/////
vim:set ts=4 sw=4 syntax=asciidoc noet:
/////
mkinitcpio.conf(5)
==================

Name
----
mkinitcpio.conf - mkinitcpio configuration file

Synopsis
--------
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf

Description
-----------
mkinitcpio will attempt to read from a config file each time it is invoked,
`/etc/mkinitcpio.conf' by default. This file defines several variables which
describe the contents of the image to be generated.

Variables
---------
*MODULES*::

	Defines additional modules, space delimited, which should be added to the
	image. Dependencies (including other modules and necessary firmware), will
	also be added to the image. At runtime, the modules in this array which
	were successfully added to the image will be explicitly loaded.

*FILES*::

	Defines additional files, space delimited, which should be added to the image.
	Files are added as is, and parent directories will be added if needed. Files
	specified in this variable will override previously added files of the same
	path.

*BINARIES*::

	Defines additional binaries, space delimited, which should be added to the
	image. These are assumed to be dynamic ELF binaries, and necessary shared
	library dependencies will automatically be added. However, it is not
	considered an error to specify a non-ELF binary in this variable. Parent
	directories will be added if needed. Files specified in this variable will
	override previously added files of the same path.

*HOOKS*::

	This variable defines the hooks which will be run during the build process.
	Order is important, as it defines the order in which hooks will be run
	during bootup. Use mkinitcpio's '-L' flag to list all available hooks,
	and the '-H' flag to display the help text for a specific hook.

*COMPRESSION*::

	Defines a program to filter the generated image through. As of linux 2.6.38,
	the kernel understands the compression formats yielded by the *gzip*, *bzip2*,
	*lz4*, *lzop*, *lzma*, and *xz* compressors. If unspecified, this setting
	defaults to *gzip* compression. In order to create an uncompressed image, define
	this variable as *cat*.
+
It's not hard to realize that a filter such as a *tac* or *rev* will cause
*mkinitcpio* to report success but generate a useless image. Similarly, using a
compression program not listed above may generate an equally useless image,
despite being "valid".

*COMPRESSION_OPTIONS*::

	Defines additional options to be passed to the compression program. This option
	is generally not used. It can be potentially dangerous and may cause
	invalid images to be generated without any sign of an error.

See Also
--------
*mkinitcpio*(8)

Authors
-------
mkinitcpio is created and maintained by the Arch Linux Developer community.

Copyright
---------
Copyright (c) Arch Linux 2006-2012
