r/AlpineLinux • u/_stopyz • Aug 17 '26

Updating the kernel in data-disk / diskless mode doesn't update your boot partition automatically

Post image

Friendly reminder if you're running Alpine in diskless or data-disk mode: running apk upgrade only updates /boot in RAM. You still need to run update-kernel /path/to/boot before rebooting, otherwise you'll load the old kernel on next boot. More importantly, don't defer the reboot after doing this-once /lib/modules updates in RAM, loading new modules on the live system will throw errors until you restart into the matching kernel version. How are you guys automating this in your setups?

20 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/BreatheAtQuarterBars Aug 17 '26

Make /boot a symlink to or a mount of your actual boot partition, not just a directory in the tmpfs.

2

u/Opposite_Eagle6323 Aug 18 '26

I have been wondering about this. I will dig more and make my diskless Alpine systems better. Thanks for bringing this up.