A Beginner's Guide to Theming GRUB2

[towheedm]

The guide is dependent on you following through the previous steps. At the end of the Demo Theme chapter, you should have in /boot/grub/themes/demo:

7x13.pf2                       sb_th_c.png
arch-24.png                    sb_th_n.png
caribbean_sunset_200.jpg       sb_th_s.png
center.png                     select_c.png
debian-24.png                  select_e.png
dejavu-sans-10.pf2             select_ne.png
dejavu-sans-12.pf2             select_n.png
dejavu-sans-bold-14.pf2        select_nw.png
desktop.png                    select_se.png
gentoo-24.png                  select_s.png
gnu-linux-color-wallpaper.png  select_sw.png
kubuntu-24.png                 select_w.png
linuxmint-24.png               terminal-background.png
menu_bkg_c.png                 terminal-background-workaround.png
menu_bkg_e.png                 terminal_c.png
menu_bkg_ne.png                terminal_e.png
menu_bkg_n.png                 terminal_ne.png
menu_bkg_nw.png                terminal_n.png
menu_bkg_se.png                terminal_nw.png
menu_bkg_s.png                 terminal_se.png
menu_bkg_sw.png                terminal_s.png
menu_bkg_w.png                 terminal_sw.png
opensuse-24.png                terminal_w.png
progress_bar_c.png             theme.txt
progress_highlight_c.png       tick.png
sabayon-24.png                 tux.png
sb_fr_c.png                    ubuntu-24.png
sb_fr_n.png                    ubuntu-glow-24.png
sb_fr_s.png                    windows-24.png
icons

And under /boot/grub/themes/demo/icons:

arch.png    gnu-linux.png      opensuse.png  slackware.png
debian.png  LICENSES           osx.png       submenu.png
fedora.png  linuxmint.png      recovery.png  ubuntu.png
gentoo.png  mandrivalinux.png  sabayon.png   windows.png

Now, at the start of the Distributing Your Theme chapter, the first command:

mkdir ~/grub-themes ; cp -r --no-preserve=ownership <grub_dir>/themes/demo ~/grub-themes/ ; cp ~/Documents/grub_guide/ed3/install.sh ~/grub-themes/demo/

creates a grub-themes directory in your /home directory and copies the /boot/grub/themes/demo directory and the ~/Documents/grub_guide/ed3/install.sh file to it.

Follow the steps in the rest of the chapter.

If you did not follow each step up to this point, the install script may fail. This should help with testing the demo theme:

mkdir ~/grub-themes
cd ~/grub-themes
cp -r ~/Documents/grub_guide/ed3/demo .
cd demo
cp -r ~/Documents/grub_guide/ed3/icons .
cp ~/Documents/grub_guide/ed3/install.sh .
sudo rm -r /boot/grub/themes/demo
sudo ./install.sh

This will install the demo themes and icons to /boot/grub/themes and set the variables GRUB_BACKGROUND and GRUB_THEME in the /etc/default/grub configuration file. It will also run update-grub to generate the new /boot/grub/grub.cfg file.

export GRUB_MENU_PICTURE="/boot/grub/themes/demo/demo/gnu-linux-color-wallpaper.png" is not set by the install script.

Thanks for the suggestions in your other posts.

[hal8000]

Thanks a lot for your help.

I have another suggestion for testing grub2 themes without rebooting:

grub-emu


I tried grub-emu and it gave me an error relating to a video driver I do not use, so maybe someone else needs to install grub-emu.


I followed your instructions and can confirm that it works perfectly. Thank you for all the hard work you have shared with
the Community.
In next few weeks I will have a go at a custom theme myself.

[edkmho]

Hi Towheed,

I am new to Ubuntu. This is my first Ubuntu installation.

I am trying to get the grub theme to work on my newly installed Ubuntu Gnome 13.04 and the terminal windows keep popping up after selection. I did try to patch the 00_header but not successful.


Please help me to get rid of the terminal windows after selection is being made.

Below is my grub file from /etc/default/grub :
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
# info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT="Ubuntu"
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT="0"
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET="true"
GRUB_TIMEOUT="2"
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xe fefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL="console"

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768
GRUB_THEME=/boot/grub/themes/demo/theme.txt

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID="true"

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

#GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT="false"

GRUB_BACKGROUND=/boot/grub/themes/demo/terminal-background-workaround.png

Below is my 00_header file :
#! /bin/sh
set -e

# grub-mkconfig helper script.
# Copyright (C) 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
#
# GRUB 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 3 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# GRUB 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 GRUB. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

transform="s,x,x,"

prefix="/usr"
exec_prefix="${prefix}"
datarootdir="${prefix}/share"
grub_lang=`echo $LANG | cut -d . -f 1`

export TEXTDOMAIN=grub
export TEXTDOMAINDIR="${datarootdir}/locale"

. "${datarootdir}/grub/grub-mkconfig_lib"

# Do this as early as possible, since other commands might depend on it.
# (e.g. the `loadfont' command might need lvm or raid modules)
for i in ${GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES} ; do
echo "insmod $i"
done

if [ "x${GRUB_DEFAULT}" = "x" ] ; then GRUB_DEFAULT=0 ; fi
if [ "x${GRUB_DEFAULT}" = "xsaved" ] ; then GRUB_DEFAULT='${saved_entry}' ; fi
if [ "x${GRUB_TIMEOUT}" = "x" ] ; then GRUB_TIMEOUT=5 ; fi
if [ "x${GRUB_GFXMODE}" = "x" ] ; then GRUB_GFXMODE=auto ; fi

if [ "x${GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON}" = "x" ] ; then GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON="$GRUB_DEFAULT" ; fi
if [ "x${GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON}" = "xsaved" ] ; then GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON='${saved_entry}' ; fi
if [ "x${GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON}" = "x" ] ; then GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON="$GRUB_TIMEOUT" ; fi

cat << EOF
if [ -s \$prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
EOF
if [ "x$GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS" != "x" ]; then
cat <<EOF
if cmostest $GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS ; then
set default="${GRUB_DEFAULT_BUTTON}"
else
set default="${GRUB_DEFAULT}"
fi
EOF
else
cat <<EOF
set default="${GRUB_DEFAULT}"
EOF
fi
cat <<EOF

if [ x"\${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "\${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="\${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z "\${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="\${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n "\${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "\${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}

function load_video {
EOF
if [ -n "${GRUB_VIDEO_BACKEND}" ]; then
cat <<EOF
insmod ${GRUB_VIDEO_BACKEND}
EOF
else
# If all_video.mod isn't available load all modules available
# with versions prior to introduction of all_video.mod
cat <<EOF
if [ x\$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
EOF
fi
cat <<EOF
}

EOF

serial=0;
gfxterm=0;
for x in ${GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT} ${GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT}; do
if [ xserial = "x$x" ]; then
serial=1;
fi
if [ xgfxterm = "x$x" ]; then
gfxterm=1;
fi
done

if [ "x$serial" = x1 ]; then
if [ "x${GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND}" = "x" ] ; then
grub_warn "$(gettext "Requested serial terminal but GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND is unspecified. Default parameters will be used.")"
GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND=serial
fi
echo "${GRUB_SERIAL_COMMAND}"
fi

if [ "x$gfxterm" = x1 ]; then
if [ -n "$GRUB_FONT" ] ; then
# Make the font accessible
prepare_grub_to_access_device `${grub_probe} --target=device "${GRUB_FONT}"`
cat << EOF
if loadfont `make_system_path_relative_to_its_root "${GRUB_FONT}"` ; then
EOF
else
for dir in "${pkgdatadir}" "`echo '/boot/grub' | sed "s,//*,/,g"`" /usr/share/grub ; do
for basename in unicode unifont ascii; do
path="${dir}/${basename}.pf2"
if is_path_readable_by_grub "${path}" > /dev/null ; then
font_path="${path}"
else
continue
fi
break 2
done
done
if [ -n "${font_path}" ] ; then
cat << EOF
if [ x\$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
EOF
# Make the font accessible
prepare_grub_to_access_device `${grub_probe} --target=device "${font_path}"`
cat << EOF
font="`make_system_path_relative_to_its_root "${font_path}"`"
fi

if loadfont \$font ; then
EOF
else
cat << EOF
if loadfont unicode ; then
EOF
fi
fi

cat << EOF
set gfxmode=${GRUB_GFXMODE}
load_video
insmod gfxterm
EOF

# Gettext variables and module
if [ "x${LANG}" != "xC" ] ; then
cat << EOF
set locale_dir=\$prefix/locale
set lang=${grub_lang}
insmod gettext
EOF
fi

cat <<EOF
fi
EOF
fi

case x${GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT} in
x)
# Just use the native terminal
;;
x*)
cat << EOF
terminal_input ${GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT}
EOF
;;
esac

case x${GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT} in
x)
# Just use the native terminal
;;
x*)
cat << EOF
terminal_output ${GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT}
EOF
;;
esac

if [ "x$gfxterm" = x1 ]; then
if [ "x$GRUB_THEME" != x ] && [ -f "$GRUB_THEME" ] \
&& is_path_readable_by_grub "$GRUB_THEME"; then
gettext_printf "Found theme: %s\n" "$GRUB_THEME" >&2

prepare_grub_to_access_device `${grub_probe} --target=device "$GRUB_THEME"`
cat << EOF
insmod gfxmenu
EOF
themedir="`dirname "$GRUB_THEME"`"
for x in "$themedir"/*.pf2 "$themedir"/f/*.pf2; do
if [ -f "$x" ]; then
cat << EOF
loadfont (\$root)`make_system_path_relative_to_its_root $x`
EOF
fi
done
if [ x"`echo "$themedir"/*.jpg`" != x"$themedir/*.jpg" ] || [ x"`echo "$themedir"/*.jpeg`" != x"$themedir/*.jpeg" ]; then
cat << EOF
insmod jpeg
EOF
fi
if [ x"`echo "$themedir"/*.png`" != x"$themedir/*.png" ]; then
cat << EOF
insmod png
EOF
fi
if [ x"`echo "$themedir"/*.tga`" != x"$themedir/*.tga" ]; then
cat << EOF
insmod tga
EOF
fi

cat << EOF
set theme=(\$root)`make_system_path_relative_to_its_ro ot $GRUB_THEME`
export theme
EOF
elif [ "x$GRUB_BACKGROUND" != x ] && [ -f "$GRUB_BACKGROUND" ] \
&& is_path_readable_by_grub "$GRUB_BACKGROUND"; then
gettext_printf "Found background: %s\n" "$GRUB_BACKGROUND" >&2
case "$GRUB_BACKGROUND" in
*.png) reader=png ;;
*.tga) reader=tga ;;
*.jpg|*.jpeg) reader=jpeg ;;
*) gettext "Unsupported image format" >&2; echo >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
prepare_grub_to_access_device `${grub_probe} --target=device "$GRUB_BACKGROUND"`
cat << EOF
insmod $reader
background_image -m stretch `make_system_path_relative_to_its_root "$GRUB_BACKGROUND"`
EOF
fi
fi

make_timeout ()
{
cat << EOF
if [ "\${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
set timeout=${GRUB_RECORDFAIL_TIMEOUT:--1}
else
set timeout=${2}
fi
EOF
}

if [ "x$GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS" != "x" ]; then
cat <<EOF
if cmostest $GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS ; then
EOF
make_timeout "${GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_BUTTON}" "${GRUB_TIMEOUT_BUTTON}"
echo else
make_timeout "${GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT}" "${GRUB_TIMEOUT}"
echo fi
else
make_timeout "${GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT}" "${GRUB_TIMEOUT}"
fi

if [ "x$GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS" != "x" ] && [ "x$GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_CLEAN" = "xyes" ]; then
cat <<EOF
cmosclean $GRUB_BUTTON_CMOS_ADDRESS
EOF
fi

# Play an initial tune
if [ "x${GRUB_INIT_TUNE}" != "x" ] ; then
echo "play ${GRUB_INIT_TUNE}"
fi

if [ "x${GRUB_BADRAM}" != "x" ] ; then
echo "badram ${GRUB_BADRAM}"
fi

Thanks.

[towheedm]

Simply put, you cannot get rid of the terminal window. It's part of the GRUB source code.

Also, if you followed the 3rd Edition (which you should use now), from Page 69 of the Guide:

A background image is never shown if we are using GRUB's graphical theme
because GRUB_THEME takes precedence over GRUB_BACKGROUND. Before a background
image is shown in the terminal window, we must remove this precedence. This is set in GRUB's
/etc/grub.d/00_header script as shown below:

The patch only allows you to apply a background image to the temrinal window, not remove it all together.