mkinitcpio-systemd-extras

This is a collection of mkinitcpio install hooks for systemd based initramfs.

mkinitcpio is an Arch Linux specific tool to generate images for the initial ramdisk (initramfs) required during early boot of an Arch Linux installation. There are two options how this boot phase can be executed:

• Systemd is started already in the initramfs environment and any initialization is performed by means of systemd units. This is the default since mkinitcpio v40 (Nov 2025).

• A bunch of shell scripts run by the busybox shell.

This repository provides so-called install hooks that can be used in the HOOKS array of mkinitcpio's configuration file mkinitcpio.conf. They complement the set of install hooks for a systemd based boot process provided by package mkinitcpio (and others).

Caution

Tinkering with the boot process of your system is always risky. Make sure you always have at least one alternative boot option or for rolling back.

Installation

mkinitcpio-systemd-extras is available as a package in Arch Linux' User Repository (AUR). Use makepkg to build and pacman to install the package. (Alternatively you may use your favorite AUR helper.)

Usage

See the short help available for each install hook, e.g.

mkinitcpio -H sd-tinyssh

For more details see the corresponding wiki pages.

Contribution

You are welcome to provide additional hooks or improvements of the existing ones in the form of pull requests. Mind that all hooks must provide some degree of general usefulness.