GRUB-MKRESCUE(1)

📦
version 2.12 · 6 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

🎀 grub-mkrescue 🎀

okay so bestie, this one's from the User Commands manual and it is literally the girlboss of bootable rescue images 💖 no cap, she makes CDs, USBs, floppies — all of it — actually boot. sit down, hydrate, we're doing this 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

grub-mkrescue — make a GRUB rescue image 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

grub-mkrescue [OPTION...] [OPTION] SOURCE...

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Make GRUB CD-ROM, disk, pendrive and floppy bootable image. that's the whole vibe 💿✨

here's every single option, and yes, I'm listing all of them, we don't skip here 🙈

  • --appended-signature-size=SIZE — adds a note segment that reserves SIZE bytes for an appended signature
  • --compress=no|xz|gz|lzo — compress the GRUB files. optional, if you feel like it 💅
  • --disable-cli — disables command line interface access
  • --disable-shim-lock — disables the shim_lock verifier
  • --dtb=FILE — embed one specific DTB
  • -d, --directory=DIR — use images and modules that live under DIR. default is /usr/lib/grub/<platform> 🫶
  • --fonts=FONTS — install FONTS, default is unicode
  • --install-modules=MODULES — install only MODULES plus whatever they depend on, default is all
  • -k, --pubkey=FILE — embed FILE as a public key for signature checking 🔐
  • --locale-directory=DIR — use translations under DIR, default is /usr/share/locale
  • --locales=LOCALES — install only LOCALES, default is all
  • --modules=MODULES — pre-load the specified modules MODULES
  • --sbat=FILE — SBAT metadata
  • --themes=THEMES — install THEMES, default is starfield ✨
  • -v, --verbose — print verbose messages.
  • -x, --x509key=FILE — embed FILE as an x509 certificate for signature checking 🔐
  • --arcs-boot — enable ARCS boot (big-endian mips machines, mostly SGI). heads up: this disables HFS+, APM, sparc64, and boot as disk image for i386-pc 💀
  • --core-compress=xz|none|auto — pick which compression to use for the core image
  • --label-bgcolor=COLOR — use COLOR for the label background 🎨
  • --label-color=COLOR — use COLOR for the label 🎨
  • --label-font=FILE — use FILE as the font for the label
  • -o, --output=FILE — save the output in FILE. required, bestie, you can't skip this one 🙏
  • --product-name=STRING — use STRING as the product name
  • --product-version=STRING — use STRING as the product version
  • --rom-directory=DIR — save ROM images in DIR. optional 🍓
  • --sparc-boot — enable sparc boot. and again: this disables HFS+, APM, ARCS, and boot as disk image for i386-pc 💀
  • --xorriso=FILE — use FILE as xorriso. optional 🌸
  • -?, --help — give this help list
  • --usage — give a short usage message
  • -V, --version — print program version

real talk, this bit matters: mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional for any corresponding short options. so like, they match up, okay? iykyk 💅

Generates a bootable CD/USB/floppy image. 🎀 and listen — arguments other than options to this program get passed straight to xorriso, and they indicate source files, source directories, or any of the mkisofs options listed by the output of `xorriso -as mkisofs -help'.

Option -- switches to native xorriso command mode. so iconic of her.

Mail xorriso support requests to <bug-xorriso@gnu.org>. 📬

✨ REPORTING BUGS ✨

Report bugs to <bug-grub@gnu.org>. fr fr, they wanna hear it 🫶

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

The full documentation for grub-mkrescue is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and grub-mkrescue programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info grub-mkrescue

should give you access to the complete manual. slay 📖💖

and that's the whole page, bestie 🌈 this was GRUB 2.12, from April 2026 — mwah, go make something bootable 💅✨💖

📦 where this page comes from