Silent boot

This page is for those who prefer to limit the verbosity of their system to a strict minimum, either for aesthetics or other reasons. Following this guide will remove all text from the bootup process.

Syslinux+Systemd

Your /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg should look something like:

   $ grep APPEND /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg | head -n1
   APPEND root=/dev/sda1 ro 5 init=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd quiet vga=current

vga=current is the magic kernel argument not to do something crazy like flash grey.

Configure your systemd getty service like so:

   x220:~$ grep ExecStart /usr/lib/systemd/system/getty@.service
   ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty -i -a YOUR_USERNAME %I 38400

To remove lastlog message you need to comment out lastlog in /etc/pam.d/login:

    #session                optional        pam_lastlog.so

To hide any kernel messages from the console use this tip:

   $ grep ^kernel.printk /etc/sysctl.conf 
   kernel.printk = 3 3 3 3

To hide startx messages, you could redirect its output to /dev/null, like so:

   [[ $(fgconsole 2>/dev/null) == 1 ]] && exec startx -- vt1 &> /dev/null

Outstanding Issues:

• agetty's automatic login is noisy
• Systemd shutdowns are not quiet