mkinitcpio

mkinitcpio is a cool open-source tool designed just for Arch Linux. It helps you create initramfs images, which are important for booting your system. Think of it as the initial RAM filesystem that gets your system up and running.

How to Use mkinitcpio

If you're using mkinitcpio from the command line, it's super easy to get help! Just type mkinitcpio --help, and you'll see all the options you can use. The usage message will pop up too, so you won’t get lost.

Cool Features of mkinitcpio

This handy tool has some neat command-line options. For example, you can add specific hooks (just separate them with commas) to your image. You can also use a different configuration file or generate cpio images and save them in a spot you choose.

Want to work with a specific kernel version? No problem! You can list all available hooks, show modules that were found automatically, or even skip certain hooks during the build process by listing them out.

Saving Your Work

An interesting feature is saving your build directory. This means you can pick a folder to use as your temporary build space, write the generated image there, enable verbose output to see what’s happening behind the scenes, and even compress your image using an alternate compressor!

No Need to Install!

You don’t have to install mkinitcpio if you don’t want to; you can run it directly from its source package. Just keep in mind that it will do a dry run by default—this means it won’t actually create a real initramfs image unless you run it with the -g option followed by your image name.

Pre-installed on Arch Linux

The best part? Every Arch Linux system already has mkinitcpio installed! So there's no need for complicated installation steps. Plus, if you're interested in building from source, you'll find a PKGBUILD file included for creating a binary package that installs across your system easily. Both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are supported too!

If you're ready to dive into using mkinitcpio, check out this link for more information: Download mkinitcpio here!