Bootloader: Difference between revisions

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A bootloader is a type of software that manages the loading of the operating system (OS) on the computer at startup. It is responsible for preparing the system before passing control to the OS. Here are the types of bootloaders commonly used in NixOS:

* '''GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader)''': Widely used, supports multiple operating systems, and provides a boot menu to select how the system boots.

* '''[[GNU GRUB]] (Grand Unified Bootloader)''': Widely used, supports multiple operating systems, and provides a boot menu to select how the system boots.

* '''systemd-boot''': Simple UEFI-only bootloader, formerly known as gummiboot.

* '''[[Systemd/boot|systemd-boot]]''': Simple UEFI-only bootloader, formerly known as gummiboot.

* '''[[Limine]]''': Modern, advanced, multiprotocol bootloader and boot manager.

* '''EFISTUB''': Utilizes the UEFI firmware itself to boot the kernel, without the need for a traditional bootloader.

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=== How do I remove older generations from the bootloader? ===

First, ~~collect garbages in~~ your system, then rebuild. The ~~scripts~~ will ~~collect leftover files~~.

First, remove some system generations of your system, then rebuild. The rebuild script will remove stale boot entries.

The first command, in the example below, removes ~~everything~~ older than 14 days.

The first command, in the example below, removes system generations older than 14 days.

sudo nix-~~collect~~-~~garbage~~ --~~delete~~-~~older~~-~~than~~ 14d

sudo nix-env --delete-generations --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/system 14d

</syntaxhighlight>

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};

</nowiki>}}

=== Show a custom label or tags for my build in the bootloader menu ===

Most bootloaders like GRUB will show the NixOS version as the name of the generation (as shown with nixos-rebuild list-generations). To add a custom name for your build use [https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=unstable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=system.nixos.label system.nixos.label]

== Troubleshooting ==

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 A bootloader is a type of software that manages the loading of the operating system (OS) on the computer at startup. It is responsible for preparing the system before passing control to the OS. Here are the types of bootloaders commonly used in NixOS:
-* '''GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader)''': Widely used, supports multiple operating systems, and provides a boot menu to select how the system boots.
+* '''[[GNU GRUB]] (Grand Unified Bootloader)''': Widely used, supports multiple operating systems, and provides a boot menu to select how the system boots.
-* '''systemd-boot''': Simple UEFI-only bootloader, formerly known as gummiboot.
+* '''[[Systemd/boot|systemd-boot]]''': Simple UEFI-only bootloader, formerly known as gummiboot.
+* '''[[Limine]]''': Modern, advanced, multiprotocol bootloader and boot manager.
 * '''EFISTUB''': Utilizes the UEFI firmware itself to boot the kernel, without the need for a traditional bootloader.
@@ Line 30: / Line 31: @@
 === How do I remove older generations from the bootloader? ===
-First, collect garbages in your system, then rebuild. The scripts will collect leftover files.
+First, remove some system generations of your system, then rebuild. The rebuild script will remove stale boot entries.
-The first command, in the example below, removes everything older than 14 days.
+The first command, in the example below, removes system generations older than 14 days.
 <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
-sudo nix-collect-garbage --delete-older-than 14d
+sudo nix-env --delete-generations --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/system 14d
 </syntaxhighlight>
 <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
@@ Line 69: / Line 70: @@
 };
 </nowiki>}}
+=== Show a custom label or tags for my build in the bootloader menu ===
+Most bootloaders like GRUB will show the NixOS version as the name of the generation (as shown with nixos-rebuild list-generations). To add a custom name for your build use [https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=unstable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=system.nixos.label system.nixos.label]
 == Troubleshooting ==