# Fbsplash

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Reason: using initscripts (Discuss in Talk:Fbsplash#)

Fbsplash (formerly gensplash) is a userspace implementation of a splash screen for Linux systems. It provides a graphical environment during system boot using the Linux framebuffer layer. Fbsplash has not been actively updated in the recent years and may not be working correctly on a recent Arch setup using systemd. If you want a fancy splash screen during boot, you might want to try Plymouth instead.

## Installation

### Fbsplash

Install the fbsplashAUR package. For console backgrounds (discussed later in this article) you should install a kernel patched with fbcondecor such as linux-fbcondecorAUR.

### Scripts

The fbsplash package provides the scripts for basic functionality. If you want more bells and whistles, like smooth progress, filesystem-check progress messages, support for boot-services/'daemons'-icons and theme hook scripts, you may also install the fbsplash-extrasAUR[broken link: archived in aur-mirror] package.

### Themes

Themes can be found by searching the AUR for fbsplash-theme, in GNOME-Look.org or in KDE-Look.org.

Note: The package fbsplash does not contain a default theme.

### Suspend to Disk

If you want suspend to disk with Uswsusp using Fbsplash, install the uswsusp-fbsplashAUR[broken link: archived in aur-mirror] package. Additionally there is limited support for using Fbsplash in the tuxonice-useruiAUR package for those using a kernel with the TuxOnIce patch.

## Configuration

### Kernel Command Line

You now need to set something like `quiet loglevel=3 logo.nologo gfxpayload=keep console=tty1 splash=silent,fadein,fadeout,theme:arch-banner-icons` as your kernel command line parameters in your bootloader. See Kernel parameters for more info.

The parameter `loglevel=3` prevents kernel messages from garbling the splash even with funny hardware (as recent initscripts do not set this by default any more). `quiet` is needed additionally for silencing initcpio messages. `logo.nologo` removes the boot logo (not needed with linux-fbcondecor since it does not have one anyway). `console=tty1` redirects system messages to tty1 and `splash=silent,fadein,fadeout,theme:arch-banner-icons` creates a silent, splash-only boot with fading in/out arch-banner-icons theme.

### Configuration Files

Put one or more of the themes you installed into `/etc/conf.d/splash`. You can also specify screen resolutions to save some initcpio space:

    /etc/conf.d/splash

    SPLASH_THEMES="
        arch-black
        arch-banner-icons/1280x1024.cfg
        arch-banner-noicons/1280x1024.cfg"

Note: The theme arch-banner-icons contains mainly symlinks to arch-banner-noicons. So if one of them is included in total, not much space will be saved by limiting the resolutions.

## Starting Fbsplash early in the initcpio

If uresume and/or encrypt HOOKS are used, add fbsplash after them in mkinitcpio.conf, e.g.:

    /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

    HOOKS="base udev autodetect [...] keymap encrypt uresume fbsplash"

Rebuild your initcpio via mkinitcpio. See mkinitcpio#Image creation and activation for more info.

Tip: For a quick resume, it is recommended to put uswsusp before fbsplash or even drop `fadein`, if using a Fbcondecor kernel.

If you have trouble getting fbsplash to work and your machine uses KMS (Kernel Mode Setting), try adding the appropriate driver to mkinitcpio.conf[broken link: invalid section].

## Console backgrounds

If you have a kernel that supports Fbcondecor (eg. linux-fbcondecorAUR), you can get nice graphical console backgrounds beside the splash screen.

Currently(2015) the fbsplashAUR package provides a deprecated daemon script to set up console backgrounds. However, the programs that actually handle console backgrounds are still working fine! Just look for /usr/bin/splash_manager or /usr/bin/fbcondecor_ctl and set up console backgrounds manually, or use them as a basis to write your own systemd unit.

Even if you have no interest in a splash screen, you will still need splash themes for your console background. Either get an existing one from the AUR fbsplash-theme or create one yourself in `/etc/splash/`. The only parameter in the theme .cfg file needed to enable console backgrounds is `pic`.

You may even boot up with a nice console background and the plain Arch Linux boot messages instead of a splash screen. Just change your kernel command line to use the verbose mode:

    quiet console=tty1 splash=verbose,theme:arch-banner-icons

## Links

- http://dev.gentoo.org/~spock/projects/fbcondecor/ [dead link 2014-05-01]
- http://www.mepiscommunity.org/fbcondecor

Category:

- Bootsplash

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