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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 designed
     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 instead
				  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 modules (if not
				  already loaded).  After which you can use  the
				  boot or autoboot commands or simply exit (pro-
				  vided 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).  Re-
				  turns 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 specify
				  the action after a module loading fails.

	   ignore		  Used inside loader.conf(5)  files  to  specify
				  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 re-
				  turned  by  the  interpreter,  the try-include
				  command aborts  immediately,	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 ports 15.1		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+15.1-RELEASE+and+Ports>

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