xref: /dflybsd-src/share/man/man5/loader.conf.5 (revision 330d3c4b487f3fc5d0eb023645b0b2a569f7048e)
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25.\" $FreeBSD: src/sys/boot/forth/loader.conf.5,v 1.18 2002/08/27 01:02:56 trhodes Exp $
26.\" $DragonFly: src/sys/boot/forth/loader.conf.5,v 1.13 2008/09/15 21:23:44 thomas Exp $
27.Dd September 6, 2008
28.Dt LOADER.CONF 5
29.Os
30.Sh NAME
31.Nm loader.conf
32.Nd system bootstrap configuration information
33.Sh DESCRIPTION
34The file
35.Nm
36contains descriptive information on bootstrapping the system.
37Through
38it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parameters to be passed to
39it, and additional modules to be loaded; and generally set all variables
40described in
41.Xr loader 8 .
42.Pp
43A file
44.Pa loader.rc
45must contain the following two lines for
46.Nm
47to be automatically processed:
48.Pp
49.Dl include loader.4th
50.Dl start
51.Pp
52If no
53.Pa /boot/loader.rc
54exists at installworld time, one with the above lines will be installed.
55.Sh SYNTAX
56Though
57.Nm Ns 's
58format was defined explicitly to resemble
59.Xr rc.conf 5 ,
60and can be sourced by
61.Xr sh 1 ,
62some settings are treated in a special fashion.
63Also, the
64behavior of some settings is defined by the setting's suffix;
65the prefix identifies which module the setting controls.
66.Pp
67The general parsing rules are:
68.Bl -bullet
69.It
70Spaces and empty lines are ignored.
71.It
72A
73.Ql #
74sign will mark the remainder of the line as a comment.
75.It
76Only one setting can be present on each line.
77.El
78.Pp
79All settings have the following format:
80.Pp
81.Dl variable="value"
82.Pp
83Unless it belongs to one of the classes of settings that receive special
84treatment, a setting will set the value of a
85.Xr loader 8
86environment variable.
87The settings that receive special
88treatment are listed below.
89Settings beginning with
90.Aq Ar module
91below define the modules to be loaded.
92All such settings sharing a common
93prefix refer to the same module.
94.Bl -tag -width Ar
95.It Ar exec
96Immediately executes a
97.Xr loader 8
98command.
99This type of setting cannot be processed by programs other
100than
101.Xr loader 8 ,
102so its use should be avoided.
103Multiple instances of it will be processed
104independently.
105.It Ar loader_conf_files
106Defines additional configuration files to be processed right after the
107present file.
108.It Ar kernel
109Name of the kernel to be loaded.
110If no kernel name is set, no additional
111modules will be loaded.
112.It Ar kernel_options
113Flags to be passed to the kernel (see
114.Xr boot 8 ) .
115.It Ar password
116Provides a password to be required by check-password before execution is
117allowed to continue.
118.It Ar verbose_loading
119If set to
120.Dq YES ,
121module names will be displayed as they are loaded.
122.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _load
123If set to
124.Dq YES ,
125that module will be loaded.
126If no
127.Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _name
128is defined (see below), the
129module's name is taken to be
130.Aq Ar module .
131.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _name
132Defines the name of the module.
133.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _type
134Defines the module's type.
135If none is given, it defaults to a kld module.
136.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _flags
137Flags and parameters to be passed to the module.
138.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _before
139Commands to be executed before the module is loaded.
140Use of this setting
141should be avoided.
142.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _after
143Commands to be executed after the module is loaded.
144Use of this setting
145should be avoided.
146.It Ao Ar module Ac Ns Ar _error
147Commands to be executed if the loading of a module fails.
148Except for the
149special value
150.Dq abort ,
151which aborts the bootstrap process, use of this setting should be avoided.
152.El
153.Sh DEFAULT SETTINGS
154Most of
155.Nm Ns 's
156default settings can be ignored.
157The few of them which are important
158or useful are:
159.Bl -tag -width bootfile -offset indent
160.It Va bitmap_load
161.Pq Dq NO
162If set to
163.Dq YES ,
164a bitmap will be loaded to be displayed on screen while booting.
165.It Va bitmap_name
166.Pq Dq splash.bmp
167Name of the bitmap to be loaded.
168Any other name can be used.
169.It Va console
170.Pq Dq vidconsole
171.Dq comconsole
172selects serial console,
173.Dq vidconsole
174selects the video console, and
175.Dq nullconsole
176selects a mute console
177(useful for systems with neither a video console nor a serial port).
178.It Va fred_disable
179.Pq Dq NO
180Shows a monochrome version of Fred, the official
181.Dx
182mascot, when the
183boot menu appears.
184To make his life a bit more colorful, consider setting
185.Pa loader_color
186to
187.Dq YES .
188.It Va fred_on_left
189.Pq Dq NO
190Shows Fred on the left side of the menu rather than the right side.
191.It Va kernel
192.Pq Dq kernel
193.It Va loader_color
194.Pq Dq NO
195If set to
196.Dq YES ,
197you'll meet Fred, the official
198.Dx
199mascot, in technicolor when the
200boot menu appears (remember to set
201.Pa fred_disable
202to
203.Dq NO
204for this to work.)
205.It Va loader_conf_files
206.Pq Do loader.conf loader.conf.local Dc
207.It Va splash_bmp_load
208.Pq Dq NO
209If set to
210.Dq YES ,
211will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a bmp image
212on the screen while booting.
213.It Va splash_pcx_load
214.Pq Dq NO
215If set to
216.Dq YES ,
217will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a pcx image
218on the screen while booting.
219.It Va userconfig_script_load
220.Pq Dq NO
221If set to
222.Dq YES ,
223will load the userconfig data.
224.It Va vesa_load
225.Pq Dq NO
226If set to
227.Dq YES ,
228the vesa module will be loaded, enabling bitmaps above VGA resolution to
229be displayed.
230.El
231.Sh FILES
232.Bl -tag -width /boot/defaults/loader.conf -compact
233.It Pa /boot/defaults/loader.conf
234default settings -- do not change this file.
235.It Pa /boot/loader.4th
236defines the commands used by loader to read and process
237.Nm .
238.It Pa /boot/loader.conf
239user defined settings.
240.It Pa /boot/loader.conf.local
241machine-specific settings for sites with a common loader.conf.
242.It Pa /boot/loader.rc
243contains the instructions to automatically process
244.Nm .
245.El
246.Sh SEE ALSO
247.Xr boot 8 ,
248.Xr loader 8
249.Sh HISTORY
250The file
251.Nm
252first appeared in
253.Fx 3.2 .
254.Sh AUTHORS
255This manual page was written by
256.An Daniel C. Sobral Aq dcs@FreeBSD.org .
257