mkinitcpio For Linux

mkinitcpio is an open source and freely distributed command-line software written especially for the Arch Linux operating system and designed from the ground up to allow users to manually generate initramfs images, also known as the initial RAM filesystem.

When using the mkinitcpio tool from the command-line interface, run the mkinitcpio --help command to view detailed information about mkinitcpio’s options. The usage message will also be displayed.

Among the available command-line options, we can mention the ability to add specified hooks, comma separated, to an image, to use an alternative configuration file, to generate cpio images and write it to a specific location, as well as to list all available hooks.

You can use a specific kernel version, display automatically discovered modules, disable colorized output messages, build a specified preset using the /etc/mkinitcpio.d file, and skip certain hooks, comma-separated, during build.

Another interesting option is the ability to save the build directory. You will be able to use a specified folder as the temporary build directory, write the generated image into a specific directory, enable verbose output, and compress the image with an alternate compressor.

mkinitcpio can be used directly from its source package, without installing it. However, by default, it will only generate a dry run, which means that it won’t create a real initramfs image. To create a real image, run the program with the -g option followed by the name of the image.

All Arch Linux operating systems have the mkinitcpio tool installed by default. So you don’t have to worry about any installation instructions. The source package, which is distributed for free on Softpedia, also includes a PKGBUILD file, so you can create a binary package and install it system wide. Both 32 and 64-bit CPU architectures are supported at this time.