Manual: linux-update-symlinks

LINUX-UPDATE-SYMLINKS(1)			   General Commands Manual			    LINUX-UPDATE-SYMLINKS(1)

NAME
       linux-update-symlinks - maintain symlinks to default kernel and initramfs

SYNOPSIS

       linux-update-symlinks {install|upgrade|remove} KERNEL-VER IMAGE-PATH

DESCRIPTION
       linux-update-symlinks  is intended to be called from the postinst and postrm maintainer scripts of Linux kernel pack‐
       ages.  The postinst script must pass the first argument install or upgrade depending on whether a fresh	installation
       or an upgrade has taken place.

       The KERNEL-VER argument must be the kernel version string as shown by uname -r and used in filenames, not the package
       version.

       The IMAGE-PATH argument must be the absolute filename of the kernel image.

       By  default,  this  command  maintains symlinks in the root directory.  This behaviour can be modified by settings in
       /etc/kernel-img.conf:

       image_dest
	      Specifies the directory in which to maintain symlinks
       link_in_boot
	      If set to a true value, specifies that the directory is /boot
       do_symlinks
	      If set to a false value, disables maintenance of symlinks

       The symlinks for the primary default kernel version are named vmlinuz or vmlinux (depending on whether the  architec‐
       ture  normally  uses  compressed	 kernel images) and initrd.img (if it uses an initramfs).  The symlinks for the sec‐
       ondary default have the same names with the suffix .old.

       If symlink maintenance is disabled, linux-update-symlinks does nothing, successfully.  Otherwise it makes a  list  of
       kernel versions in decreasing order of priority:

       • The given KERNEL-VER, if the first argument is install

       • The current primary default version, if it exists and is not already listed

       • The current secondary default version, if it exists and is not already listed

       • All  other  versions whose files are installed, excluding the specified KERNEL-VER if the first argument is remove,
	 in decreasing version order

       The top two entries on the list are the new primary and secondary default versions, and it updates the  symlinks	 ac‐
       cordingly.  In case there is only one entry, this is both the primary and secondary default version.  If there are no
       entries, there are no default versions and it removes the default symlinks.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       INITRD When  the	 first	argument is install or upgrade, linux-update-symlinks assumes that the given KERNEL-VER will
	      use an initramfs unless this variable is set to No.

FILES
       /boot/initrd.img-*
	      Installed initramfs images
       /boot/vmlinuz-* | /boot/vmlinux-*
	      Installed kernel images
       /etc/kernel-img.conf
	      Configuration file specifying whether and where to create symlinks
       /initrd.img
	      Symlink to the initramfs image for the primary default version
       /initrd.img.old
	      Symlink to the initramfs image for the secondary default version
       /vmlinuz | /vmlinux
	      Symlink to the kernel image for the primary default version
       /vmlinuz.old | /vmlinux.old
	      Symlink to the kernel image for the secondary default version

AUTHOR
       linux-update-symlinks and this manual page were written by Ben Hutchings as part of the Debian linux-base package.

SEE ALSO
       kernel-img.conf(5), linux-version(1).

							 5 June 2016				    LINUX-UPDATE-SYMLINKS(1)