efibootdude 2.0.0

A visual wrapper for efibootmgr

EfiBootDude

efibootdude presents a visual (curses) interface to efibootmgr which allows editing the bios boot menu and parameters while running Linux.

• Installation: pipx install efibootdude
• Prerequisites: install rhboot/efibootmgr
  • For example, on a Debian derived distro, use sudo apt install efibootmgr.

efibootdude covers the most commonly used capabilities of efibootmgr; you can:

• reorder, enable/disable, copy, and remove boot entries
• choose what to boot on the next reboot (BootNext)
• set the timeout before auto-booting
• save your changes and reboot

Note: Copying a boot entry effectively adds a new entry with a different label. For more esoteric uses of efibootmgr (like setting custom boot variables), use efibootmgr directly.

Usage

After running efibootdude and making some changes, you'll see a screen comparable to this:

 wRITE down next tag *:inact copy rmv [v]erbose [T]heme ?:help quit
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   BootNext: ---
   BootCurrent: 0007
   Timeout: 2 seconds
>* 0006 Linux Boot Manager               /dev/nvme0n1p1 \EFI\systemd\systemd-b
 * 0000 Enter Setup                      [Firmware]
 * 0001 NVMe: SAMSUNG MZALQ128HBHQ-000L2 [Auto]
 * 0002 UEFI Shell                       [Firmware]
   +ADD Linux Boot Manager Copy          [pending copy]
 * -RMV Ubuntu                           /boot/efi      \EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.ef

At this point

• The "current" line starts with > and is highlighted.
• The top line shows actions for the current line; type the underscored letter to effect its action.
• Type ? for a more complete explanation of the keys, navigation keys, etc.
  • ALWAYS view the help at least once if unfamiliar with this tool, it navigation, and/or uncertain of keys not shown on top line.
• With this current line, we can:
  • Type u or d to move it up or down in the boot order.
  • Type t to relabel the boot entry (prompts for new name).
  • Type c to copy the boot entry with a new label (prompts for new name).
  • Type r to remove the boot entry.
  • Type m on the Timeout line to change the boot timeout in seconds.
  • Type T to cycle through available themes.
  • And so forth.
• The entries with * on the left are active boot entries; toggle whether active by typing * for the corresponding entries.
• Special status lines at the top:
  • BootNext: shows which entry will boot next (use n to set it, or leave as ---)
  • BootCurrent: shows which entry is currently booted (read-only, set by firmware)
  • Timeout: shows boot timeout in seconds (use m to modify)
• Special indicators:
  • +ADD shows pending copy operations (press r to cancel before writing)
  • -RMV shows entries marked for removal (press r to undo before writing)
• Press ESC key to abandon any changes and reload the boot information.
• When ready to write the changes to the BIOS, enter w.
• When writing the changes, efibootdude drops out of menu mode so you can verify the underlying commands, error codes, and error messages.
• After you write changes, type b to reboot, if you wish and the boot menu looks OK.
• BTW, the top-line keys vary per context; e.g.:
  • w is only shown with pending changes, and
  • b is only shown w/o pending changes.

Caveats - BIOSes Vary in What They Implement Correctly

• Some operations may not work permanently even though there is no indication from efibootmgr (e.g., on my desktop, I cannot re-label boot entries); copy an entry and later remove the old one as a safe workaround.
• Some operations may only work (again) after re-booting (e.g., you might find activating an entry does not work, but it does so after a reboot).

About this Project

This project was inspired by Elinvention/efiboots. Relative to that project, the aims of efibootdude are:

• to be easier to install especially when not in your distro's repos.
• to clearly present the partition of the boot entries (as a mount point if mounted and, otherwise, the device pathname).
• to show the underlying commands being run for education, for verification, and for help on investigating issues.