1REFIND-MKDEFAULT(8)              rEFInd Manual             REFIND-MKDEFAULT(8)
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NAME

8       refind-mkdefault - Set rEFInd as the default EFI boot option
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SYNOPSIS

11       refind-mkdefault [ -L|--label <name> ]
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DESCRIPTION

15       EFI  booting  normally  relies on boot manager entries stored in NVRAM,
16       which describe the locations of EFI boot  programs  and  the  order  in
17       which the firmware will attempt to launch them. In Linux, these entries
18       can be created, deleted, and manipulated with the efibootmgr utility.
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20       Many OSes and Linux packages assume that they should control  the  boot
21       process,  and  so both create NVRAM boot entries for themselves and set
22       these entries first in the boot order. If you intend rEFInd to  control
23       the  boot process, though, such changes are undesirable and require ad‐
24       justment via efibootmgr. Such adjustments are annoying to make and  can
25       be intimidating to non-experts.
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27       The  refind-mkdefault  script  simplifies  matters: Running this script
28       with no options sets rEFInd as the default boot program. The details of
29       what  the  script  does  depends on the current state of the boot order
30       list and existing boot entries:
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33       *      If a rEFInd entry already exists in the boot order  and  is  al‐
34              ready first in the list, no changes are made.
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37       *      If  a  rEFInd  entry already exists in the boot order but is not
38              first in the list, that entry is moved to the first position  in
39              the boot order.
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42       *      If  more than one rEFInd entry exists in the boot order, refind-
43              mkdefault moves the one that comes earliest to the front of  the
44              boot order list.
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47       *      If  no  rEFInd  entry exists in the boot order but a rEFInd boot
48              entry can be found in the list of Boot#### entries, it is  added
49              to the boot order and placed at the front of the list.
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52       *      If  multiple  rEFInd  boot entries exist but none is in the boot
53              order, all the entries are added to the boot  order,  but  which
54              one is first is uncontrolled.
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57       A rEFInd entry is defined as one that contains the string refind (case-
58       insensitive). This string could exist in  the  description  or  in  the
59       filename. The string used to define the rEFInd entry can be changed via
60       the --label (-L) option.
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62       The intent is that refind-mkdefault can be  called  after  booting  via
63       GRUB or some other means to restore rEFInd as the default boot program.
64       It can also be placed in a startup and/or shutdown  script  to  restore
65       rEFInd  to  its default position automatically. Because it does not re-
66       write the boot order if rEFInd is listed as the first boot entry,  this
67       practice should be low in risk.
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OPTIONS

71       -L | --label <name>
72              Instead  of searching for the string refind in efibootmgr output
73              as a way to identify rEFInd, search for the string name.
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RETURN VALUES

77       refind-mkdefault returns the following values:
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80       0      The script completed successfully, which can mean either that no
81              change  was  necessary or that the call to efibootmgr returned a
82              success code.
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85       1      EFI boot order variables are available, and a rEFInd  entry  was
86              found, but the call to efibootmgr returned a failure code.
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89       2      EFI  boot  entries are not available. This condition is often an
90              indication of a buggy EFI or badly damaged NVRAM contents.
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93       3      No rEFInd entry could be found in the list of boot options,  and
94              so no changes were made to the boot order list.
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97       4      The  script could not run because of OS issues -- the OS was not
98              Linux, the efibootmgr utility was not available, or  the  script
99              was not run as root.
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LIMITATIONS

103       *      refind-mkdefault does not work when booted in BIOS mode (includ‐
104              ing via a Compatibility Support Module, or CSM, on an  EFI-based
105              computer).  Similarly, it does not work if efibootmgr is not in‐
106              stalled or fails to work for any reason.
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109       *      The script uses a very simple algorithm  to  determine  what  to
110              move  to  the  start  of the boot order list. This algorithm may
111              fail if the system has redundant or non-functional  rEFInd  boot
112              entries  or  if those entries are not named in an expected fash‐
113              ion. Cleaning up the boot entries by manual  use  of  efibootmgr
114              may be necessary in such cases.
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AUTHORS

118       Primary author: Roderick W. Smith (rodsmith@rodsbooks.com)
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SEE ALSO

122       mvrefind(8), mkrlconf(8), refind-install(8), efibootmgr(8).
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124       https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/
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AVAILABILITY

128       The  refind-mkdefault  command  is  part  of  the rEFInd package and is
129       available from Roderick W. Smith.
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133Roderick W. Smith                   0.13.3                 REFIND-MKDEFAULT(8)
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