Plymouth Boot Screen
Installation
Install required packages:
sudo pacman -S plymouth
Configuration
Add hooks to mkinitcpio
Add plymouth to the HOOKS array in mkinitcpio.conf:
sudo nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
Put plymouth after udev hook:
HOOKS=(base udev plymouth autodetect keyboard keymap modconf block filesystems fsck)
If you are using the systemd hook, plymouth must be after systemd.
Setting Kernel Parameter
Systemd Boot
Find appropriate .conf file for your Arch Linux boot entry:
sudo bootctl list --no-pager
Choose (selected) one:
type: Boot Loader Specification Type #1 (.conf)
title: Arch Linux (linux) (default) (selected)
id: 2024-04-17_03-56-59_linux.conf
source: /boot//loader/entries/2024-04-17_03-56-59_linux.conf
linux: /boot//vmlinuz-linux
initrd: /boot//intel-ucode.img
/boot//initramfs-linux.img
options: root=PARTUUID=59502541-5885-4214-bad2-5b79f7f47ca0 zswap.enabled=0 rootflags=subvol=@ rw rootfstype=btrfs
Navigate to the bootloader entries directory:
cd /boot/loader/entries/
Edit the appropriate .conf file for your Arch Linux boot entry:
sudo nano 2024-04-17_03-56-59_linux.conf
Append this parameter to the end of options line:
quiet splash loglevel=3 rd.udev.log_priority=3 vt.global_cursor_default=0
Set Plymouth Theme
List available theme:
sudo plymouth-set-default-theme -l
Apply preferred theme:
sudo plymouth-set-default-theme -R "THEME"
Customization
Theme folder is located at /usr/share/plymouth/themes/
Preview themes
Themes can be previewed without rebuilding initrd, press Ctrl+Alt+F6 to switch to a text terminal, log in as root and type:
plymouthd
plymouth --show-splash
To quit the preview, press Ctrl+Alt+F6 again and type:
plymouth --quit
You can run these commands as root in a running X.Org session too, but the Plymouth window may cover your terminal window and lock itself on top. Have virtual desktops handy.
Update and Reboot
Regenerate the initramfs:
sudo mkinitcpio -P
You can now safely reboot.