---
name: "make-autoinst-initrd"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "autoinstall"
version: "1.0"
release: "Debian 3.0 (Woody)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/make-autoinst-initrd"
---

# make-autoinst-initrd(1)

create initial ramdisk for system autoinstaller

## NAME

make-autoinst-initrd - create initial ramdisk for system autoinstaller

## SYNOPSIS

make-autoinst-initrd \[--arch *arch*\] *kernel\_package*

## DESCRIPTION

**make-autoinst-initrd** creates an initalization ramdisk for use by the operating system autoinstaller.  It takes a single, mandatory argument: the kernel package containing the kernel to be used for the initrd and floppy boot environment.  If an autoinstall disk for another architecture is needed, then the *--arch* argument can be given to specify the architecture.

The initialization ramdisk consists of a compressed ext2 filesystem, and is left in the current directory as *initrd.gz*. This file is typically placed (by **make-autoinst-disk (1))** on a floppy disk or other medium accessible by the bootloader used by the autoinstaller.

## ENVIRONMENT

- TMPDIR

  Temporary directory under which a directory is created to be used for construction of the ext2 filesystem.  If omitted, */tmp* is used.

## AUTHOR

Jeff Licquia et al. for Progeny Linux Systems.

## SEE ALSO

[**make-autoinst-disk**(1)](/make-autoinst-disk/1.md), [**update-autoinst-disk**(1)](/update-autoinst-disk/1.md)