Productslamboot-tools › Tool Reference

Tool Reference

All 11 core tools plus 2 bundled Rust binaries. v0.9.1.

READ-ONLY

lamboot-diagnose

Non-destructive full-system boot audit. The recommended first tool to run on any machine.

Subcommands
lamboot-diagnose               # Run all checks (equivalent to 'all')
lamboot-diagnose all           # All check categories
lamboot-diagnose esp           # ESP health and content
lamboot-diagnose bootloader    # GRUB/systemd-boot/rEFInd config and binaries
lamboot-diagnose nvram         # NVRAM boot order and entries
lamboot-diagnose secureboot    # Secure Boot state and key enrollment
lamboot-diagnose vm            # VM guest detection and lamboot state
FlagDescription
--category CATRun only the named check category.
--min-severity LEVELOnly show findings at or above: info, warning, error, critical.
--fail-on LEVELExit non-zero if any finding at or above this level is found. Default: error.
--suggestPrint a recommended lamboot-repair or lamboot-migrate command for each actionable finding.
READ-WRITE

lamboot-esp

EFI System Partition inspection, clean-up, resizing, and repair.

Subcommands
lamboot-esp status             # Check ESP health and usage
lamboot-esp list               # List all files on the ESP
lamboot-esp clean              # Remove stale kernel images and unused EFI entries
lamboot-esp resize TARGET_MB   # Resize ESP (creates backup first)
lamboot-esp repair             # Fix structural issues found by 'status'
lamboot-esp mount              # Mount the ESP at /boot/efi if unmounted

Safety: resize and repair create an automatic backup before making any change. The backup path is included in --json output as backup_dir. Use --dry-run to preview actions.

PYTHON · READ-WRITE

lamboot-nvram

UEFI NVRAM boot entry management. Create, delete, reorder, and export boot entries without using efibootmgr directly.

Subcommands
lamboot-nvram list              # List all NVRAM boot entries
lamboot-nvram show ID          # Show details for a specific entry
lamboot-nvram create           # Add a new EFI boot entry
lamboot-nvram delete ID        # Delete an entry by BootXXXX ID
lamboot-nvram reorder ID...    # Set a new boot order
lamboot-nvram export           # Export all entries to JSON
lamboot-nvram import FILE      # Restore entries from exported JSON
READ-WRITE

lamboot-backup

Create, list, verify, and restore boot-environment snapshots. Every mutating tool calls this automatically before making changes.

Subcommands
lamboot-backup save [LABEL]    # Snapshot ESP + NVRAM to /var/backups/lamboot/
lamboot-backup list            # List snapshots sorted newest-first
lamboot-backup show ID         # Show what a snapshot contains
lamboot-backup verify ID       # Verify the integrity of a snapshot
lamboot-backup restore ID      # Restore an ESP + NVRAM snapshot
lamboot-backup delete ID       # Delete a snapshot
FlagDescription
--backup-dir DIRStore or read backups at an alternate location. Default: /var/backups/lamboot/.
--include-diskSave the raw ESP partition image in addition to a file-tree copy. Allows byte-level restoration.
READ-WRITE

lamboot-repair

Apply targeted fixes to issues discovered by lamboot-diagnose. Always creates a backup first.

Subcommands
lamboot-repair run             # Apply all safe, automated fixes
lamboot-repair run --category esp     # Fix only ESP-category findings
lamboot-repair run --finding ID       # Fix a specific finding by ID
lamboot-repair preview         # Show what 'run' would do (equivalent to --dry-run)

Repairs are idempotent: re-running after a partial failure is safe and will only re-apply changes that are still needed. Pass --backup-dir DIR to control where the pre-repair backup is stored.

READ-WRITE · MAJOR CHANGE

lamboot-migrate

Convert between boot modes: CSM/BIOS to UEFI, UEFI to Secure Boot, standard kernel to Unified Kernel Image.

Subcommands
lamboot-migrate to-uefi        # Convert BIOS/CSM → UEFI
lamboot-migrate to-secureboot  # Enroll keys and enable Secure Boot
lamboot-migrate to-uki         # Build and register a Unified Kernel Image
lamboot-migrate status         # Report current boot mode and readiness
lamboot-migrate preflight      # Run pre-migration checks without changes
FlagDescription
--stage STAGEResume a migration from a specific stage. Useful after a partial run or reboot.
--target-disk DEVTarget a different disk. Defaults to the boot disk.
--rebootReboot automatically at the end of the migration once user confirms.

Critical: Run lamboot-migrate preflight before any migration. Always run from a bootable rescue environment if converting the primary boot drive of a production system. Does not support --offline.

READ-WRITE · INTERACTIVE

lamboot-doctor

Guided repair session. Calls lamboot-diagnose internally, groups findings by priority, proposes fixes, and walks through each interactively.

Subcommands
lamboot-doctor run             # Full interactive repair session
lamboot-doctor run --auto      # Automated session (answers yes, no prompts)

Doctor is the recommended starting point for unfamiliar systems. It runs the full diagnostic suite, groups findings by priority, explains each issue in plain language, and asks for confirmation before applying any change. Changes are applied by calling the relevant specialized tool, so its side-effect contract is the union of all the tools it invokes.

READ-WRITE

lamboot-uki-build

Assemble, sign, and register Unified Kernel Images. Wraps ukify and sbsign with sensible defaults and an integrated Secure Boot signing path.

Subcommands
lamboot-uki-build build         # Build a UKI from the running kernel
lamboot-uki-build build --kernel VERSION  # Build for a specific kernel version
lamboot-uki-build sign FILE    # Sign an existing UKI without rebuilding
lamboot-uki-build install      # Install a built UKI to the ESP
lamboot-uki-build verify FILE  # Verify a UKI signature
READ-WRITE

lamboot-signing-keys

Generate, manage, and enroll Secure Boot signing keys (Platform Key, Key Exchange Key, Signature Database).

Subcommands
lamboot-signing-keys status    # Check current key enrollment
lamboot-signing-keys generate  # Generate a new PK/KEK/db key set
lamboot-signing-keys enroll    # Enroll generated keys via UEFI Setup Mode
lamboot-signing-keys export    # Export public certificates
lamboot-signing-keys backup    # Backup key material to an encrypted archive
PYTHON · READ-ONLY

lamboot-inspect

Deep inspection of boot artefacts: PE/COFF EFI binaries, UKI sections, kernel cmdline, initrd contents, and Secure Boot certificate chains.

Subcommands
lamboot-inspect efi FILE       # Inspect a PE/COFF EFI binary
lamboot-inspect uki FILE       # Decode all sections of a UKI
lamboot-inspect initrd FILE    # List initrd contents and extraction points
lamboot-inspect cert FILE      # Decode a DER/PEM certificate
lamboot-inspect cmdline        # Show current kernel cmdline and sources

All subcommands are fully offline-capable: pass any file path, not just system paths. Useful for inspecting artefacts from other machines or verifying builds before deployment.

DISPATCHER

lamboot-toolkit

Top-level dispatcher for the suite. A convenient entry point when you want to explore available tools or run toolkit-wide operations.

Subcommands
lamboot-toolkit status         # Suite-wide health overview
lamboot-toolkit list           # List every installed tool with version and description
lamboot-toolkit update         # Check GitHub Releases for a new toolkit version
lamboot-toolkit doctor         # Alias for lamboot-doctor run
Toolkit status output example
$ lamboot-toolkit status
lamboot-tools 0.9.1    11 tools    x86_64    UEFI native boot

  lamboot-diagnose        0.9.1    lamboot-esp             0.9.1    lamboot-nvram           0.9.1    lamboot-backup          0.9.1    lamboot-repair          0.9.1    lamboot-migrate         0.9.1    lamboot-doctor          0.9.1    lamboot-uki-build       0.9.1    lamboot-signing-keys    0.9.1    lamboot-inspect         0.9.1    lamboot-toolkit         0.9.1    lamboot-capcheck        0.1.0    (bundled Rust binary)
  lamboot-reader          0.1.0    (bundled Rust binary)
BUNDLED BINARIES

Rust binaries bundled with 0.9.1

These two Rust binaries are distributed with the toolkit. They use their own exit-code contract: 0 OK, 1 error, 2 partial, 3 prerequisites missing.

lamboot-capcheck 0.1.0

Probes 12 UEFI firmware capability domains and emits a structured capability report. Useful for pre-migration preflight and for building site-wide firmware inventories.

bash
lamboot-capcheck
lamboot-capcheck --json | jq .capabilities

12 domains: SecureBoot, TPM2, UEFI32, NVMe, USBBoot, PXEBoot, ReliableBoot, Fastboot, UEFI Shell, HTTPS Boot, OVMF detection, Shim presence.

lamboot-reader 0.1.0

Low-level PE/COFF and UKI section reader. Used by lamboot-inspect internally, but also available standalone for integration into build pipelines.

bash
lamboot-reader --sections /boot/efi/EFI/Linux/linux-6.8.efi
lamboot-reader --verify-sig /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.EFI