From nobody Tue Dec 2 01:04:11 2025 Received: from lichtman.org (lichtman.org [149.28.33.109]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 896513B1AB; Sun, 23 Nov 2025 07:14:23 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=149.28.33.109 ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1763882065; cv=none; b=IV6SggHs6lzXS3r109bi/eBtcn09EVq16MylH3IfDghrEkETJjm48QCIep8DIedx85kITQnlD/KZ+tvNJ8pdph3I4Sf8jNFLDE6E/Wq0VgJA6XlPyr8B7yfWU8I7KMm5cnrhZCO28FBIxxrgxFeXdF62TcJMjakZVULJDVKsEaw= ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1763882065; c=relaxed/simple; bh=cx9QffTSYqlHb4TRmFm6Cl1WBWo6Gx4k+Jh647bvAwk=; h=Date:From:To:Subject:Message-ID:MIME-Version:Content-Type: Content-Disposition; b=dVhlG5LDQanpVOdt6x2sLqUIj6LC/uJso50wt6Ujnw8FPtv3kfY79+ZI+qfeGBRvG24tmRRDhOshw22aLFSiB3c53kFqH7uHW6WLF4AkyjKIe/IOeaf9g2I/l808hZ4Es7M+HfEOKSYxYlog4tbPc42raWD1qmayo50BjBvjOi0= ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=lichtman.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=lichtman.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=lichtman.org header.i=@lichtman.org header.b=APIk+rU2; arc=none smtp.client-ip=149.28.33.109 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=lichtman.org Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=lichtman.org Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=lichtman.org header.i=@lichtman.org header.b="APIk+rU2" Received: from nirs-laptop.local (unknown [85.130.135.138]) by lichtman.org (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 1779E176F17; Sun, 23 Nov 2025 07:08:53 +0000 (UTC) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=simple/simple; d=lichtman.org; s=mail; t=1763881734; bh=cx9QffTSYqlHb4TRmFm6Cl1WBWo6Gx4k+Jh647bvAwk=; h=Date:From:To:Subject:From; b=APIk+rU24CRy4ckoZD60oiCzram1cYooWeqqZg9MNiMxrqMG4QI2poNZ1UccVuzQ6 mIuM7VwNDdSprpnR22pnUD5g0BQUAt2f0mtdGBJlObHYDHHMBe1D4jcE5AHKtjaZrz t0jyPHHontqhD+on6C6t1dm3dvoMis0EsDF1PVgNhCTqYP4SWgrpr0HnBnEKUQ7uLp qTMrKvReM467xLPFjXCn6OfIr80/C9d5iAHGZQZ+qAcjE1pONw5rju0geJ5YVLSg37 WXI5FqwzMpmAbDLdBb/ZYyp8ii14AvjfA6xD/W1nSfUH4dgSYapaRrlhjYC+/j0E4B G4sFhdDksOdbQ== Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2025 09:08:38 +0200 From: Nir Lichtman To: corbet@lwn.net, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: [PATCH] Documentation: Fix confusing descriptions of rdinit and init Message-ID: Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Problem: Documentation of init does not emphasize that it is only used when initramfs failed to load and the legacy logic of direct root partition mounting is started. Documentation of rdinit uses the legacy term ramdisk even though nowadays it controls the init process of initramfs. Solution: Fix and modernize both. Ref: init/main.c and the kernel doc article "Ramfs, rootfs and initramfs" Signed-off-by: Nir Lichtman --- Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 7 ++++--- 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentatio= n/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt index 6c42061ca..63170346c 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt @@ -2305,8 +2305,9 @@ =20 init=3D [KNL] Format: - Run specified binary instead of /sbin/init as init - process. + Run specified binary instead of /sbin/init as init process + from root partition, used in case init was not found + in the initramfs. =20 initcall_debug [KNL] Trace initcalls as they are executed. Useful for working out where the kernel is dying during @@ -6194,7 +6195,7 @@ =20 rdinit=3D [KNL] Format: - Run specified binary instead of /init from the ramdisk, + Run specified binary instead of /init from the initramfs, used for early userspace startup. See initrd. =20 rdrand=3D [X86,EARLY] --=20 2.49.1