limine-scan

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr limine-entry-tool

limine-scan [OPTIONS...] [DEVICE...]
Example: limine-scan --verbose /dev/sda

--help, -h
    Display a help message and exit.

--version, -V
    Display version information and exit.

--verbose, -v
    Produce more detailed and verbose output, including scan progress and additional findings.

--no-colour, --no-color
    Disable coloured output, useful for terminals that do not support ANSI escape codes or for logging.

DEVICE
    Specify one or more block devices (e.g., /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1) to scan. If no devices are specified, limine-scan will attempt to scan all available devices on the system.

limine-scan is a utility distributed as part of the Limine bootloader suite. Its primary function is to scan all available storage devices and partitions for the presence of the Limine bootloader configuration file, typically named limine.cfg. This command is instrumental for users and system administrators in verifying whether a Limine installation is correctly configured and discoverable by the bootloader itself. When run, it probes various file systems on block devices, searching for the specific configuration file. Upon discovery, it reports the device, partition, and exact path where the limine.cfg file was found. This diagnostic capability is crucial during the installation, debugging, or troubleshooting phases of a Limine-based boot setup, ensuring that the bootloader can locate its instructions and present boot entries to the user. It helps confirm that the bootloader has access to its configuration, which is essential for a successful boot process.

Privilege Requirements: limine-scan often requires root privileges (e.g., by using sudo) to access raw block devices and perform a thorough scan of all partitions and file systems.
Scope Limitation: This command is specifically designed for the Limine bootloader ecosystem. While it scans file systems, its output is only relevant for systems utilizing or intending to utilize Limine as their bootloader.
Output Variability: The output will significantly vary depending on the system's disk layout, the number of installed Limine configurations, and the specified verbosity level.

The command's core functionality revolves around systematically probing block devices and their partitions for file systems, then searching within those file systems for the limine.cfg file. This file contains crucial directives for the Limine bootloader, defining available boot entries, kernel paths, and other boot-time parameters. Finding this file is paramount for Limine to correctly present boot options to the user.

Common use cases include verifying a new Limine installation, diagnosing why Limine might not be presenting expected boot entries, or confirming the location of a specific limine.cfg when multiple configurations might exist on a system. It serves as a rapid check to ensure that the bootloader's configuration is where it needs to be and is accessible.

The limine-scan utility is an integral part of the Limine bootloader project, which began its development as a modern, open-source bootloader aiming for simplicity, flexibility, and broad hardware compatibility. limine-scan was developed alongside the core bootloader to provide a crucial diagnostic and verification tool for users. Its existence reflects the need for an easy way to confirm the discoverability of the limine.cfg file, which is central to Limine's operation. As Limine gained traction in custom OS development, bare-metal programming, and among enthusiasts seeking alternatives to GRUB, the limine-scan command became an essential component for ensuring correct installation and troubleshooting boot issues, evolving with the bootloader's feature set.

limine-install(8), efibootmgr(8), grub-install(8), fdisk(8)