GRUB-SET-DEFAULT(8)

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

💖 GRUB-SET-DEFAULT 💖

ok so this is a page from the System Administration Utilities manual, and it's all about grub-set-default — the little guy that tells GRUB which boot entry to pick. sit down bestie, this is a short one but it's important, no cap. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

grub-set-default — set the saved default boot entry for GRUB 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

grub-set-default [OPTION] MENU_ENTRY

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Okay so literally what this does: it sets the default boot menu entry for GRUB. That's the thing that decides which entry gets booted when you don't touch anything. main character energy for your bootloader, honestly. 💅

⚠️ but bestie, listen — this requires you to have set GRUB_DEFAULT=saved in /etc/default/grub. if you didn't do that, this whole vibe does not work. it's giving "prerequisites, babe." 😭

here are the options, and yes we're going through all of them:

  • -h, --help — print this message and exit. the classic "wait what does this do again" button 🫶
  • -V, --version — print the version information and exit. for when you need to know exactly which GRUB you're dealing with ✨
  • --boot-directory=DIR — expect GRUB images under the directory DIR/grub2 instead of the /boot/grub2 directory. so like, if your GRUB lives somewhere else, this is how you tell it 🍓

and then there's MENU_ENTRY, which is not an option, it's the whole point. it can be:

  • a number 🔢
  • a menu item title 📝
  • or a menu item identifier 🏷️

any of those three, your choice, slay.

🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? report it to <bug-grub@gnu.org>. be nice, they're doing their best 💜

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

also!! the full documentation for grub-set-default is maintained as a Texinfo manual. if the info and grub-set-default programs are properly installed at your site, this command:

info grub-set-default

should give you access to the complete manual. go read it, it's giving scholarly 📚✨

and that's the whole thing, bestie. this page is from GRUB 2.12, dated April 2026 — so go forth and set your default boot entry, you absolute icon. periodt. 💖🌈👑

📦 where this page comes from