Linux efibootmgr Guide

Linux efibootmgr Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to efibootmgr on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including EFI boot entry management, UEFI boot configuration, and boot order control.

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Table of Contents

1. efibootmgr Installation
2. efibootmgr Basics
3. Boot Entry Management
4. Boot Order
5. Troubleshooting

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efibootmgr Installation

Install efibootmgr

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install efibootmgr
sudo pacman -S efibootmgr

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install efibootmgr

Fedora:

sudo dnf install efibootmgr

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efibootmgr Basics

List Boot Entries

Basic usage:

# List EFI boot entries
efibootmgr

# Shows all boot entries

Verbose Output

Detailed info:

# Verbose output
efibootmgr -v

# -v = verbose (detailed information)

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Boot Entry Management

Create Boot Entry

Add entry:

# Create boot entry
sudo efibootmgr -c -d /dev/sda -p 1 -L "Arch Linux" -l '\EFI\arch\vmlinuz-linux' -u 'root=PARTUUID=xxxx rw initrd=\EFI\arch\initramfs-linux.img'

# -c = create
# -d = disk
# -p = partition
# -L = label
# -l = loader
# -u = unicode args

Delete Entry

Remove entry:

# Delete boot entry
sudo efibootmgr -b 0000 -B

# -b = boot number
# -B = delete

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Boot Order

Set Boot Order

Change order:

# Set boot order
sudo efibootmgr -o 0000,0001,0002

# -o = order (sets boot order)

Next Boot

Boot once:

# Boot from entry once
sudo efibootmgr -n 0000

# -n = next (boots from entry once)

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Troubleshooting

efibootmgr Not Found

Check installation:

# Check efibootmgr
which efibootmgr

# Install if missing
sudo pacman -S efibootmgr

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Summary

This guide covered efibootmgr usage, EFI boot entry management, and boot order control for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

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Next Steps

• Bootloader Configuration - Bootloader guide
• UEFI and Secure Boot - UEFI guide
• bootctl Guide - systemd-boot management
• efibootmgr Documentation: man efibootmgr

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.