three partitions may be used. + +@var{type} is an MBR partition type code; prefix with @samp{0x} if you want +to enter this in hexadecimal. The separator between @var{partition} and +@var{type} may be @samp{+} to make the partition active, or @samp{-} to make +it inactive; only one partition may be active. If both the separator and +type are omitted, then the partition will be inactive. +@end deffn + + +@node halt +@subsection halt + +@deffn Command halt @option{--no-apm} +The command halts the computer. If the @option{--no-apm} option +is specified, no APM BIOS call is performed. Otherwise, the computer +is shut down using APM. +@end deffn + + +@node hashsum +@subsection hashsum + +@deffn Command hashsum @option{--hash} hash @option{--keep-going} @option{--uncompress} @option{--check} file [@option{--prefix} dir]|file @dots{} +Compute or verify file hashes. Hash type is selected with option @option{--hash}. +Supported hashes are: @samp{adler32}, @samp{crc64}, @samp{crc32}, +@samp{crc32rfc1510}, @samp{crc24rfc2440}, @samp{md4}, @samp{md5}, +@samp{ripemd160}, @samp{sha1}, @samp{sha224}, @samp{sha256}, @samp{sha512}, +@samp{sha384}, @samp{tiger192}, @samp{tiger}, @samp{tiger2}, @samp{whirlpool}. +Option @option{--uncompress} uncompresses files before computing hash. + +When list of files is given, hash of each file is computed and printed, +followed by file name, each file on a new line. + +When option @option{--check} is given, it points to a file that contains +list of @var{hash name} pairs in the same format as used by UNIX +@command{md5sum} command. Option @option{--prefix} +may be used to give directory where files are located. Hash verification +stops after the first mismatch was found unless option @option{--keep-going} +was given. The exit code @code{$?} is set to 0 if hash verification +is successful. If it fails, @code{$?} is set to a nonzero value. +@end deffn + + +@node help +@subsection help + +@deffn Command help [pattern @dots{}] +Display helpful information about builtin commands. If you do not +specify @var{pattern}, this command shows short descriptions of all +available commands. + +If you specify any @var{patterns}, it displays longer information +about each of the commands whose names begin with those @var{patterns}. +@end deffn + + +@node initrd +@subsection initrd + +@deffn Command initrd file [file @dots{}] +Load, in order, all initial ramdisks for a Linux kernel image, and set +the appropriate parameters in the Linux setup area in memory. This may only +be used after the @command{linux} command (@pxref{linux}) has been run. See +also @ref{GNU/Linux}. +@end deffn + + +@node initrd16 +@subsection initrd16 + +@deffn Command initrd16 file [file @dots{}] +Load, in order, all initial ramdisks for a Linux kernel image to be booted in +16-bit mode, and set the appropriate parameters in the Linux setup area in +memory. This may only be used after the @command{linux16} command +(@pxref{linux16}) has been run. See also @ref{GNU/Linux}. + +This command is only available on x86 systems. +@end deffn + + +@node insmod +@subsection insmod + +@deffn Command insmod module +Insert the dynamic GRUB module called @var{module}. +@end deffn + + +@node keystatus +@subsection keystatus + +@deffn Command keystatus [@option{--shift}] [@option{--ctrl}] [@option{--alt}] +Return true if the Shift, Control, or Alt modifier keys are held down, as +requested by options. This is useful in scripting, to allow some user +control over behaviour without having to wait for a keypress. + +Checking key modifier status is only supported on some platforms. If invoked +without any options, the @command{keystatus} command returns true if and +only if checking key modifier status is supported. +@end deffn + + +@node linux +@subsection linux + +@deffn Command linux file @dots{} +Load a Linux kernel image from @var{file}. The rest of the line is passed +verbatim as the @dfn{kernel command-line}. Any initrd must be reloaded +after using this command (@pxref{initrd}). + +On x86 systems, the kernel will be booted using the 32-bit boot protocol. +Note that this means that the @samp{vga=} boot option will not work; if you +want to set a special video mode, you will need to use GRUB commands such as +@samp{set gfxpayload=1024x768} or @samp{set gfxpayload=keep} (to keep the +same mode as used in GRUB) instead. GRUB can automatically detect some uses +of @samp{vga=} and translate them to appropriate settings of +@samp{gfxpayload}. The @command{linux16} command (@pxref{linux16}) avoids +this restriction. +@end deffn + + +@node linux16 +@subsection linux16 + +@deffn Command linux16 file @dots{} +Load a Linux kernel image from @var{file} in 16-bit mode. The rest of the +line is passed verbatim as the @dfn{kernel command-line}. Any initrd must +be reloaded after using this command (@pxref{initrd16}). + +The kernel will be booted using the traditional 16-bit boot protocol. As +well as bypassing problems with @samp{vga=} described in @ref{linux}, this +permits booting some other programs that implement the Linux boot protocol +for the sake of convenience. + +This command is only available on x86 systems. +@end deffn + + +@node list_env +@subsection list_env + +@deffn Command list_env [@option{--file} file] +List all variables in the environment block file. @xref{Environment block}. + +The @option{--file} option overrides the default location of the +environment block. +@end deffn + +@node list_trusted +@subsection list_trusted + +@deffn Command list_trusted +List all public keys trusted by GRUB for validating signatures. +The output is in GPG's v4 key fingerprint format (i.e., the output of +@code{gpg --fingerprint}). The least significant four bytes (last +eight hexadecimal digits) can be used as an argument to +@command{distrust} (@pxref{distrust}). +@xref{Using digital signatures}, for more information about uses for +these keys. +@end deffn + +@node load_env +@subsection load_env + +@deffn Command load_env [@option{--file} file] [@option{--skip-sig}] [whitelisted_variable_name] @dots{} +Load all variables from the environment block file into the environment. +@xref{Environment block}. + +The @option{--file} option overrides the default location of the environment +block. + +The @option{--skip-sig} option skips signature checking even when the +value of environment variable @code{check_signatures} is set to +@code{enforce} (@pxref{check_signatures}). + +If one or more variable names are provided as arguments, they are +interpreted as a whitelist of variables to load from the environment +block file. Variables set in the file but not present in the +whitelist are ignored. + +The @option{--skip-sig} option should be used with care, and should +always be used in concert with a whitelist of acceptable variables +whose values should be set. Failure to employ a carefully constructed +whitelist could result in reading a malicious value into critical +environment variables from the file, such as setting +@code{check_signatures=no}, modifying @code{prefix} to boot from an +unexpected location or not at all, etc. + +When used with care, @option{--skip-sig} and the whitelist enable an +administrator to configure a system to boot only signed +configurations, but to allow the user to select from among multiple +configurations, and to enable ``one-shot'' boot attempts and +``savedefault'' behavior. @xref{Using digital signatures}, for more +information. +@end deffn + + +@node loadfont +@subsection loadfont + +@deffn Command loadfont file @dots{} +Load specified font files. Unless absolute pathname is given, @var{file} +is assumed to be in directory @samp{$prefix/fonts} with +suffix @samp{.pf2} appended. @xref{Theme file format,,Fonts}. +@end deffn + + +@node loopback +@subsection loopback + +@deffn Command loopback [@option{-d}] device file +Make the device named @var{device} correspond to the contents of the +filesystem image in @var{file}. For example: + +@example +loopback loop0 /path/to/image +ls (loop0)/ +@end example + +With the @option{-d} option, delete a device previously created using this +command. +@end deffn + + +@node ls +@subsection ls + +@deffn Command ls [arg @dots{}] +List devices or files. + +With no arguments, print all devices known to GRUB. + +If the argument is a device name enclosed in parentheses (@pxref{Device +syntax}), then print the name of the filesystem of that device. + +If the argument is a directory given as an absolute file name (@pxref{File +name syntax}), then list the contents of that directory. +@end deffn + + +@node lsfonts +@subsection lsfonts + +@deffn Command lsfonts +List loaded fonts. +@end deffn + + +@node lsmod +@subsection lsmod + +@deffn Command lsmod +Show list of loaded modules. +@end deffn + +@node md5sum +@subsection md5sum + +@deffn Command md5sum arg @dots{} +Alias for @code{hashsum --hash md5 arg @dots{}}. See command @command{hashsum} +(@pxref{hashsum}) for full description. +@end deffn + +@node module +@subsection module + +@deffn Command module [--nounzip] file [arguments] +Load a module for multiboot kernel image. The rest of the +line is passed verbatim as the module command line. +@end deffn + +@node multiboot +@subsection multiboot + +@deffn Command multiboot [--quirk-bad-kludge] [--quirk-modules-after-kernel] file @dots{} +Load a multiboot kernel image from @var{file}. The rest of the +line is passed verbatim as the @dfn{kernel command-line}. Any module must +be reloaded after using this command (@pxref{module}). + +Some kernels have known problems. You need to specify --quirk-* for those. +--quirk-bad-kludge is a problem seen in several products that they include +loading kludge information with invalid data in ELF file. GRUB prior to 0.97 +and some custom builds preferred ELF information while 0.97 and GRUB 2 +use kludge. Use this option to ignore kludge. +Known affected systems: old Solaris, SkyOS. + +--quirk-modules-after-kernel is needed for kernels which load at relatively +high address e.g. 16MiB mark and can't cope with modules stuffed between +1MiB mark and beginning of the kernel. +Known afftected systems: VMWare. +@end deffn + +@node nativedisk +@subsection nativedisk + +@deffn Command nativedisk +Switch from firmware disk drivers to native ones. +Really useful only on platforms where both +firmware and native disk drives are available. +Currently i386-pc, i386-efi, i386-ieee1275 and +x86_64-efi. +@end deffn + +@node normal +@subsection normal + +@deffn Command normal [file] +Enter normal mode and display the GRUB menu. + +In normal mode, commands, filesystem modules, and cryptography modules are +automatically loaded, and the full GRUB script parser is available. Other +modules may be explicitly loaded using @command{insmod} (@pxref{insmod}). + +If a @var{file} is given, then commands will be read from that file. +Otherwise, they will be read from @file{$prefix/grub.cfg} if it exists. + +@command{normal} may be called from within normal mode, creating a nested +environment. It is more usual to use @command{configfile} +(@pxref{configfile}) for this. +@end deffn + + +@node normal_exit +@subsection normal_exit + +@deffn Command normal_exit +Exit normal mode (@pxref{normal}). If this instance of normal mode was not +nested within another one, then return to rescue mode. +@end deffn + + +@node parttool +@subsection parttool + +@deffn Command parttool partition commands +Make various modifications to partition table entries. + +Each @var{command} is either a boolean option, in which case it must be +followed with @samp{+} or @samp{-} (with no intervening space) to enable or +disable that option, or else it takes a value in the form +@samp{@var{command}=@var{value}}. + +Currently, @command{parttool} is only useful on DOS partition tables (also +known as Master Boot Record, or MBR). On these partition tables, the +following commands are available: + +@table @asis +@item @samp{boot} (boolean) +When enabled, this makes the selected partition be the active (bootable) +partition on its disk, clearing the active flag on all other partitions. +This command is limited to @emph{primary} partitions. + +@item @samp{type} (value) +Change the type of an existing partition. The value must be a number in the +range 0-0xFF (prefix with @samp{0x} to enter it in hexadecimal). + +@item @samp{hidden} (boolean) +When enabled, this hides the selected partition by setting the @dfn{hidden} +bit in its partition type code; when disabled, unhides the selected +partition by clearing this bit. This is useful only when booting DOS or +Windows and multiple primary FAT partitions exist in one disk. See also +@ref{DOS/Windows}. +@end table +@end deffn + + +@node password +@subsection password + +@deffn Command password user clear-password +Define a user named @var{user} with password @var{clear-password}. +@xref{Security}. +@end deffn + + +@node password_pbkdf2 +@subsection password_pbkdf2 + +@deffn Command password_pbkdf2 user hashed-password +Define a user named @var{user} with password hash @var{hashed-password}. +Use @command{grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2} (@pxref{Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2}) +to generate password hashes. @xref{Security}. +@end deffn + + +@node play +@subsection play + +@deffn Command play file | tempo [pitch1 duration1] [pitch2 duration2] @dots{} +Plays a tune + +If the argument is a file name (@pxref{File name syntax}), play the tune +recorded in it. The file format is first the tempo as an unsigned 32bit +little-endian number, then pairs of unsigned 16bit little-endian numbers for +pitch and duration pairs. + +If the arguments are a series of numbers, play the inline tune. + +The tempo is the base for all note durations. 60 gives a 1-second base, 120 +gives a half-second base, etc. Pitches are Hz. Set pitch to 0 to produce +a rest. +@end deffn + + +@node probe +@subsection probe + +@deffn Command probe [@option{--set} var] @option{--driver}|@option{--partmap}|@option{--fs}|@option{--fs-uuid}|@option{--label}|@option{--part-uuid} device +Retrieve device information. If option @option{--set} is given, assign result +to variable @var{var}, otherwise print information on the screen. + +The option @option{--part-uuid} is currently only implemented for MSDOS and GPT formatted disks. +@end deffn + + +@node rdmsr +@subsection rdmsr + +@deffn Command: rdmsr 0xADDR [-v VARNAME] +Read a model-specific register at address 0xADDR. If the parameter +@option{-v} is used and an environment variable @var{VARNAME} is +given, set that environment variable to the value that was read. + +Please note that on SMP systems, reading from a MSR that has a +scope per hardware thread, implies that the value that is returned +only applies to the particular cpu/core/thread that runs the command. + +Also, if you specify a reserved or unimplemented MSR address, it will +cause a general protection exception (which is not currently being handled) +and the system will reboot. +@end deffn + + +@node read +@subsection read + +@deffn Command read [var] +Read a line of input from the user. If an environment variable @var{var} is +given, set that environment variable to the line of input that was read, +with no terminating newline. +@end deffn + + +@node reboot +@subsection reboot + +@deffn Command reboot +Reboot the computer. +@end deffn + + +@node regexp +@subsection regexp + +@deffn Command regexp [@option{--set} [number:]var] regexp string +Test if regular expression @var{regexp} matches @var{string}. Supported +regular expressions are POSIX.2 Extended Regular Expressions. If option +@option{--set} is given, store @var{number}th matched subexpression in +variable @var{var}. Subexpressions are numbered in order of their opening +parentheses starting from @samp{1}. @var{number} defaults to @samp{1}. +@end deffn + + +@node rmmod +@subsection rmmod + +@deffn Command rmmod module +Remove a loaded @var{module}. +@end deffn + + +@node save_env +@subsection save_env + +@deffn Command save_env [@option{--file} file] var @dots{} +Save the named variables from the environment to the environment block file. +@xref{Environment block}. + +The @option{--file} option overrides the default location of the environment +block. + +This command will operate successfully even when environment variable +@code{check_signatures} is set to @code{enforce} +(@pxref{check_signatures}), since it writes to disk and does not alter +the behavior of GRUB based on any contents of disk that have been +read. It is possible to modify a digitally signed environment block +file from within GRUB using this command, such that its signature will +no longer be valid on subsequent boots. Care should be taken in such +advanced configurations to avoid rendering the system +unbootable. @xref{Using digital signatures}, for more information. +@end deffn + + +@node search +@subsection search + +@deffn Command search @ + [@option{--file}|@option{--label}|@option{--fs-uuid}] @ + [@option{--set} [var]] [@option{--no-floppy}] name +Search devices by file (@option{-f}, @option{--file}), filesystem label +(@option{-l}, @option{--label}), or filesystem UUID (@option{-u}, +@option{--fs-uuid}). + +If the @option{--set} option is used, the first device found is set as the +value of environment variable @var{var}. The default variable is +@samp{root}. + +The @option{--no-floppy} option prevents searching floppy devices, which can +be slow. + +The @samp{search.file}, @samp{search.fs_label}, and @samp{search.fs_uuid} +commands are aliases for @samp{search --file}, @samp{search --label}, and +@samp{search --fs-uuid} respectively. +@end deffn + + +@node sendkey +@subsection sendkey + +@deffn Command sendkey @ + [@option{--num}|@option{--caps}|@option{--scroll}|@option{--insert}|@ +@option{--pause}|@option{--left-shift}|@option{--right-shift}|@ +@option{--sysrq}|@option{--numkey}|@option{--capskey}|@option{--scrollkey}|@ +@option{--insertkey}|@option{--left-alt}|@option{--right-alt}|@ +@option{--left-ctrl}|@option{--right-ctrl} @ + @samp{on}|@samp{off}]@dots{} @ + [@option{no-led}] @ + keystroke +Insert keystrokes into the keyboard buffer when booting. Sometimes an +operating system or chainloaded boot loader requires particular keys to be +pressed: for example, one might need to press a particular key to enter +"safe mode", or when chainloading another boot loader one might send +keystrokes to it to navigate its menu. + +You may provide up to 16 keystrokes (the length of the BIOS keyboard +buffer). Keystroke names may be upper-case or lower-case letters, digits, +or taken from the following table: + +@c Please keep this table in the same order as in +@c commands/i386/pc/sendkey.c, for ease of maintenance. +@c Exception: The function and numeric keys are sorted, for aesthetics. + +@multitable @columnfractions .4 .5 +@headitem Name @tab Key +@item escape @tab Escape +@item exclam @tab ! +@item at @tab @@ +@item numbersign @tab # +@item dollar @tab $ +@item percent @tab % +@item caret @tab ^ +@item ampersand @tab & +@item asterisk @tab * +@item parenleft @tab ( +@item parenright @tab ) +@item minus @tab - +@item underscore @tab _ +@item equal @tab = +@item plus @tab + +@item backspace @tab Backspace +@item tab @tab Tab +@item bracketleft @tab [ +@item braceleft @tab @{ +@item bracketright @tab ] +@item braceright @tab @} +@item enter @tab Enter +@item control @tab press and release Control +@item semicolon @tab ; +@item colon @tab : +@item quote @tab ' +@item doublequote @tab " +@item backquote @tab ` +@item tilde @tab ~ +@item shift @tab press and release left Shift +@item backslash @tab \ +@item bar @tab | +@item comma @tab , +@item less @tab < +@item period @tab . +@item greater @tab > +@item slash @tab / +@item question @tab ? +@item rshift @tab press and release right Shift +@item alt @tab press and release Alt +@item space @tab space bar +@item capslock @tab Caps Lock +@item F1 @tab F1 +@item F2 @tab F2 +@item F3 @tab F3 +@item F4 @tab F4 +@item F5 @tab F5 +@item F6 @tab F6 +@item F7 @tab F7 +@item F8 @tab F8 +@item F9 @tab F9 +@item F10 @tab F10 +@item F11 @tab F11 +@item F12 @tab F12 +@item num1 @tab 1 (numeric keypad) +@item num2 @tab 2 (numeric keypad) +@item num3 @tab 3 (numeric keypad) +@item num4 @tab 4 (numeric keypad) +@item num5 @tab 5 (numeric keypad) +@item num6 @tab 6 (numeric keypad) +@item num7 @tab 7 (numeric keypad) +@item num8 @tab 8 (numeric keypad) +@item num9 @tab 9 (numeric keypad) +@item num0 @tab 0 (numeric keypad) +@item numperiod @tab . (numeric keypad) +@item numend @tab End (numeric keypad) +@item numdown @tab Down (numeric keypad) +@item numpgdown @tab Page Down (numeric keypad) +@item numleft @tab Left (numeric keypad) +@item numcenter @tab 5 with Num Lock inactive (numeric keypad) +@item numright @tab Right (numeric keypad) +@item numhome @tab Home (numeric keypad) +@item numup @tab Up (numeric keypad) +@item numpgup @tab Page Up (numeric keypad) +@item numinsert @tab Insert (numeric keypad) +@item numdelete @tab Delete (numeric keypad) +@item numasterisk @tab * (numeric keypad) +@item numminus @tab - (numeric keypad) +@item numplus @tab + (numeric keypad) +@item numslash @tab / (numeric keypad) +@item numenter @tab Enter (numeric keypad) +@item delete @tab Delete +@item insert @tab Insert +@item home @tab Home +@item end @tab End +@item pgdown @tab Page Down +@item pgup @tab Page Up +@item down @tab Down +@item up @tab Up +@item left @tab Left +@item right @tab Right +@end multitable + +As well as keystrokes, the @command{sendkey} command takes various options +that affect the BIOS keyboard status flags. These options take an @samp{on} +or @samp{off} parameter, specifying that the corresponding status flag be +set or unset; omitting the option for a given status flag will leave that +flag at its initial state at boot. The @option{--num}, @option{--caps}, +@option{--scroll}, and @option{--insert} options emulate setting the +corresponding mode, while the @option{--numkey}, @option{--capskey}, +@option{--scrollkey}, and @option{--insertkey} options emulate pressing and +holding the corresponding key. The other status flag options are +self-explanatory. + +If the @option{--no-led} option is given, the status flag options will have +no effect on keyboard LEDs. + +If the @command{sendkey} command is given multiple times, then only the last +invocation has any effect. + +Since @command{sendkey} manipulates the BIOS keyboard buffer, it may cause +hangs, reboots, or other misbehaviour on some systems. If the operating +system or boot loader that runs after GRUB uses its own keyboard driver +rather than the BIOS keyboard functions, then @command{sendkey} will have no +effect. + +This command is only available on PC BIOS systems. +@end deffn + + +@node set +@subsection set + +@deffn Command set [envvar=value] +Set the environment variable @var{envvar} to @var{value}. If invoked with no +arguments, print all environment variables with their values. +@end deffn + + +@node sha1sum +@subsection sha1sum + +@deffn Command sha1sum arg @dots{} +Alias for @code{hashsum --hash sha1 arg @dots{}}. See command @command{hashsum} +(@pxref{hashsum}) for full description. +@end deffn + + +@node sha256sum +@subsection sha256sum + +@deffn Command sha256sum arg @dots{} +Alias for @code{hashsum --hash sha256 arg @dots{}}. See command @command{hashsum} +(@pxref{hashsum}) for full description. +@end deffn + + +@node sha512sum +@subsection sha512sum + +@deffn Command sha512sum arg @dots{} +Alias for @code{hashsum --hash sha512 arg @dots{}}. See command @command{hashsum} +(@pxref{hashsum}) for full description. +@end deffn + + +@node sleep +@subsection sleep + +@deffn Command sleep [@option{--verbose}] [@option{--interruptible}] count +Sleep for @var{count} seconds. If option @option{--interruptible} is given, +allow pressing @key{ESC}, @key{F4} or holding down @key{SHIFT} to interrupt +sleep. With @option{--verbose} show countdown of remaining seconds. Exit code +is set to 0 if timeout expired and to 1 if timeout was interrupted using any +of the mentioned keys. +@end deffn + + +@node smbios +@subsection smbios + +@deffn Command smbios @ + [@option{--type} @var{type}] @ + [@option{--handle} @var{handle}] @ + [@option{--match} @var{match}] @ + (@option{--get-byte} | @option{--get-word} | @option{--get-dword} | @ + @option{--get-qword} | @option{--get-string} | @option{--get-uuid}) @ + @var{offset} @ + [@option{--set} @var{variable}] +Retrieve SMBIOS information. + +The @command{smbios} command returns the value of a field in an SMBIOS +structure. The following options determine which structure to select. + +@itemize @bullet +@item +Specifying @option{--type} will select structures with a matching +@var{type}. The type can be any integer from 0 to 255. +@item +Specifying @option{--handle} will select structures with a matching +@var{handle}. The handle can be any integer from 0 to 65535. +@item +Specifying @option{--match} will select structure number @var{match} in the +filtered list of structures; e.g. @code{smbios --type 4 --match 2} will select +the second Process Information (Type 4) structure. The list is always ordered +the same as the hardware's SMBIOS table. The match number must be a positive +integer. If unspecified, the first matching structure will be selected. +@end itemize + +The remaining options determine which field in the selected SMBIOS structure to +return. Only one of these options may be specified at a time. + +@itemize @bullet +@item +When given @option{--get-byte}, return the value of the byte +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +It will be formatted as an unsigned decimal integer. +@item +When given @option{--get-word}, return the value of the word (two bytes) +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +It will be formatted as an unsigned decimal integer. +@item +When given @option{--get-dword}, return the value of the dword (four bytes) +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +It will be formatted as an unsigned decimal integer. +@item +When given @option{--get-qword}, return the value of the qword (eight bytes) +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +It will be formatted as an unsigned decimal integer. +@item +When given @option{--get-string}, return the string with its index found +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +@item +When given @option{--get-uuid}, return the value of the UUID (sixteen bytes) +at @var{offset} bytes into the selected SMBIOS structure. +It will be formatted as lower-case hyphenated hexadecimal digits, with the +first three fields as little-endian, and the rest printed byte-by-byte. +@end itemize + +The default action is to print the value of the requested field to the console, +but a variable name can be specified with @option{--set} to store the value +instead of printing it. + +For example, this will store and then display the system manufacturer's name. + +@example +smbios --type 1 --get-string 4 --set system_manufacturer +echo $system_manufacturer +@end example +@end deffn + + +@node source +@subsection source + +@deffn Command source file +Read @var{file} as a configuration file, as if its contents had been +incorporated directly into the sourcing file. Unlike @command{configfile} +(@pxref{configfile}), this executes the contents of @var{file} without +changing context: any environment variable changes made by the commands in +@var{file} will be preserved after @command{source} returns, and the menu +will not be shown immediately. +@end deffn + + +@node test +@subsection test + +@deffn Command test expression +Evaluate @var{expression} and return zero exit status if result is true, +non zero status otherwise. + +@var{expression} is one of: + +@table @asis +@item @var{string1} @code{==} @var{string2} +the strings are equal +@item @var{string1} @code{!=} @var{string2} +the strings are not equal +@item @var{string1} @code{<} @var{string2} +@var{string1} is lexicographically less than @var{string2} +@item @var{string1} @code{<=} @var{string2} +@var{string1} is lexicographically less or equal than @var{string2} +@item @var{string1} @code{>} @var{string2} +@var{string1} is lexicographically greater than @var{string2} +@item @var{string1} @code{>=} @var{string2} +@var{string1} is lexicographically greater or equal than @var{string2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-eq} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is equal to @var{integer2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-ge} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is greater than or equal to @var{integer2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-gt} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is greater than @var{integer2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-le} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is less than or equal to @var{integer2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-lt} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is less than @var{integer2} +@item @var{integer1} @code{-ne} @var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is not equal to @var{integer2} +@item @var{prefix}@var{integer1} @code{-pgt} @var{prefix}@var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is greater than @var{integer2} after stripping off common non-numeric @var{prefix}. +@item @var{prefix}@var{integer1} @code{-plt} @var{prefix}@var{integer2} +@var{integer1} is less than @var{integer2} after stripping off common non-numeric @var{prefix}. +@item @var{file1} @code{-nt} @var{file2} +@var{file1} is newer than @var{file2} (modification time). Optionally numeric @var{bias} may be directly appended to @code{-nt} in which case it is added to the first file modification time. +@item @var{file1} @code{-ot} @var{file2} +@var{file1} is older than @var{file2} (modification time). Optionally numeric @var{bias} may be directly appended to @code{-ot} in which case it is added to the first file modification time. +@item @code{-d} @var{file} +@var{file} exists and is a directory +@item @code{-e} @var{file} +@var{file} exists +@item @code{-f} @var{file} +@var{file} exists and is not a directory +@item @code{-s} @var{file} +@var{file} exists and has a size greater than zero +@item @code{-n} @var{string} +the length of @var{string} is nonzero +@item @var{string} +@var{string} is equivalent to @code{-n @var{string}} +@item @code{-z} @var{string} +the length of @var{string} is zero +@item @code{(} @var{expression} @code{)} +@var{expression} is true +@item @code{!} @var{expression} +@var{expression} is false +@item @var{expression1} @code{-a} @var{expression2} +both @var{expression1} and @var{expression2} are true +@item @var{expression1} @var{expression2} +both @var{expression1} and @var{expression2} are true. This syntax is not POSIX-compliant and is not recommended. +@item @var{expression1} @code{-o} @var{expression2} +either @var{expression1} or @var{expression2} is true +@end table +@end deffn + + +@node true +@subsection true + +@deffn Command true +Do nothing, successfully. This is mainly useful in control constructs such +as @code{if} and @code{while} (@pxref{Shell-like scripting}). +@end deffn + +@node trust +@subsection trust + +@deffn Command trust [@option{--skip-sig}] pubkey_file +Read public key from @var{pubkey_file} and add it to GRUB's internal +list of trusted public keys. These keys are used to validate digital +signatures when environment variable @code{check_signatures} is set to +@code{enforce}. Note that if @code{check_signatures} is set to +@code{enforce} when @command{trust} executes, then @var{pubkey_file} +must itself be properly signed. The @option{--skip-sig} option can be +used to disable signature-checking when reading @var{pubkey_file} +itself. It is expected that @option{--skip-sig} is useful for testing +and manual booting. @xref{Using digital signatures}, for more +information. +@end deffn + + +@node unset +@subsection unset + +@deffn Command unset envvar +Unset the environment variable @var{envvar}. +@end deffn + + +@ignore +@node vbeinfo +@subsection vbeinfo + +@deffn Command vbeinfo [[WxH]xD] +Alias for command @command{videoinfo} (@pxref{videoinfo}). It is available +only on PC BIOS platforms. +@end deffn +@end ignore + + +@node verify_detached +@subsection verify_detached + +@deffn Command verify_detached [@option{--skip-sig}] file signature_file [pubkey_file] +Verifies a GPG-style detached signature, where the signed file is +@var{file}, and the signature itself is in file @var{signature_file}. +Optionally, a specific public key to use can be specified using +@var{pubkey_file}. When environment variable @code{check_signatures} +is set to @code{enforce}, then @var{pubkey_file} must itself be +properly signed by an already-trusted key. An unsigned +@var{pubkey_file} can be loaded by specifying @option{--skip-sig}. +If @var{pubkey_file} is omitted, then public keys from GRUB's trusted keys +(@pxref{list_trusted}, @pxref{trust}, and @pxref{distrust}) are +tried. + +Exit code @code{$?} is set to 0 if the signature validates +successfully. If validation fails, it is set to a non-zero value. +@xref{Using digital signatures}, for more information. +@end deffn + +@node videoinfo +@subsection videoinfo + +@deffn Command videoinfo [[WxH]xD] +List available video modes. If resolution is given, show only matching modes. +@end deffn + +@node wrmsr +@subsection wrmsr + +@deffn Command: wrmsr 0xADDR 0xVALUE +Write a 0xVALUE to a model-specific register at address 0xADDR. + +Please note that on SMP systems, writing to a MSR that has a scope +per hardware thread, implies that the value that is written +only applies to the particular cpu/core/thread that runs the command. + +Also, if you specify a reserved or unimplemented MSR address, it will +cause a general protection exception (which is not currently being handled) +and the system will reboot. + +Note: The command is not allowed when lockdown is enforced (@pxref{Lockdown}). + This is done to prevent subverting various security mechanisms. +@end deffn + +@node xen_hypervisor +@subsection xen_hypervisor + +@deffn Command xen_hypervisor file [arguments] @dots{} +Load a Xen hypervisor binary from @var{file}. The rest of the line is passed +verbatim as the @dfn{kernel command-line}. Any other binaries must be +reloaded after using this command. +This command is only available on AArch64 systems. +@end deffn + +@node xen_module +@subsection xen_module + +@deffn Command xen_module [--nounzip] file [arguments] +Load a module for xen hypervisor at the booting process of xen. +The rest of the line is passed verbatim as the module command line. +Modules should be loaded in the following order: + - dom0 kernel image + - dom0 ramdisk if present + - XSM policy if present +This command is only available on AArch64 systems. +@end deffn + +@node Networking commands +@section The list of networking commands + +@menu +* net_add_addr:: Add a network address +* net_add_dns:: Add a DNS server +* net_add_route:: Add routing entry +* net_bootp:: Perform a bootp/DHCP autoconfiguration +* net_del_addr:: Remove IP address from interface +* net_del_dns:: Remove a DNS server +* net_del_route:: Remove a route entry +* net_dhcp:: Perform a DHCP autoconfiguration +* net_get_dhcp_option:: Retrieve DHCP options +* net_ipv6_autoconf:: Perform IPv6 autoconfiguration +* net_ls_addr:: List interfaces +* net_ls_cards:: List network cards +* net_ls_dns:: List DNS servers +* net_ls_routes:: List routing entries +* net_nslookup:: Perform a DNS lookup +@end menu + + +@node net_add_addr +@subsection net_add_addr + +@deffn Command net_add_addr @var{interface} @var{card} @var{address} +Configure additional network @var{interface} with @var{address} on a +network @var{card}. @var{address} can be either IP in dotted decimal notation, +or symbolic name which is resolved using DNS lookup. If successful, this command +also adds local link routing entry to the default subnet of @var{address} +with name @var{interface}@samp{:local} via @var{interface}. +@end deffn + + +@node net_add_dns +@subsection net_add_dns + +@deffn Command net_add_dns @var{server} +Resolve @var{server} IP address and add to the list of DNS servers used during +name lookup. +@end deffn + + +@node net_add_route +@subsection net_add_route + +@deffn Command net_add_route @var{shortname} @var{ip}[/@var{prefix}] [@var{interface} | @samp{gw} @var{gateway}] +Add route to network with address @var{ip} as modified by @var{prefix} via +either local @var{interface} or @var{gateway}. @var{prefix} is optional and +defaults to 32 for IPv4 address and 128 for IPv6 address. Route is identified +by @var{shortname} which can be used to remove it (@pxref{net_del_route}). +@end deffn + + +@node net_bootp +@subsection net_bootp + +@deffn Command net_bootp [@var{card}] +Alias for net_dhcp, for compatibility with older Grub versions. Will perform +the same DHCP handshake with potential fallback to BOOTP as the net_dhcp +command (@pxref{net_dhcp}). + +@end deffn + + +@node net_del_addr +@subsection net_del_addr + +@deffn Command net_del_addr @var{interface} +Remove configured @var{interface} with associated address. +@end deffn + + +@node net_del_dns +@subsection net_del_dns + +@deffn Command net_del_dns @var{address} +Remove @var{address} from list of servers used during name lookup. +@end deffn + + +@node net_del_route +@subsection net_del_route + +@deffn Command net_del_route @var{shortname} +Remove route entry identified by @var{shortname}. +@end deffn + + +@node net_dhcp +@subsection net_dhcp + +@deffn Command net_dhcp [@var{card}] +Perform configuration of @var{card} using DHCP protocol. If no card name +is specified, try to configure all existing cards. +Falls back to the BOOTP protocol, if needed. If configuration was +successful, interface with name @var{card}@samp{:dhcp} and configured +address is added to @var{card}. +@comment If server provided gateway information in +@comment DHCP ACK packet, it is added as route entry with the name @var{card}@samp{:dhcp:gw}. +Additionally the following DHCP options are recognized and processed: + +@table @samp +@item 1 (Subnet Mask) +Used to calculate network local routing entry for interface @var{card}@samp{:dhcp}. +@item 3 (Router) +Adds default route entry with the name @var{card}@samp{:dhcp:default} via gateway +from DHCP option. Note that only option with single route is accepted. +@item 6 (Domain Name Server) +Adds all servers from option value to the list of servers used during name resolution. +@item 12 (Host Name) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_dhcp_hostname} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_hostname}) to the value of option. +@item 15 (Domain Name) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_dhcp_domain} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_domain}) to the value of option. +@item 17 (Root Path) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_dhcp_rootpath} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_rootpath}) to the value of option. +@item 18 (Extensions Path) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_dhcp_extensionspath} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_extensionspath}) to the value of option. +@item 66 (TFTP Server Name) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_dhcp_server_name} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_dhcp_server_name}) to the value of option. +@item 67 (Filename) +Sets environment variable @samp{net_}@var{<card>}@samp{_boot_file} +(@pxref{net_@var{<interface>}_boot_file}) to the value of option. +@end table + +@end deffn + + +@node net_get_dhcp_option +@subsection net_get_dhcp_option + +@deffn Command net_get_dhcp_option @var{var} @var{interface} @var{number} @var{type} +Request DHCP option @var{number} of @var{type} via @var{interface}. @var{type} +can be one of @samp{string}, @samp{number} or @samp{hex}. If option is found, +assign its value to variable @var{var}. Values of types @samp{number} and @samp{hex} +are converted to string representation. +@end deffn + + +@node net_ipv6_autoconf +@subsection net_ipv6_autoconf + +@deffn Command net_ipv6_autoconf [@var{card}] +Perform IPv6 autoconfiguration by adding to the @var{card} interface with name +@var{card}@samp{:link} and link local MAC-based address. If no card is specified, +perform autoconfiguration for all existing cards. +@end deffn + + +@node net_ls_addr +@subsection net_ls_addr + +@deffn Command net_ls_addr +List all configured interfaces with their MAC and IP addresses. +@end deffn + + +@node net_ls_cards +@subsection net_ls_cards + +@deffn Command net_ls_cards +List all detected network cards with their MAC address. +@end deffn + + +@node net_ls_dns +@subsection net_ls_dns + +@deffn Command net_ls_dns +List addresses of DNS servers used during name lookup. +@end deffn + + +@node net_ls_routes +@subsection net_ls_routes + +@deffn Command net_ls_routes +List routing entries. +@end deffn + + +@node net_nslookup +@subsection net_nslookup + +@deffn Command net_nslookup @var{name} [@var{server}] +Resolve address of @var{name} using DNS server @var{server}. If no server +is given, use default list of servers. +@end deffn + + +@node Internationalisation +@chapter Internationalisation + +@section Charset +GRUB uses UTF-8 internally other than in rendering where some GRUB-specific +appropriate representation is used. All text files (including config) are +assumed to be encoded in UTF-8. + +@section Filesystems +NTFS, JFS, UDF, HFS+, exFAT, long filenames in FAT, Joliet part of +ISO9660 are treated as UTF-16 as per specification. AFS and BFS are read +as UTF-8, again according to specification. BtrFS, cpio, tar, squash4, minix, +minix2, minix3, ROMFS, ReiserFS, XFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, FAT (short names), +F2FS, RockRidge part of ISO9660, nilfs2, UFS1, UFS2 and ZFS are assumed +to be UTF-8. This might be false on systems configured with legacy charset +but as long as the charset used is superset of ASCII you should be able to +access ASCII-named files. And it's recommended to configure your system to use +UTF-8 to access the filesystem, convmv may help with migration. ISO9660 (plain) +filenames are specified as being ASCII or being described with unspecified +escape sequences. GRUB assumes that the ISO9660 names are UTF-8 (since +any ASCII is valid UTF-8). There are some old CD-ROMs which use CP437 +in non-compliant way. You're still able to access files with names containing +only ASCII characters on such filesystems though. You're also able to access +any file if the filesystem contains valid Joliet (UTF-16) or RockRidge (UTF-8). +AFFS, SFS and HFS never use unicode and GRUB assumes them to be in Latin1, +Latin1 and MacRoman respectively. GRUB handles filesystem case-insensitivity +however no attempt is performed at case conversion of international characters +so e.g. a file named lowercase greek alpha is treated as different from +the one named as uppercase alpha. The filesystems in questions are +NTFS (except POSIX namespace), HFS+ (configurable at mkfs time, default +insensitive), SFS (configurable at mkfs time, default insensitive), +JFS (configurable at mkfs time, default sensitive), HFS, AFFS, FAT, exFAT +and ZFS (configurable on per-subvolume basis by property ``casesensitivity'', +default sensitive). On ZFS subvolumes marked as case insensitive files +containing lowercase international characters are inaccessible. +Also like all supported filesystems except HFS+ and ZFS (configurable on +per-subvolume basis by property ``normalization'', default none) GRUB makes +no attempt at check of canonical equivalence so a file name u-diaresis is +treated as distinct from u+combining diaresis. This however means that in +order to access file on HFS+ its name must be specified in normalisation form D. +On normalized ZFS subvolumes filenames out of normalisation are inaccessible. + +@section Output terminal +Firmware output console ``console'' on ARC and IEEE1275 are limited to ASCII. + +BIOS firmware console and VGA text are limited to ASCII and some pseudographics. + +None of above mentioned is appropriate for displaying international and any +unsupported character is replaced with question mark except pseudographics +which we attempt to approximate with ASCII. + +EFI console on the other hand nominally supports UTF-16 but actual language +coverage depends on firmware and may be very limited. + +The encoding used on serial can be chosen with @command{terminfo} as +either ASCII, UTF-8 or ``visual UTF-8''. Last one is against the specification +but results in correct rendering of right-to-left on some readers which don't +have own bidi implementation. + +On emu GRUB checks if charset is UTF-8 and uses it if so and uses ASCII +otherwise. + +When using gfxterm or gfxmenu GRUB itself is responsible for rendering the +text. In this case GRUB is limited by loaded fonts. If fonts contain all +required characters then bidirectional text, cursive variants and combining +marks other than enclosing, half (e.g. left half tilde or combining overline) +and double ones. Ligatures aren't supported though. This should cover European, +Middle Eastern (if you don't mind lack of lam-alif ligature in Arabic) and +East Asian scripts. Notable unsupported scripts are Brahmic family and +derived as well as Mongolian, Tifinagh, Korean Jamo (precomposed characters +have no problem) and tonal writing (2e5-2e9). GRUB also ignores deprecated +(as specified in Unicode) characters (e.g. tags). GRUB also doesn't handle so +called ``annotation characters'' If you can complete either of +two lists or, better, propose a patch to improve rendering, please contact +developer team. + +@section Input terminal +Firmware console on BIOS, IEEE1275 and ARC doesn't allow you to enter non-ASCII +characters. EFI specification allows for such but author is unaware of any +actual implementations. Serial input is currently limited for latin1 (unlikely +to change). Own keyboard implementations (at_keyboard and usb_keyboard) +supports any key but work on one-char-per-keystroke. +So no dead keys or advanced input method. Also there is no keymap change hotkey. +In practice it makes difficult to enter any text using non-Latin alphabet. +Moreover all current input consumers are limited to ASCII. + +@section Gettext +GRUB supports being translated. For this you need to have language *.mo files in $prefix/locale, load gettext module and set ``lang'' variable. + +@section Regexp +Regexps work on unicode characters, however no attempt at checking cannonical +equivalence has been made. Moreover the classes like [:alpha:] match only +ASCII subset. + +@section Other +Currently GRUB always uses YEAR-MONTH-DAY HOUR:MINUTE:SECOND [WEEKDAY] 24-hour +datetime format but weekdays are translated. +GRUB always uses the decimal number format with [0-9] as digits and . as +descimal separator and no group separator. +IEEE1275 aliases are matched case-insensitively except non-ASCII which is +matched as binary. Similar behaviour is for matching OSBundleRequired. +Since IEEE1275 aliases and OSBundleRequired don't contain any non-ASCII it +should never be a problem in practice. +Case-sensitive identifiers are matched as raw strings, no canonical +equivalence check is performed. Case-insenstive identifiers are matched +as RAW but additionally [a-z] is equivalent to [A-Z]. GRUB-defined +identifiers use only ASCII and so should user-defined ones. +Identifiers containing non-ASCII may work but aren't supported. +Only the ASCII space characters (space U+0020, tab U+000b, CR U+000d and +LF U+000a) are recognised. Other unicode space characters aren't a valid +field separator. +@command{test} (@pxref{test}) tests <, >, <=, >=, -pgt and -plt compare the strings in the +lexicographical order of unicode codepoints, replicating the behaviour of +test from coreutils. +environment variables and commands are listed in the same order. + +@node Security +@chapter Security + +@menu +* Authentication and authorisation:: Users and access control +* Using digital signatures:: Booting digitally signed code +* UEFI secure boot and shim:: Booting digitally signed PE files +* Secure Boot Advanced Targeting:: Embedded information for generation number based revocation +* Measured Boot:: Measuring boot components +* Lockdown:: Lockdown when booting on a secure setup +@end menu + +@node Authentication and authorisation +@section Authentication and authorisation in GRUB + +By default, the boot loader interface is accessible to anyone with physical +access to the console: anyone can select and edit any menu entry, and anyone +can get direct access to a GRUB shell prompt. For most systems, this is +reasonable since anyone with direct physical access has a variety of other +ways to gain full access, and requiring authentication at the boot loader +level would only serve to make it difficult to recover broken systems. + +However, in some environments, such as kiosks, it may be appropriate to lock +down the boot loader to require authentication before performing certain +operations. + +The @samp{password} (@pxref{password}) and @samp{password_pbkdf2} +(@pxref{password_pbkdf2}) commands can be used to define users, each of +which has an associated password. @samp{password} sets the password in +plain text, requiring @file{grub.cfg} to be secure; @samp{password_pbkdf2} +sets the password hashed using the Password-Based Key Derivation Function +(RFC 2898), requiring the use of @command{grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2} +(@pxref{Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2}) to generate password hashes. + +In order to enable authentication support, the @samp{superusers} environment +variable must be set to a list of usernames, separated by any of spaces, +commas, semicolons, pipes, or ampersands. Superusers are permitted to use +the GRUB command line, edit menu entries, and execute any menu entry. If +@samp{superusers} is set, then use of the command line and editing of menu +entries are automatically restricted to superusers. Setting @samp{superusers} +to empty string effectively disables both access to CLI and editing of menu +entries. Note: The environment variable needs to be exported to also affect +the section defined by the @samp{submenu} command (@pxref{submenu}). + +Other users may be allowed to execute specific menu entries by giving a list of +usernames (as above) using the @option{--users} option to the +@samp{menuentry} command (@pxref{menuentry}). If the @option{--unrestricted} +option is used for a menu entry, then that entry is unrestricted. +If the @option{--users} option is not used for a menu entry, then that +only superusers are able to use it. + +Putting this together, a typical @file{grub.cfg} fragment might look like +this: + +@example +@group +set superusers="root" +password_pbkdf2 root grub.pbkdf2.sha512.10000.biglongstring +password user1 insecure + +menuentry "May be run by any user" --unrestricted @{ + set root=(hd0,1) + linux /vmlinuz +@} + +menuentry "Superusers only" --users "" @{ + set root=(hd0,1) + linux /vmlinuz single +@} + +menuentry "May be run by user1 or a superuser" --users user1 @{ + set root=(hd0,2) + chainloader +1 +@} +@end group +@end example + +The @command{grub-mkconfig} program does not yet have built-in support for +generating configuration files with authentication. You can use +@file{/etc/grub.d/40_custom} to add simple superuser authentication, by +adding @kbd{set superusers=} and @kbd{password} or @kbd{password_pbkdf2} +commands. + +@node Using digital signatures +@section Using digital signatures in GRUB + +GRUB's @file{core.img} can optionally provide enforcement that all files +subsequently read from disk are covered by a valid digital signature. +This document does @strong{not} cover how to ensure that your +platform's firmware (e.g., Coreboot) validates @file{core.img}. + +If environment variable @code{check_signatures} +(@pxref{check_signatures}) is set to @code{enforce}, then every +attempt by the GRUB @file{core.img} to load another file @file{foo} +implicitly invokes @code{verify_detached foo foo.sig} +(@pxref{verify_detached}). @code{foo.sig} must contain a valid +digital signature over the contents of @code{foo}, which can be +verified with a public key currently trusted by GRUB +(@pxref{list_trusted}, @pxref{trust}, and @pxref{distrust}). If +validation fails, then file @file{foo} cannot be opened. This failure +may halt or otherwise impact the boot process. + +An initial trusted public key can be embedded within the GRUB @file{core.img} +using the @code{--pubkey} option to @command{grub-install} +(@pxref{Invoking grub-install}). + +GRUB uses GPG-style detached signatures (meaning that a file +@file{foo.sig} will be produced when file @file{foo} is signed), and +currently supports the DSA and RSA signing algorithms. A signing key +can be generated as follows: + +@example +gpg --gen-key +@end example + +An individual file can be signed as follows: + +@example +gpg --detach-sign /path/to/file +@end example + +For successful validation of all of GRUB's subcomponents and the +loaded OS kernel, they must all be signed. One way to accomplish this +is the following (after having already produced the desired +@file{grub.cfg} file, e.g., by running @command{grub-mkconfig} +(@pxref{Invoking grub-mkconfig}): + +@example +@group +# Edit /dev/shm/passphrase.txt to contain your signing key's passphrase +for i in `find /boot -name "*.cfg" -or -name "*.lst" -or \ + -name "*.mod" -or -name "vmlinuz*" -or -name "initrd*" -or \ + -name "grubenv"`; +do + gpg --batch --detach-sign --passphrase-fd 0 $i < \ + /dev/shm/passphrase.txt +done +shred /dev/shm/passphrase.txt +@end group +@end example + +See also: @ref{check_signatures}, @ref{verify_detached}, @ref{trust}, +@ref{list_trusted}, @ref{distrust}, @ref{load_env}, @ref{save_env}. + +Note that internally signature enforcement is controlled by setting +the environment variable @code{check_signatures} equal to +@code{enforce}. Passing one or more @code{--pubkey} options to +@command{grub-mkimage} implicitly defines @code{check_signatures} +equal to @code{enforce} in @file{core.img} prior to processing any +configuration files. + +Note that signature checking does @strong{not} prevent an attacker +with (serial, physical, ...) console access from dropping manually to +the GRUB console and executing: + +@example +set check_signatures=no +@end example + +To prevent this, password-protection (@pxref{Authentication and +authorisation}) is essential. Note that even with GRUB password +protection, GRUB itself cannot prevent someone with physical access to +the machine from altering that machine's firmware (e.g., Coreboot +or BIOS) configuration to cause the machine to boot from a different +(attacker-controlled) device. GRUB is at best only one link in a +secure boot chain. + +@node UEFI secure boot and shim +@section UEFI secure boot and shim support + +The GRUB, except the @command{chainloader} command, works with the UEFI secure +boot and the shim. This functionality is provided by the shim_lock verifier. It +is built into the @file{core.img} and is registered if the UEFI secure boot is +enabled. The @samp{shim_lock} variable is set to @samp{y} when shim_lock verifier +is registered. If it is desired to use UEFI secure boot without shim, one can +disable shim_lock by disabling shim verification with MokSbState UEFI variable +or by building grub image with @samp{--disable-shim-lock} option. + +All GRUB modules not stored in the @file{core.img}, OS kernels, ACPI tables, +Device Trees, etc. have to be signed, e.g, using PGP. Additionally, the commands +that can be used to subvert the UEFI secure boot mechanism, such as @command{iorw} +and @command{memrw} will not be available when the UEFI secure boot is enabled. +This is done for security reasons and are enforced by the GRUB Lockdown mechanism +(@pxref{Lockdown}). + +@node Secure Boot Advanced Targeting +@section Embedded information for generation number based revocation + +The Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) is a mechanism to allow the revocation +of components in the boot path by using generation numbers embedded into the EFI +binaries. The SBAT metadata is located in an .sbat data section that has set of +UTF-8 strings as comma-separated values (CSV). See +@uref{https://github.com/rhboot/shim/blob/main/SBAT.md} for more details. + +To add a data section containing the SBAT information into the binary, the +@option{--sbat} option of @command{grub-mkimage} command should be used. The content +of a CSV file, encoded with UTF-8, is copied as is to the .sbat data section into +the generated EFI binary. The CSV file can be stored anywhere on the file system. + +@example +grub-mkimage -O x86_64-efi -o grubx64.efi -p '(tftp)/grub' --sbat sbat.csv efinet tftp +@end example + +@node Measured Boot +@section Measuring boot components + +If the tpm module is loaded and the platform has a Trusted Platform Module +installed, GRUB will log each command executed and each file loaded into the +TPM event log and extend the PCR values in the TPM correspondingly. All events +will be logged into the PCR described below with a type of EV_IPL and an +event description as described below. + +@multitable @columnfractions 0.3 0.1 0.6 +@headitem Event type @tab PCR @tab Description +@item Command +@tab 8 +@tab All executed commands (including those from configuration files) will be +logged and measured as entered with a prefix of ``grub_cmd: `` +@item Kernel command line +@tab 8 +@tab Any command line passed to a kernel will be logged and measured as entered +with a prefix of ``kernel_cmdline: '' +@item Module command line +@tab 8 +@tab Any command line passed to a kernel module will be logged and measured as +entered with a prefix of ``module_cmdline: `` +@item Files +@tab 9 +@tab Any file read by GRUB will be logged and measured with a descriptive text +corresponding to the filename. +@end multitable + +GRUB will not measure its own @file{core.img} - it is expected that firmware +will carry this out. GRUB will also not perform any measurements until the +tpm module is loaded. As such it is recommended that the tpm module be built +into @file{core.img} in order to avoid a potential gap in measurement between +@file{core.img} being loaded and the tpm module being loaded. + +Measured boot is currently only supported on EFI platforms. + +@node Lockdown +@section Lockdown when booting on a secure setup + +The GRUB can be locked down when booted on a secure boot environment, for example +if the UEFI secure boot is enabled. On a locked down configuration, the GRUB will +be restricted and some operations/commands cannot be executed. + +The @samp{lockdown} variable is set to @samp{y} when the GRUB is locked down. +Otherwise it does not exit. + +@node Platform limitations +@chapter Platform limitations + +GRUB2 is designed to be portable and is actually ported across platforms. We +try to keep all platforms at the level. Unfortunately some platforms are better +supported than others. This is detailed in current and 2 following sections. + +All platforms have an artificially GRUB imposed disk size restriction of 1 EiB. +In some cases, larger disk sizes can be used, but access will not be allowed +beyond 1 EiB. + +LUKS2 devices with size larger than 16 EiB are currently not supported. They +can not be created as crypto devices by cryptomount, so can not even be +partially read from. LUKS have no limitations other than those imposed by the +format. + +ARC platform is unable to change datetime (firmware doesn't seem to provide a +function for it). +EMU has similar limitation. + +On EMU platform no serial port is available. + +Console charset refers only to firmware-assisted console. gfxterm is always +Unicode (see Internationalisation section for its limitations). Serial is +configurable to UTF-8 or ASCII (see Internationalisation). In case of qemu +and coreboot ports the refered console is vga_text. Loongson always uses +gfxterm. + +Most limited one is ASCII. CP437 provides additionally pseudographics. +GRUB2 doesn't use any language characters from CP437 as often CP437 is replaced +by national encoding compatible only in pseudographics. +Unicode is the most versatile charset which supports many languages. However +the actual console may be much more limited depending on firmware + +On BIOS, network is supported only if the image is loaded through network. +On sparc64, GRUB is unable to determine which server it was booted from. + +Direct ATA/AHCI support allows to circumvent various firmware limitations but +isn't needed for normal operation except on baremetal ports. + +AT keyboard support allows keyboard layout remapping and support for keys not +available through firmware. It isn't needed for normal operation except +baremetal ports. + +Speaker allows morse and spkmodem communication. + +USB support provides benefits similar to ATA (for USB disks) or AT (for USB +keyboards). In addition it allows USBserial. + +Chainloading refers to the ability to load another bootloader through the same protocol + +Hints allow faster disk discovery by already knowing in advance which is the disk in +question. On some platforms hints are correct unless you move the disk between boots. +On other platforms it's just an educated guess. +Note that hint failure results in just reduced performance, not a failure + +BadRAM is the ability to mark some of the RAM as ``bad''. Note: due to protocol +limitations mips-loongson (with Linux protocol) +and mips-qemu_mips can use only memory up to first hole. + +Bootlocation is ability of GRUB to automatically detect where it boots from. +``disk'' means the detection is limited to detecting the disk with partition +being discovered on install time. ``partition'' means that disk and partiton +can be automatically discovered. ``file'' means that boot image file name as +well as disk and partition can be discovered. For consistency, default install ignores +partition and relies solely on disk detection. If no bootlocation discovery is available +or boot and grub-root disks are different, UUID is used instead. On ARC if no device +to install to is specified, UUID is used instead as well. + + +@multitable @columnfractions .20 .20 .20 .20 .20 +@item @tab BIOS @tab Coreboot @tab Multiboot @tab Qemu +@item video @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item console charset @tab CP437 @tab CP437 @tab CP437 @tab CP437 +@item network @tab yes (*) @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item ATA/AHCI @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item AT keyboard @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item Speaker @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item USB @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item chainloader @tab local @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item cpuid @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial +@item rdmsr @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial +@item wrmsr @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial +@item hints @tab guess @tab guess @tab guess @tab guess +@item PCI @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item badram @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item compression @tab always @tab pointless @tab no @tab no +@item exit @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item bootlocation @tab disk @tab no @tab no @tab no +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .20 .20 .20 .20 .20 +@item @tab ia32 EFI @tab amd64 EFI @tab ia32 IEEE1275 @tab Itanium +@item video @tab yes @tab yes @tab no @tab no +@item console charset @tab Unicode @tab Unicode @tab ASCII @tab Unicode +@item network @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item ATA/AHCI @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item AT keyboard @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item Speaker @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item USB @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item chainloader @tab local @tab local @tab no @tab local +@item cpuid @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab no +@item rdmsr @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab no +@item wrmsr @tab partial @tab partial @tab partial @tab no +@item hints @tab guess @tab guess @tab good @tab guess +@item PCI @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab no +@item badram @tab yes @tab yes @tab no @tab yes +@item compression @tab no @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item exit @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item bootlocation @tab file @tab file @tab file, ignored @tab file +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .20 .20 .20 .20 .20 +@item @tab Loongson @tab sparc64 @tab Powerpc @tab ARC +@item video @tab yes @tab no @tab yes @tab no +@item console charset @tab N/A @tab ASCII @tab ASCII @tab ASCII +@item network @tab no @tab yes (*) @tab yes @tab no +@item ATA/AHCI @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item AT keyboard @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item Speaker @tab no @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item USB @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item chainloader @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item cpuid @tab no @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item rdmsr @tab no @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item wrmsr @tab no @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item hints @tab good @tab good @tab good @tab no +@item PCI @tab yes @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item badram @tab yes (*) @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item compression @tab configurable @tab no @tab no @tab configurable +@item exit @tab no @tab yes @tab yes @tab yes +@item bootlocation @tab no @tab partition @tab file @tab file (*) +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .20 .20 .20 .20 .20 +@item @tab MIPS qemu @tab emu @tab xen +@item video @tab no @tab yes @tab no +@item console charset @tab CP437 @tab Unicode (*) @tab ASCII +@item network @tab no @tab yes @tab no +@item ATA/AHCI @tab yes @tab no @tab no +@item AT keyboard @tab yes @tab no @tab no +@item Speaker @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item USB @tab N/A @tab yes @tab no +@item chainloader @tab yes @tab no @tab yes +@item cpuid @tab no @tab no @tab yes +@item rdmsr @tab no @tab no @tab yes +@item wrmsr @tab no @tab no @tab yes +@item hints @tab guess @tab no @tab no +@item PCI @tab no @tab no @tab no +@item badram @tab yes (*) @tab no @tab no +@item compression @tab configurable @tab no @tab no +@item exit @tab no @tab yes @tab no +@item bootlocation @tab no @tab file @tab no +@end multitable + +@node Platform-specific operations +@chapter Outline + +Some platforms have features which allows to implement +some commands useless or not implementable on others. + +Quick summary: + +Information retrieval: + +@itemize +@item mipsel-loongson: lsspd +@item mips-arc: lsdev +@item efi: lsefisystab, lssal, lsefimmap, lsefi +@item i386-pc: lsapm +@item i386-coreboot: lscoreboot, coreboot_boottime, cbmemc +@item acpi-enabled (i386-pc, i386-coreboot, i386-multiboot, *-efi): lsacpi +@end itemize + +Workarounds for platform-specific issues: +@itemize +@item i386-efi/x86_64-efi: loadbios, fakebios, fix_video +@item acpi-enabled (i386-pc, i386-coreboot, i386-multiboot, *-efi): + acpi (override ACPI tables) +@item i386-pc: drivemap +@item i386-pc: sendkey +@end itemize + +Advanced operations for power users: +@itemize +@item x86: iorw (direct access to I/O ports) +@end itemize + +Miscelaneous: +@itemize +@item cmos (x86-*, ieee1275, mips-qemu_mips, mips-loongson): cmostest + (used on some laptops to check for special power-on key), cmosclean +@item i386-pc: play +@end itemize + +@node Supported kernels +@chapter Supported boot targets + +X86 support is summarised in the following table. ``Yes'' means that the kernel works on the given platform, ``crashes'' means an early kernel crash which we hope will be fixed by concerned kernel developers. ``no'' means GRUB doesn't load the given kernel on a given platform. ``headless'' means that the kernel works but lacks console drivers (you can still use serial or network console). In case of ``no'' and ``crashes'' the reason is given in footnote. +@multitable @columnfractions .50 .22 .22 +@item @tab BIOS @tab Coreboot +@item BIOS chainloading @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item NTLDR @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item Plan9 @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item Freedos @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item FreeBSD bootloader @tab yes @tab crashes (1) +@item 32-bit kFreeBSD @tab yes @tab crashes (5) +@item 64-bit kFreeBSD @tab yes @tab crashes (5) +@item 32-bit kNetBSD @tab yes @tab crashes (1) +@item 64-bit kNetBSD @tab yes @tab crashes +@item 32-bit kOpenBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit kOpenBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item Multiboot @tab yes @tab yes +@item Multiboot2 @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item 64-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab yes @tab no (1) +@item 32-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit XNU @tab yes @tab ? +@item 64-bit XNU @tab yes @tab ? +@item 32-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@item 64-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@item Appleloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .50 .22 .22 +@item @tab Multiboot @tab Qemu +@item BIOS chainloading @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item NTLDR @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item Plan9 @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item FreeDOS @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item FreeBSD bootloader @tab crashes (1) @tab crashes (1) +@item 32-bit kFreeBSD @tab crashes (5) @tab crashes (5) +@item 64-bit kFreeBSD @tab crashes (5) @tab crashes (5) +@item 32-bit kNetBSD @tab crashes (1) @tab crashes (1) +@item 64-bit kNetBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit kOpenBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit kOpenBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item Multiboot @tab yes @tab yes +@item Multiboot2 @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item 64-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item 32-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit XNU @tab ? @tab ? +@item 64-bit XNU @tab ? @tab ? +@item 32-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@item 64-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@item Appleloader @tab no (2) @tab no (2) +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .50 .22 .22 +@item @tab ia32 EFI @tab amd64 EFI +@item BIOS chainloading @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item NTLDR @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item Plan9 @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item FreeDOS @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item FreeBSD bootloader @tab crashes (1) @tab crashes (1) +@item 32-bit kFreeBSD @tab headless @tab headless +@item 64-bit kFreeBSD @tab headless @tab headless +@item 32-bit kNetBSD @tab crashes (1) @tab crashes (1) +@item 64-bit kNetBSD @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit kOpenBSD @tab headless @tab headless +@item 64-bit kOpenBSD @tab headless @tab headless +@item Multiboot @tab yes @tab yes +@item Multiboot2 @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item 64-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) @tab no (1) +@item 32-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab yes @tab yes +@item 32-bit XNU @tab yes @tab yes +@item 64-bit XNU @tab yes (4) @tab yes +@item 32-bit EFI chainloader @tab yes @tab no (3) +@item 64-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (3) @tab yes +@item Appleloader @tab yes @tab yes +@end multitable + +@multitable @columnfractions .50 .22 .22 +@item @tab ia32 IEEE1275 +@item BIOS chainloading @tab no (1) +@item NTLDR @tab no (1) +@item Plan9 @tab no (1) +@item FreeDOS @tab no (1) +@item FreeBSD bootloader @tab crashes (1) +@item 32-bit kFreeBSD @tab crashes (5) +@item 64-bit kFreeBSD @tab crashes (5) +@item 32-bit kNetBSD @tab crashes (1) +@item 64-bit kNetBSD @tab ? +@item 32-bit kOpenBSD @tab ? +@item 64-bit kOpenBSD @tab ? +@item Multiboot @tab ? +@item Multiboot2 @tab ? +@item 32-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) +@item 64-bit Linux (legacy protocol) @tab no (1) +@item 32-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab ? +@item 64-bit Linux (modern protocol) @tab ? +@item 32-bit XNU @tab ? +@item 64-bit XNU @tab ? +@item 32-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) +@item 64-bit EFI chainloader @tab no (2) +@item Appleloader @tab no (2) +@end multitable + +@enumerate +@item Requires BIOS +@item EFI only +@item 32-bit and 64-bit EFI have different structures and work in different CPU modes so it's not possible to chainload 32-bit bootloader on 64-bit platform and vice-versa +@item Some modules may need to be disabled +@item Requires ACPI +@end enumerate + +PowerPC, IA64 and Sparc64 ports support only Linux. MIPS port supports Linux +and multiboot2. + +@section Boot tests + +As you have seen in previous chapter the support matrix is pretty big and some of the configurations are only rarely used. To ensure the quality bootchecks are available for all x86 targets except EFI chainloader, Appleloader and XNU. All x86 platforms have bootcheck facility except ieee1275. Multiboot, multiboot2, BIOS chainloader, ntldr and freebsd-bootloader boot targets are tested only with a fake kernel images. Only Linux is tested among the payloads using Linux protocols. + +Following variables must be defined: + +@multitable @columnfractions .30 .65 +@item GRUB_PAYLOADS_DIR @tab directory containing the required kernels +@item GRUB_CBFSTOOL @tab cbfstool from Coreboot package (for coreboot platform only) +@item GRUB_COREBOOT_ROM @tab empty Coreboot ROM +@item GRUB_QEMU_OPTS @tab additional options to be supplied to QEMU +@end multitable + +Required files are: + +@multitable @columnfractions .40 .55 +@item kfreebsd_env.i386 @tab 32-bit kFreeBSD device hints +@item kfreebsd.i386 @tab 32-bit FreeBSD kernel image +@item kfreebsd.x86_64, kfreebsd_env.x86_64 @tab same from 64-bit kFreeBSD +@item knetbsd.i386 @tab 32-bit NetBSD kernel image +@item knetbsd.miniroot.i386 @tab 32-bit kNetBSD miniroot.kmod. +@item knetbsd.x86_64, knetbsd.miniroot.x86_64 @tab same from 64-bit kNetBSD +@item kopenbsd.i386 @tab 32-bit OpenBSD kernel bsd.rd image +@item kopenbsd.x86_64 @tab same from 64-bit kOpenBSD +@item linux.i386 @tab 32-bit Linux +@item linux.x86_64 @tab 64-bit Linux +@end multitable + +@node Troubleshooting +@chapter Error messages produced by GRUB + +@menu +* GRUB only offers a rescue shell:: +* Firmware stalls instead of booting GRUB:: +@end menu + + +@node GRUB only offers a rescue shell +@section GRUB only offers a rescue shell + +GRUB's normal start-up procedure involves setting the @samp{prefix} +environment variable to a value set in the core image by +@command{grub-install}, setting the @samp{root} variable to match, loading +the @samp{normal} module from the prefix, and running the @samp{normal} +command (@pxref{normal}). This command is responsible for reading +@file{/boot/grub/grub.cfg}, running the menu, and doing all the useful +things GRUB is supposed to do. + +If, instead, you only get a rescue shell, this usually means that GRUB +failed to load the @samp{normal} module for some reason. It may be possible +to work around this temporarily: for instance, if the reason for the failure +is that @samp{prefix} is wrong (perhaps it refers to the wrong device, or +perhaps the path to @file{/boot/grub} was not correctly made relative to the +device), then you can correct this and enter normal mode manually: + +@example +@group +# Inspect the current prefix (and other preset variables): +set +# Find out which devices are available: +ls +# Set to the correct value, which might be something like this: +set prefix=(hd0,1)/grub +set root=(hd0,1) +insmod normal +normal +@end group +@end example + +However, any problem that leaves you in the rescue shell probably means that +GRUB was not correctly installed. It may be more useful to try to reinstall +it properly using @kbd{grub-install @var{device}} (@pxref{Invoking +grub-install}). When doing this, there are a few things to remember: + +@itemize @bullet{} +@item +Drive ordering in your operating system may not be the same as the boot +drive ordering used by your firmware. Do not assume that your first hard +drive (e.g. @samp{/dev/sda}) is the one that your firmware will boot from. +@file{device.map} (@pxref{Device map}) can be used to override this, but it +is usually better to use UUIDs or file system labels and avoid depending on +drive ordering entirely. + +@item +At least on BIOS systems, if you tell @command{grub-install} to install GRUB +to a partition but GRUB has already been installed in the master boot +record, then the GRUB installation in the partition will be ignored. + +@item +If possible, it is generally best to avoid installing GRUB to a partition +(unless it is a special partition for the use of GRUB alone, such as the +BIOS Boot Partition used on GPT). Doing this means that GRUB may stop being +able to read its core image due to a file system moving blocks around, such +as while defragmenting, running checks, or even during normal operation. +Installing to the whole disk device is normally more robust. + +@item +Check that GRUB actually knows how to read from the device and file system +containing @file{/boot/grub}. It will not be able to read from encrypted +devices with unsupported encryption scheme, nor from file systems for which +support has not yet been added to GRUB. +@end itemize + + +@node Firmware stalls instead of booting GRUB +@section Firmware stalls instead of booting GRUB + +The EFI implementation of some older MacBook laptops stalls when it gets +presented a grub-mkrescue ISO image for x86_64-efi target on an USB stick. +Affected are models of year 2010 or earlier. Workaround is to zeroize the +bytes 446 to 461 of the EFI partition, where mformat has put a partition table +entry which claims partition start at block 0. This change will not hamper +bootability on other machines. + + +@node Invoking grub-install +@chapter Invoking grub-install + +The program @command{grub-install} generates a GRUB core image using +@command{grub-mkimage} and installs it on your system. You must specify the +device name on which you want to install GRUB, like this: + +@example +grub-install @var{install_device} +@end example + +The device name @var{install_device} is an OS device name or a GRUB +device name. + +@command{grub-install} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item --boot-directory=@var{dir} +Install GRUB images under the directory @file{@var{dir}/grub/} +This option is useful when you want to install GRUB into a +separate partition or a removable disk. +If this option is not specified then it defaults to @file{/boot}, so + +@example +@kbd{grub-install /dev/sda} +@end example + +is equivalent to + +@example +@kbd{grub-install --boot-directory=/boot/ /dev/sda} +@end example + +Here is an example in which you have a separate @dfn{boot} partition which is +mounted on +@file{/mnt/boot}: + +@example +@kbd{grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sdb} +@end example + +@item --recheck +Recheck the device map, even if @file{/boot/grub/device.map} already +exists. You should use this option whenever you add/remove a disk +into/from your computer. + +@item --no-rs-codes +By default on x86 BIOS systems, @command{grub-install} will use some +extra space in the bootloader embedding area for Reed-Solomon +error-correcting codes. This enables GRUB to still boot successfully +if some blocks are corrupted. The exact amount of protection offered +is dependent on available space in the embedding area. R sectors of +redundancy can tolerate up to R/2 corrupted sectors. This +redundancy may be cumbersome if attempting to cryptographically +validate the contents of the bootloader embedding area, or in more +modern systems with GPT-style partition tables (@pxref{BIOS +installation}) where GRUB does not reside in any unpartitioned space +outside of the MBR. Disable the Reed-Solomon codes with this option. +@end table + +@node Invoking grub-mkconfig +@chapter Invoking grub-mkconfig + +The program @command{grub-mkconfig} generates a configuration file for GRUB +(@pxref{Simple configuration}). + +@example +grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg +@end example + +@command{grub-mkconfig} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item -o @var{file} +@itemx --output=@var{file} +Send the generated configuration file to @var{file}. The default is to send +it to standard output. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2 +@chapter Invoking grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2 + +The program @command{grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2} generates password hashes for +GRUB (@pxref{Security}). + +@example +grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2 +@end example + +@command{grub-mkpasswd-pbkdf2} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item -c @var{number} +@itemx --iteration-count=@var{number} +Number of iterations of the underlying pseudo-random function. Defaults to +10000. + +@item -l @var{number} +@itemx --buflen=@var{number} +Length of the generated hash. Defaults to 64. + +@item -s @var{number} +@itemx --salt=@var{number} +Length of the salt. Defaults to 64. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-mkrelpath +@chapter Invoking grub-mkrelpath + +The program @command{grub-mkrelpath} makes a file system path relative to +the root of its containing file system. For instance, if @file{/usr} is a +mount point, then: + +@example +$ @kbd{grub-mkrelpath /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2} +@samp{/share/grub/unicode.pf2} +@end example + +This is mainly used internally by other GRUB utilities such as +@command{grub-mkconfig} (@pxref{Invoking grub-mkconfig}), but may +occasionally also be useful for debugging. + +@command{grub-mkrelpath} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-mkrescue +@chapter Invoking grub-mkrescue + +The program @command{grub-mkrescue} generates a bootable GRUB rescue image +(@pxref{Making a GRUB bootable CD-ROM}). + +@example +grub-mkrescue -o grub.iso +@end example + +All arguments not explicitly listed as @command{grub-mkrescue} options are +passed on directly to @command{xorriso} in @command{mkisofs} emulation mode. +Options passed to @command{xorriso} will normally be interpreted as +@command{mkisofs} options; if the option @samp{--} is used, then anything +after that will be interpreted as native @command{xorriso} options. + +Non-option arguments specify additional source directories. This is +commonly used to add extra files to the image: + +@example +mkdir -p disk/boot/grub +@r{(add extra files to @file{disk/boot/grub})} +grub-mkrescue -o grub.iso disk +@end example + +@command{grub-mkrescue} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item -o @var{file} +@itemx --output=@var{file} +Save output in @var{file}. This "option" is required. + +@item --modules=@var{modules} +Pre-load the named GRUB modules in the image. Multiple entries in +@var{modules} should be separated by whitespace (so you will probably need +to quote this for your shell). + +@item --rom-directory=@var{dir} +If generating images for the QEMU or Coreboot platforms, copy the resulting +@file{qemu.img} or @file{coreboot.elf} files respectively to the @var{dir} +directory as well as including them in the image. + +@item --xorriso=@var{file} +Use @var{file} as the @command{xorriso} program, rather than the built-in +default. + +@item --grub-mkimage=@var{file} +Use @var{file} as the @command{grub-mkimage} program, rather than the +built-in default. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-mount +@chapter Invoking grub-mount + +The program @command{grub-mount} performs a read-only mount of any file +system or file system image that GRUB understands, using GRUB's file system +drivers via FUSE. (It is only available if FUSE development files were +present when GRUB was built.) This has a number of uses: + +@itemize @bullet +@item +It provides a convenient way to check how GRUB will view a file system at +boot time. You can use normal command-line tools to compare that view with +that of your operating system, making it easy to find bugs. + +@item +It offers true read-only mounts. Linux does not have these for journalling +file systems, because it will always attempt to replay the journal at mount +time; while you can temporarily mark the block device read-only to avoid +this, that causes the mount to fail. Since GRUB intentionally contains no +code for writing to file systems, it can easily provide a guaranteed +read-only mount mechanism. + +@item +It allows you to examine any file system that GRUB understands without +needing to load additional modules into your running kernel, which may be +useful in constrained environments such as installers. + +@item +Since it can examine file system images (contained in regular files) just as +easily as file systems on block devices, you can use it to inspect any file +system image that GRUB understands with only enough privileges to use FUSE, +even if nobody has yet written a FUSE module specifically for that file +system type. +@end itemize + +Using @command{grub-mount} is normally as simple as: + +@example +grub-mount /dev/sda1 /mnt +@end example + +@command{grub-mount} must be given one or more images and a mount point as +non-option arguments (if it is given more than one image, it will treat them +as a RAID set), and also accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item -C +@itemx --crypto +Mount encrypted devices, prompting for a passphrase if necessary. + +@item -d @var{string} +@itemx --debug=@var{string} +Show debugging output for conditions matching @var{string}. + +@item -K prompt|@var{file} +@itemx --zfs-key=prompt|@var{file} +Load a ZFS encryption key. If you use @samp{prompt} as the argument, +@command{grub-mount} will read a passphrase from the terminal; otherwise, it +will read key material from the specified file. + +@item -r @var{device} +@itemx --root=@var{device} +Set the GRUB root device to @var{device}. You do not normally need to set +this; @command{grub-mount} will automatically set the root device to the +root of the supplied file system. + +If @var{device} is just a number, then it will be treated as a partition +number within the supplied image. This means that, if you have an image of +an entire disk in @file{disk.img}, then you can use this command to mount +its second partition: + +@example +grub-mount -r 2 disk.img mount-point +@end example + +@item -v +@itemx --verbose +Print verbose messages. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-probe +@chapter Invoking grub-probe + +The program @command{grub-probe} probes device information for a given path +or device. + +@example +grub-probe --target=fs /boot/grub +grub-probe --target=drive --device /dev/sda1 +@end example + +@command{grub-probe} must be given a path or device as a non-option +argument, and also accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item -d +@itemx --device +If this option is given, then the non-option argument is a system device +name (such as @samp{/dev/sda1}), and @command{grub-probe} will print +information about that device. If it is not given, then the non-option +argument is a filesystem path (such as @samp{/boot/grub}), and +@command{grub-probe} will print information about the device containing that +part of the filesystem. + +@item -m @var{file} +@itemx --device-map=@var{file} +Use @var{file} as the device map (@pxref{Device map}) rather than the +default, usually @samp{/boot/grub/device.map}. + +@item -t @var{target} +@itemx --target=@var{target} +Print information about the given path or device as defined by @var{target}. +The available targets and their meanings are: + +@table @samp +@item fs +GRUB filesystem module. +@item fs_uuid +Filesystem Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). +@item fs_label +Filesystem label. +@item drive +GRUB device name. +@item device +System device name. +@item partmap +GRUB partition map module. +@item abstraction +GRUB abstraction module (e.g. @samp{lvm}). +@item cryptodisk_uuid +Crypto device UUID. +@item msdos_parttype +MBR partition type code (two hexadecimal digits). +@item hints_string +A string of platform search hints suitable for passing to the +@command{search} command (@pxref{search}). +@item bios_hints +Search hints for the PC BIOS platform. +@item ieee1275_hints +Search hints for the IEEE1275 platform. +@item baremetal_hints +Search hints for platforms where disks are addressed directly rather than +via firmware. +@item efi_hints +Search hints for the EFI platform. +@item arc_hints +Search hints for the ARC platform. +@item compatibility_hint +A guess at a reasonable GRUB drive name for this device, which may be +used as a fallback if the @command{search} command fails. +@item disk +System device name for the whole disk. +@end table + +@item -v +@itemx --verbose +Print verbose messages. +@end table + + +@node Invoking grub-script-check +@chapter Invoking grub-script-check + +The program @command{grub-script-check} takes a GRUB script file +(@pxref{Shell-like scripting}) and checks it for syntax errors, similar to +commands such as @command{sh -n}. It may take a @var{path} as a non-option +argument; if none is supplied, it will read from standard input. + +@example +grub-script-check /boot/grub/grub.cfg +@end example + +@command{grub-script-check} accepts the following options: + +@table @option +@item --help +Print a summary of the command-line options and exit. + +@item --version +Print the version number of GRUB and exit. + +@item -v +@itemx --verbose +Print each line of input after reading it. +@end table + + +@node Obtaining and Building GRUB +@appendix How to obtain and build GRUB + +@quotation +@strong{Caution:} GRUB requires binutils-2.9.1.0.23 or later because the +GNU assembler has been changed so that it can produce real 16bits +machine code between 2.9.1 and 2.9.1.0.x. See +@uref{http://sources.redhat.com/binutils/}, to obtain information on +how to get the latest version. +@end quotation + +GRUB is available from the GNU alpha archive site +@uref{ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/grub} or any of its mirrors. The file +will be named grub-version.tar.gz. The current version is +@value{VERSION}, so the file you should grab is: + +@uref{ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz} + +To unbundle GRUB use the instruction: + +@example +@kbd{zcat grub-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz | tar xvf -} +@end example + +which will create a directory called @file{grub-@value{VERSION}} with +all the sources. You can look at the file @file{INSTALL} for detailed +instructions on how to build and install GRUB, but you should be able to +just do: + +@example +@group +@kbd{cd grub-@value{VERSION}} +@kbd{./configure} +@kbd{make install} +@end group +@end example + +Also, the latest version is available using Git. See +@uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-download.html} for more +information. + +@node Reporting bugs +@appendix Reporting bugs + +These are the guideline for how to report bugs. Take a look at this +list below before you submit bugs: + +@enumerate +@item +Before getting unsettled, read this manual through and through. Also, +see the @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-faq.html, GNU GRUB FAQ}. + +@item +Always mention the information on your GRUB. The version number and the +configuration are quite important. If you build it yourself, write the +options specified to the configure script and your operating system, +including the versions of gcc and binutils. + +@item +If you have trouble with the installation, inform us of how you +installed GRUB. Don't omit error messages, if any. Just @samp{GRUB hangs +up when it boots} is not enough. + +The information on your hardware is also essential. These are especially +important: the geometries and the partition tables of your hard disk +drives and your BIOS. + +@item +If GRUB cannot boot your operating system, write down +@emph{everything} you see on the screen. Don't paraphrase them, like +@samp{The foo OS crashes with GRUB, even though it can boot with the +bar boot loader just fine}. Mention the commands you executed, the +messages printed by them, and information on your operating system +including the version number. + +@item +Explain what you wanted to do. It is very useful to know your purpose +and your wish, and how GRUB didn't satisfy you. + +@item +If you can investigate the problem yourself, please do. That will give +you and us much more information on the problem. Attaching a patch is +even better. + +When you attach a patch, make the patch in unified diff format, and +write ChangeLog entries. But, even when you make a patch, don't forget +to explain the problem, so that we can understand what your patch is +for. + +@item +Write down anything that you think might be related. Please understand +that we often need to reproduce the same problem you encountered in our +environment. So your information should be sufficient for us to do the +same thing---Don't forget that we cannot see your computer directly. If +you are not sure whether to state a fact or leave it out, state it! +Reporting too many things is much better than omitting something +important. +@end enumerate + +If you follow the guideline above, submit a report to the +@uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=grub, Bug Tracking System}. +Alternatively, you can submit a report via electronic mail to +@email{bug-grub@@gnu.org}, but we strongly recommend that you use the +Bug Tracking System, because e-mail can be passed over easily. + +Once we get your report, we will try to fix the bugs. + + +@node Future +@appendix Where GRUB will go + +GRUB 2 is now quite stable and used in many production systems. We are +currently working towards a 2.0 release. + +If you are interested in the development of GRUB 2, take a look at +@uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub.html, the homepage}. + + + + + +@node Copying This Manual +@appendix Copying This Manual + +@menu +* GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual. +@end menu + +@include fdl.texi + + +@node Index +@unnumbered Index + +@c Currently, we use only the Concept Index. +@printindex cp + + +@bye + +Some notes: + + This is an attempt to make a manual for GRUB 2. The contents are + copied from the GRUB manual in GRUB Legacy, so they are not always + appropriate yet for GRUB 2. |