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LOADER.4TH(8)		    System Manager's Manual		 LOADER.4TH(8)

NAME
       loader.4th -- loader.conf processing tools

DESCRIPTION
       The  file  that goes by the name	of loader.4th is a set of commands de-
       signed to manipulate loader.conf(5) files.  The default /boot/loader.rc
       includes	loader.4th and uses one	of its commands	to automatically  read
       and  process  the standard loader.conf(5) files.	 Other commands	exists
       to help the user	specify	alternate configurations.

       The commands of loader.4th by themselves	are not	enough for most	 uses.
       Please  refer to	the examples below for the most	common situations, and
       to loader(8) for	additional commands.

       Before using any	of the commands	provided in loader.4th,	it must	be in-
       cluded through the command:

	     include loader.4th

       This line is present in the default /boot/loader.rc file, so it is  not
       needed (and should not be re-issued) in a normal	setup.

       The commands provided by	it are:
	     boot
	     boot kernelname [...]
	     boot directory [...]
	     boot -flag	...	    Boot  as  specified	 by the	loader.conf(5)
				    files read.

				    Depending on the arguments passed, it  can
				    override  boot flags and either the	kernel
				    name or the	search	path  for  kernel  and
				    modules.

	     boot-conf
	     boot-conf kernelname [...]
	     boot-conf directory [...]
	     boot-conf -flag ...    Works  like	 boot described	above, but in-
				    stead   of	 booting   immediately,	  uses
				    autoboot, so it can	be stopped.

	     start		    Reads    /boot/defaults/loader.conf,   all
				    other loader.conf(5)  files	 specified  in
				    it,	then loads the desired kernel and mod-
				    ules (if not already loaded).  After which
				    you	 can use the boot or autoboot commands
				    or simply exit (provided autoboot_delay is
				    not	set to NO) to boot the system.	 start
				    is	 the   command	used  in  the  default
				    /boot/loader.rc file (see loader(8)).

	     initialize		    Initialize the support library so commands
				    can	be used	without	executing start	first.
				    Like	start,	      it	 reads
				    /boot/defaults/loader.conf	and  all other
				    loader.conf(5) files specified in it  (but
				    does not load kernel or modules).  Returns
				    a  flag  on	 the  stack to indicate	if any
				    configuration  files   were	  successfully
				    loaded.

	     read-conf filename	    Reads and processes	a loader.conf(5) file.
				    Does not proceed to	boot.

	     enable-module module   Enables the	loading	of module.

	     disable-module module  Disables the loading of module.

	     toggle-module module   Toggles the	loading	of module on and off.

	     show-module module	    Shows  the	information  gathered  in  the
				    loader.conf(5)  files  about  the	module
				    module.

	     retry		    Used  inside loader.conf(5)	files to spec-
				    ify	the  action  after  a  module  loading
				    fails.

	     ignore		    Used  inside loader.conf(5)	files to spec-
				    ify	the  action  after  a  module  loading
				    fails.
	     try-include file [file ...]
				    Process  script files if they exist.  Each
				    file, in turn,  is	completely  read  into
				    memory,  and  then	each  of  its lines is
				    passed to the  command  line  interpreter.
				    If	any  error  is	returned by the	inter-
				    preter, the	try-include command aborts im-
				    mediately,	without	 reading   any	 other
				    files, and silently	returns	without	error.

FILES
       /boot/loader	 The loader(8).
       /boot/loader.4th	 loader.4th itself.
       /boot/loader.rc	 loader(8) bootstrapping script.
       /boot/defaults/loader.conf
			 File loaded by	the start command.

EXAMPLES
       Standard	/boot/loader.rc:

	     include /boot/loader.4th
	     start

       Load a different	kernel with the	standard configuration:

	     set kernel="kernel.old"
	     unload
	     boot-conf

       Read an additional configuration	file and then proceed to boot:

	     unload
	     read-conf /boot/special.conf
	     boot-conf

       Disable	the  loading  of  the splash screen module and bitmap and then
       proceed to boot:

	     unload
	     disable-module splash_bmp
	     disable-module bitmap
	     boot-conf

SEE ALSO
       loader.conf(5), loader(8)

HISTORY
       The loader.4th set of commands first appeared in	FreeBSD	3.2.

AUTHORS
       The loader.4th  set  of	commands  was  written	by  Daniel  C.	Sobral
       <dcs@FreeBSD.org>.

BUGS
       A British espionage series.

FreeBSD	14.3		       November	13, 2013		 LOADER.4TH(8)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.4th&sektion=8&manpath=FreeBSD+14.3-RELEASE+and+Ports>

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