boot

Boot the system

TLDR

Start a REPL session either with the project or standalone

$ boot repl

Build a single uberjar

$ boot jar

Generate scaffolding for a new project based on a template

$ boot --dependencies boot/new new --template [template_name] --name [project_name]

Build for development (if using the boot/new template)

$ boot dev

Build for production (if using the boot/new template)

$ boot prod

Display help for a specific task

$ boot [task] --help

The boot command is typically not a standard, standalone Linux command executable from the shell. It usually refers to a command within a boot loader environment such as GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) or LILO (Linux Loader).

In GRUB, for example, the boot command is used to initiate the loading and execution of the operating system kernel specified by the other commands entered. This usually follows commands like 'linux' (specifying the kernel image) and 'initrd' (specifying the initial RAM disk). Without a boot loader, the system wouldn't know how to load the kernel and start the operating system.

The GRUB boot command relies heavily on other commands setting up the environment properly before it will work correctly. If these commands aren't entered and configured correctly the boot command will fail.

CAVEATS

The boot command itself is meaningless without the configuration and context provided by the boot loader. It is dependent on the boot loader's environment and configuration.

USAGE EXAMPLE (GRUB)

A typical sequence of commands in GRUB might be:

linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda1
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
boot

This tells GRUB to load the kernel image '/boot/vmlinuz-linux', specify the root filesystem as '/dev/sda1', load the initial RAM disk image '/boot/initramfs-linux.img', and then to start booting the Linux kernel.

ERROR HANDLING

If the boot command fails, it often indicates that the kernel image, initrd image, or root filesystem parameters were not specified correctly or that the files are corrupted or missing. Reviewing the GRUB configuration and the file paths is crucial for troubleshooting.

HISTORY

The concept of a 'boot' command exists as long as bootloaders exist.

The use of the boot command changed over time. Early bootloaders like LILO had a simpler and more direct approach. GRUB introduced a more sophisticated, command-line driven interface with a 'boot' command that executes the configured boot entries.