boredos_mirror/docs/installation/advanced.md

Advanced Installation

Skipping Steps

All major phases can be skipped independently:

boredos_install --no-partition --no-format --uefi /dev/sda

The destructive warning is only shown when --no-partition AND --no-format are both absent.

/mnt/boot Operations

The installer mounts the ESP at /mnt/boot and unmounts it when finished.

FAT32 Limitations

FAT32 does not support Unix file permissions, ownership, or timestamps. These attributes are not preserved during installation. This is expected and documented.

Custom Device Names

Use --esp-dev and --root-dev to bypass auto-detection:

boredos_install --uefi --esp-dev sda1 --root-dev sda2 /dev/sda --no-partition --no-format

Provided device names are still validated via sys_disk_get_info before use.

Step 1: Partitioning

Run fdisk interactively on your target device.

fdisk /dev/sda

Inside the interactive shell:

1. Type n to create a new partition (the ESP).
2. Press Enter for the default start offset (1mb).
3. Enter the size using suffixes like b, mb, or gb (e.g., 512mb for a 512 MB ESP).
4. Type n again for the second partition (the Root).
5. Press Enter for the default start offset (aligned after the ESP).
6. Press Enter for the default size (rest of the disk).
7. Type w to write the partition table.
8. Type 'Q' to quit.

Step 2: Formatting

Initialize the partitions with FAT32. Use the labels EFI and BOREDOS to match the expected system layout.

mkfs_fat -F 32 -n EFI /dev/sda1
mkfs_fat -F 32 -n BOREDOS /dev/sda2

Step 3: Installation

The easiest way to perform the file copy and bootloader setup is to use the installer in "copy only" mode. This ensures that hidden flags (like the root detection file) are placed correctly.

boredos_install --no-partition --no-format --uefi --esp-dev sda1 /dev/sda

What this step does:

1. Mounts /dev/sda2 to /mnt and /dev/sda1 to /mnt/boot.
2. Identifies the root by creating an empty file at /mnt/Library/.boredos_root.
3. Copies the system structure: /bin, /Library, /docs, and /root are mirrored to /mnt.
4. Deploys the kernel and initrd: boredos.elf and initrd.tar are copied to the ESP (/mnt/boot/).
5. Configures Limine: Writes a limine.conf to the ESP and copies the EFI bootloader to /mnt/boot/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI.

For a deep dive into why these steps are performed, see the Installation Internals guide.