Grub Customizer is a GUI-based tool that customizes the Grub bootloader menu on Linux systems. Users can use it to modify the boot entries order, the timeout, the default boot option, the resolution, and other settings. To perform all these operations on the GRUB menu, first need to install Grub Customizer on the Linux Mint system (a popular Debian-based distribution).

By default, Grub Customizer is not present in the official repositories of Linux Mint. However, users can easily install it from the PPA repository (Personal Package Archive). Based on its importance, this article will cover installation, uninstallation as well as usage of Grub Customizer on Linux Mint.

The supported content of this guide is given below:

• How to Install Grub Customizer on Linux Mint?
• How to Use Grub Customizer on Linux Mint?
• Bonus Tip 1: Install Grub Customizer on Other Linux Distributions
• Bonus Tip 2: Uninstall the Grub Customizer from Linux Mint

 

How to Install Grub Customizer on Linux Mint?

Grub Customizer is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that can help users manage their Grub bootloader menu on Linux Mint. To install it, add the PPA to your Linux system, then update the package list. Finally, install Grub Customizer which may be asked to enter a login user password and confirm during the installation process.

The step-by-step instructions to install Grub Customizer on Linux Mint are given below:

Step 1: Add Grub Customizer PPA to System

To install Grub Customizer on Linux Mint, first add a PPA repository that contains the latest version of the software. A PPA is a repository of packages that are not included in the official sources of your distribution.

To add Grub Customizer PPA to the Linux Mint system, use the “add-apt-repository” command with the repository name such as “danielrichter2007/”:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

Here, the automatic consent to add the repository instead of confirming manually.

Step 2: Update Package List

After doing so, update the system repository to apply added changes to the Linux Mint system. To do so, use the “update” command with the “sudo” privileges:

sudo apt update

It updates the package list and is ready to install a new package from the added PPA repository or default APT repository.

Step 3: Install Grub Customizer

To install the Grub customizer on the Linux Mint system, run the “grub-customizer” command with the “install” utility as given below:

sudo apt install grub-customizer

It installs the “grub-customizer” packages along with all dependencies.

Step 4: Verify Grub-Customizer

To verify whether the Grub-Customizer is installed or not, check its version by executing the “grub-customizer” command with the “v” utility:

grub-customizer -v

Finally, “Grub-Customizer 5.2.4” version has been installed on the system.

Let’s move towards the next section for launching and usage of the Grub Customizer on the Linux Mint.

How to Use the Grub Customizer on Linux Mint?

Grub Customizer permits users to modify the boot menu of their Linux Mint system. Also, users can change the order of the entries, the default boot option, the timeout, the background image, and more.

To explore more about Grub Customizer, follow the below instructions:

Launch the Grub Customizer

Once the installation is completed, launch the Grub Customizer on the system. For that purpose, open it through GUI (Graphical User Interface) or by executing the given command:

grub-customizer

While executing the above command, the “Authenticate” window appears on the screen. It asks users to provide the login password to access the GRUB settings and hit the “Authenticate” button:

The Grub Customizer user interface has been launched successfully:

Once Grub Customizer opens, see a list of your boot entries and some buttons to modify them.

Alternatively, users can open it through the GUI. To do so, access the Linux Mint menu > search “Grub Customizer” > launch it by clicking on it:

Use Grub Customizer

The main window of Grub Customizer consists of three tabs: “List configuration”, “General settings”, and “Appearance settings”.

Let’s explain each tab in detail and how to use them.

List Configuration

The “List configuration” tab has the existing bootloader entries. Here, users can add changes to any entry by right-clicking on it. In addition, you can add a new OS and kernel entry through the highlighted “+” plus icon in the toolbar:

In this tab, users can see and edit the list of entries that appear in the boot menu. You can perform various actions on them, such as:

• Reorder them by dragging and dropping them with your mouse, or using the arrow buttons at the top.
• Rename them by double-clicking on them or via the “Edit” option.
• Delete them by choosing the “Remove” button/option present at the top or pop-up window.
• Hide them by unmarking the box next to them.
• Add new ones by clicking on the “New entry” icon at the top and choosing one of the types: Linux, Windows, MacOS, Chain load, or Custom.

To implement any changes in this tab, hit the “Save” button in the toolbar.

General Settings

To change the default boot option, change the timeout, resolution, and other settings, select it, and click on the “General settings” tab. Inside the tab, choose the “default entry”, “visibility”, and “kernel parameters” options that are discussed in detail:

• default entry: This is the option that will be selected by default when you boot the system. Choose one of the existing entries, or set it to a “previously booted entry”.
• visibility: This is the number of seconds that the boot menu will wait before automatically booting the default entry. Users can set it to a value from 0 to 60, or disable it by setting it to -1.
• kernel parameters: These are additional options that can be given to the kernel during the booting process. Users can edit them manually or use the “advanced settings” button to select some common ones.

To implement any modifications, click on “Save” at the top.

Appearance Settings

Under the “Appearance settings” tab, users can select the preferred background image, customize the theme settings, font color, background, style, background, and many more others:

In this tab, users can customize some advanced settings of the boot menu appearance, such as:

• Choose one of the built-in “themes”, or use a custom one by selecting a background image and a font color.
• Choose one of the predefined “resolution” values, or set it to “auto” to use the native resolution of your monitor.
• Change the “colors” of several elements of the menu, such as text, highlight, background, etc.
• Modify the “font size” as well as the “style” of the menu text.

After performing changes, hit the “Save” button on the toolbar.

Tip and Tricks:

Here are some useful tips and tricks for using Grub Customizer on Linux Mint:

Backup Current Configuration

To back up the current configuration before making any changes, you can use the “File > Save” option in Grub Customizer:

This saves a file with the .cfg extension that you can restore later.

Access More Features of Grub Customizer

To access more options and features of Grub Customizer, use the “Change Environment” option from the “File” tab. There, users can change settings such as language, proxy, logging, etc.

Important Note: You should be careful when using it, as making incorrect changes can cause your system to fail to boot.

Bonus Tip 1: Install Grub Customizer on Other Linux Distributions

Grub Customizer customizes the appearance and behavior of the GRUB bootloader on the RHEL (CentOS) system. For this, change the default boot entry, the timeout, the resolution, the background image, and more.

To install Grub Customizer on RHEL (CentOS) using the EPEL repository, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Enable the EPEL repository

The EPEL repository provides some packages that are not available in the official RHEL (CentOS) repositories. Grub Customizer is one of them. To enable the EPEL repository, execute the below command as root or with sudo:

sudo yum install epel-release

Step 2: Install Grub Customizer

Once the EPEL repository is enabled, users can install Grub Customizer with the “yum” package manager:

sudo yum install grub-customizer

Step 3: Launch Grub Customizer

After installing the Grub Customizer package, users can confirm it by launching from the command line by typing below script:

grub-customizer

Note: It can also launch from the Applications menu by searching for Grub Customizer. It asks to enter a password to authenticate.

Step 4: Customize GRUB

Grub Customizer allows users to customize various aspects of GRUB. You can see a list of all the boot entries on the left pane, and modify their settings. Also, add, remove, or reorder boot entries by using the buttons on the toolbar:

To apply any changes, click on the “Save” button on the toolbar. It sees a confirmation message that shows what changes will be made to the GRUB configuration file.

After saving changes, reboot the system and see the customized GRUB screen.

Bonus Tip 2: Uninstall the Grub Customizer from Linux Mint

Sometimes, users need to reinstall the Grub Customizer for troubleshooting or if they no longer require it. Then, users can completely remove it from the system by running the following command:

Remove/Uninstall Grub Customizer

To remove Grub Customizer along with all dependencies, use the “autoremove” utility with the “apt” command in terminal:

sudo apt remove grub-customizer # Remove Grub Package

sudo apt remove --autoremove grub-customizer # Remove Grub Package with All Dependencies

Remove PPA Repository of Grub Customizer

To remove the PPA repository of Grub Customizer on the Linux Mint system, use the “remove” utility by specifying the repository name “danielrichter2007” which is given below:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

Verification

To verify the uninstallation of Grub Customizer on the Linux Mint, execute the “grub-customizer” command with the “v” version option:

grub-customizer -v

The output shows that the Grub customizer user interface has been uninstalled successfully from the Linux Mint system.

Bonus: Uninstall Grub Customizer on RHEL (CentOS)

If you want to uninstall Grub Customizer, use the “remove” utility by specifying the “grub-customizer” as follows:

sudo yum remove grub-customizer # Remove Packages

sudo yum autoremove grub-customizer # Remove Packages With Dependencies

After removing Grub Customizer on CentOS, users must update the GRUB configuration file. For this, execute the “grub2-mkconfig” command by specifying the configuration file path such as “/boot/grub2/grub.cfg”:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Finally, reboot the CentOS system and verify that the GRUB menu is back to its default settings.

You have successfully uninstalled Grub Customizer on RHEL (CentOS).

Conclusion

Grub Customizer has a simple and intuitive interface that lets you modify various aspects of the boot menu. To install it on Linux Mint, add the PPA repository to the system, then update the repository. In the end, install Grub Customizer and confirm the version.

Users can use its simple interface to change various aspects of the menu, such as entries, timeout, theme, etc. Also, back up, test, and tweak configuration with some extra options and features. This guide has explained the easiest way to install as well as use Grub Customizer on Linux Mint.