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[febootstrap.git] / febootstrap-to-initramfs.pod

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+=head1 NAME
+
+febootstrap-to-initramfs - Convert febootstrap root to initramfs (cpio) file.
+
+=head1 SYNOPSIS
+
+ febootstrap-to-initramfs DIR > initrd.img
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+I<febootstrap-to-initramfs> converts the filesystem created by
+L<febootstrap(8)> into an initramfs image.  This allows the new system
+to be booted on real hardware or inside a QEMU-based virtual machine.
+
+An initramfs image is just a compressed cpio file, so you could
+uncompress it with L<gunzip(1)> and use L<cpio(1)> to convert it into
+other formats.
+
+The permissions inside the initrd image are corrected automatically
+(see the discussion of fakeroot logfile in the L<febootstrap(8)>
+page).  You do I<not> need to run this command as root.
+
+=head1 /init
+
+Normal initramfs images start by executing the program or script
+called C</init>.  febootstrap does not create this script, so you may
+wish to, particularly for very minimal bootstraps that don't have the
+normal SysVinit/upstart machinery.
+
+Linux will try to run the following commands in turn, unless you
+override it using the C<init=I<cmd>> kernel option:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+/init
+
+=item *
+
+/sbin/init
+
+=item *
+
+/etc/init
+
+=item *
+
+/bin/init
+
+=item *
+
+/bin/sh
+
+=back
+
+=head1 MEMORY REQUIREMENTS
+
+Initramfs images are uncompressed by the kernel into memory.  When
+booting the new system you will need at least enough free RAM to store
+the B<uncompressed> filesystem plus extra to run any programs.  Bear
+this in mind when creating very large filesystems.
+
+=head1 SEE ALSO
+
+L<febootstrap-fix-root(8)>,
+L<febootstrap(8)>,
+L<cpio(1)>.
+
+=head1 AUTHORS
+
+Richard W.M. Jones <rjones @ redhat . com>
+
+=head1 COPYRIGHT
+
+(C) Copyright 2009 Red Hat Inc.,
+L<http://et.redhat.com/~rjones/febootstrap>.
+
+This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.