grub-file
check boot image file type
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
grub-file --is-TYPE file
DESCRIPTION
grub-file checks whether a file is a bootable image of a specific type. It examines file headers and signatures to identify kernel images, EFI applications, and other bootable formats.
The command returns exit code 0 (success) if the file matches the specified type, or 1 (failure) if it does not. This is useful in scripts for validating boot images or determining the correct boot method.
PARAMETERS
--is-arm-efi
Check for ARM EFI image--is-arm64-efi
Check for ARM64 EFI image--is-i386-efi
Check for i386 EFI image--is-x86_64-efi
Check for x86_64 EFI image--is-arm-linux
Check for ARM Linux kernel--is-x86-linux
Check for x86 Linux kernel--is-x86_64-linux
Check for x86_64 Linux kernel--is-x86_64-xnu
Check for macOS XNU kernel--is-multiboot
Check for Multiboot image
CAVEATS
Only checks file type signatures; doesn't verify if the image is actually bootable or valid. Some specialized or custom kernels may not be recognized correctly.
HISTORY
grub-file is part of GRUB 2, providing a utility for image type detection. This is useful during installation and configuration to ensure the correct bootloader setup for the target architecture.
SEE ALSO
grub-install(8), grub-probe(8), file(1)
