PIBOOTCTL-SET(1) pibootctl PIBOOTCTL-SET(1)

pibootctl-set - pibootctl manual

pibootctl set [-h] [--no-backup] [--all | --this-model | --this-serial]
              [--json] [--yaml] [--shell]
              [name=[value] [name=[value] ...]]


Change the value of one or more boot configuration settings. To reset the value of a setting to its default, simply omit the new value.

Specify one or more settings to change on the command line; to reset a setting to its default omit the value.

Show a brief help page for the command.

Don't take an automatic backup of the current boot configuration if one doesn't exist.

Set the specified settings on all Pis this SD card is used with. This is the default context.

Set the specified settings for this model of Pi only.

Set the specified settings for this Pi's serial number only.

Use JSON as the input format.

Use YAML as the input format.

Use a var=value input format suitable for the shell.

The set command can be used at the command line to update the boot configuration:

$ sudo pibootctl set video.overscan.enabled=off
Backed up current configuration in backup-20200309-230959


Note that, if no backup of the current boot configuration exists, a backup is automatically taken (unless --no-backup is specified). Multiple settings can be changed at once, and settings can be reset to their default value by omitting the new value after the "=" sign:

$ sudo pibootctl set --no-backup serial.enabled=on serial.uart=


By default, settings are written into an "[all]" section in config.txt meaning that they will apply everywhere the SD card is moved. However, you can opt to make settings specific to the current model of Pi, or even the current Pi's serial number:

$ sudo pibootctl set --this-serial camera.enabled=on gpu.mem=128


In this case an appropriate section like "[0x123456789]" will be added and the settings written under there.

For those wishing to build an interface on top of pibootctl, JSON, YAML, and shell-friendly formats can also be used to feed new values to the set command:

$ cat << EOF | sudo pibootctl set --json --no-backup
{"serial.enabled": true, "serial.uart": null}
EOF


Dave Jones

2019-2020 Dave Jones

September 14, 2020 0.5.2