NAME
    febootstrap-to-initramfs - Convert febootstrap root to initramfs (cpio)
    file.

SYNOPSIS
     febootstrap-to-initramfs [--files=filelist] DIR > initrd.img

DESCRIPTION
    *febootstrap-to-initramfs* converts the filesystem created by
    febootstrap(8) into an initramfs image. This allows the new system to be
    booted on real hardware or inside a QEMU-based virtual machine.

    An initramfs image is just a compressed cpio file, so you could
    uncompress it with gunzip(1) and use cpio(1) to convert it into other
    formats.

    The permissions inside the initrd image are corrected automatically (see
    the discussion of fakeroot logfile in the febootstrap(8) page). You do
    *not* need to run this command as root.

OPTIONS
    --files=filelist
        "filelist" should be a file containing a list of the files to be
        added to the initramfs (one per line). Only those files are added
        and any others are ignored.

        When the "--files" option is not given, all files in "DIR" are added
        to the initramfs image.

    --nocompress
        This prevents the initramfs image from being compressed.

        Linux can boot from uncompressed initramfs images (in fact, faster),
        but they take up a lot more space on disk.

/init
    Normal initramfs images start by executing the program or script called
    "/init". febootstrap does not create this script, so you may wish to,
    particularly for very minimal bootstraps that don't have the normal
    SysVinit/upstart machinery. It's also required if the kernel cannot find
    a "real" root filesystem (the root filesystem that we built and placed
    in an initramfs doesn't count).

    Linux will try to run the following commands in turn, unless you
    override it using the "init=*cmd*" kernel option:

    *   /init

    *   /sbin/init

    *   /etc/init

    *   /bin/init

    *   /bin/sh

MEMORY REQUIREMENTS
    Initramfs images are uncompressed by the kernel into memory. When
    booting the new system you will need at least enough free RAM to store
    the uncompressed filesystem plus extra to run any programs. Bear this in
    mind when creating very large filesystems.

SEE ALSO
    febootstrap(8), cpio(1).

AUTHORS
    Richard W.M. Jones <rjones @ redhat . com>

COPYRIGHT
    (C) Copyright 2009 Red Hat Inc.,
    <http://people.redhat.com/~rjones/febootstrap>.

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
    Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
    option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
    WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
    Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
    with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
    675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

