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LOADER.CONF(5)		      File Formats Manual		LOADER.CONF(5)

NAME
       loader.conf -- system bootstrap configuration information

DESCRIPTION
       The  file loader.conf contains descriptive information on bootstrapping
       the system. Through it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parame-
       ters to be passed to it,	and additional modules to be loaded; and  gen-
       erally set all variables	described in loader(8).

       The  file  /boot/loader.rc  must	 contain  the  following two lines for
       loader.conf to be automatically processed:

	     include /boot/loader.4th
	     start

       If no /boot/loader.rc exists at installworld time, one with  the	 above
       lines will be installed.

SYNTAX
       Though	loader.conf's	format	was  defined  explicitly  to  resemble
       rc.conf(5), and can be sourced by sh(1),	some settings are treated in a
       special fashion.	Also, the behavior of some settings is defined by  the
       setting's  suffix;  the prefix identifies which module the setting con-
       trols.

       The general parsing rules are:

       •   Spaces and empty lines are ignored.

       •   A # sign will mark the remainder of the line	as a comment.

       •   Only	one setting can	be present on each line.

       All settings have the following format:

	     variable="value"

       Unless it belongs to one	of the classes of settings that	 receive  spe-
       cial treatment, a setting will set the value of a loader(8) environment
       variable. The settings that receive special treatment are listed	below.
       Settings	 beginning  with "*" below define the modules to be loaded and
       may have	any prefix; the	prefix identifies a module.  All such settings
       sharing a common	prefix refer to	the same module.

       exec	     Immediately executes a loader(8) command.	This  type  of
		     setting  cannot  be  processed  by	 programs  other  than
		     loader(8),	so its use should  be  avoided.	 Multiple  in-
		     stances of	it will	be processed independently.

       loader_conf_files
		     Defines  additional  configuration	 files to be processed
		     right after the present file.

       kernel	     Name of the kernel	to be loaded. If  no  kernel  name  is
		     set, no additional	modules	will be	loaded.

       kernel_options
		     Flags to be passed	to the kernel.

       password	     Provides  a password to be	required by check-password be-
		     fore execution is allowed to continue.

       verbose_loading
		     If	set to "YES", module names will	be displayed  as  they
		     are loaded.

       *_load	     If	 set  to "YES",	that module will be loaded. If no name
		     is	defined	(see below), the module's name is taken	to  be
		     the same as the prefix.

       *_name	     Defines the name of the module.

       *_type	     Defines  the module's type. If none is given, it defaults
		     to	a kld module.

       *_flags	     Flags and parameters to be	passed to the module.

       *_before	     Commands to be executed before the	module is loaded.  Use
		     of	this setting should be avoided.

       *_after	     Commands  to  be executed after the module	is loaded. Use
		     of	this setting should be avoided.

       *_error	     Commands to be executed if	the loading of a module	fails.
		     Except for	the special value "abort",  which  aborts  the
		     bootstrap process,	use of this setting should be avoided.

DEFAULT	SETTINGS
       Most  of	loader.conf's default settings can be ignored. The few of them
       which are important or useful are:

	     bitmap_load
		       ("NO") If set to	"YES", a bitmap	will be	loaded	to  be
		       displayed on screen while booting.

	     bitmap_name
		       ("/boot/splash.bmp")  Name  of the bitmap to be loaded.
		       Any other name can be used.

	     console   ("vidconsole")  "comconsole"  selects  serial  console,
		       "vidconsole"    selects	  the	video	console,   and
		       "nullconsole" selects a mute console (useful  for  sys-
		       tems with neither a video console nor a serial port).

	     kernel    ("/boot/kernel/kernel")

	     loader_conf_files
		       ("/boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local")

	     splash_bmp_load
		       ("NO")  If  set	to  "YES", will	load the splash	screen
		       module, making it possible to display a	bmp  image  on
		       the screen while	booting.

	     splash_pcx_load
		       ("NO")  If  set	to  "YES", will	load the splash	screen
		       module, making it possible to display a	pcx  image  on
		       the screen while	booting.

	     userconfig_script_load
		       ("NO") If set to	"YES", will load the userconfig	data.

	     vesa_load
		       ("NO") If set to	"YES", the vesa	module will be loaded,
		       enabling	bitmaps	above VGA resolution to	be displayed.

FILES
       /boot/defaults/loader.conf  default  settings  --  do  not  change this
				   file.
       /boot/loader.4th		   defines the commands	used by	loader to read
				   and process loader.conf.
       /boot/loader.conf	   user	defined	settings.
       /boot/loader.conf.local	   machine-specific settings for sites with  a
				   common loader.conf.
       /boot/loader.rc		   contains  the instructions to automatically
				   process loader.conf.

SEE ALSO
       boot(8),	loader(8), loader.4th(8)

HISTORY
       The file	loader.conf first appeared in FreeBSD 3.2.

AUTHORS
       This manual page	was written by Daniel C. Sobral	<dcs@FreeBSD.org>.

FreeBSD	5.1			April 18, 1999			LOADER.CONF(5)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.conf&manpath=FreeBSD+5.1-RELEASE>

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