# double-minegrub-menu

**Repository Path**: bennett1225/double-minegrub-menu

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: double-minegrub-menu
- **Description**: No description available
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: MIT
- **Default Branch**: main
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2025-08-19
- **Last Updated**: 2025-08-19

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

**The Minecraft Grub Theme Trio:**

| [Minecraft Main Menu](https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-theme) | [Minecraft World Selection Menu](https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-world-sel-theme) | *> Using both themes together <* |
| --- | --- | --- |

**Also check out these other projects:**
| [Minecraft SDDM Theme](https://github.com/Davi-S/sddm-theme-minesddm) by Davi-S | [Minecraft Plymouth Theme](https://github.com/nikp123/minecraft-plymouth-theme) by nikp123 | [Minecraft World Loading KDE Splash](https://github.com/Samsu-F/minecraftworldloading-kde-splash) by Samsu-F
| --- | --- | --- |

# The REAL minecraft experience when booting your system!

This is a guide on how you can have two grub menus after one another, each in a different theme!

I made this so I can use my minegrub theme that looks like the Minecraft main menu to enter my _second_ minegrub theme that looks like the minecraft world selection menu _just like in the real game_

Yea, its possible, and its fun

<video src='https://github.com/Lxtharia/double-minegrub-menu/assets/87075045/3b317b16-482c-44cf-9faa-75a3f437e7b5' width=180 > </video>


# Installation

Here we provide two methods to install it: automatic installation and manual installation.

## Automatic Installation

All you only need to do is to clone this project, and run the bash script we provide:

```shell
sudo ./install.sh
```

Then everything is done! Our installation script will prepare everything well for you.

## Manual Installation

You can also choose to install it manually, just do as follow:

- Install your two themes, in this case:
    ```bash
    git clone https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-world-sel-theme.git && cd minegrub-world-sel-theme
    sudo cp -ruv minegrub-world-selection /boot/grub/themes/
    
    cd ..
    ### And the other one
    git clone https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-theme.git && cd minegrub-theme
    sudo cp -ruv minegrub /boot/grub/themes/
    ```
    - Check them out here for more instructions: [minegrub-theme](https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-theme) and [minegrub-world-sel-theme](https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-world-sel-theme)

- Set the **world-selection** theme in `/etc/default/grub` and other trivial stuff
    ```bash
    GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
    ...
    GRUB_THEME=/boot/grub/themes/minegrub-world-selection/theme.txt
    ...
    GRUB_GFXMODE=...
    ```
- clone _this_ repo or download the files (it's only two)
    ```bash
    git clone https://github.com/Lxtharia/minegrub-double-menu.git && cd minegrub-double-menu
    ```
- copy the files
    ```bash
    sudo cp ./mainmenu.cfg /boot/grub/
    sudo cp ./05_twomenus /etc/grub.d/
    chmod +x /etc/grub.d/05_twomenus
    ```
- regenerate the grub.cfg
    ```bash
    sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    ```
- to **enable** it, you need to set a grub environmental variable:
    ```bash
    sudo grub-editenv - set config_file=mainmenu.cfg
    ```
- Done!
- If you want to disable it all you need to do is
    ```bash
    sudo grub-editenv - unset config_file
    ```
## Gentoo Installation
- Add the overlay to your system
    ```bash
    eselect repository enable tomoshibi-overlay
    emaint sync -r tomoshibi-overlay
    ```
- Choose theme for minegrub-theme, there are 13 themes available that can be chosen via theme0, theme1, theme2, ..., theme12 USE flags. You can use `equery u minegrub-theme` to view the description of these flags. Keep in mind that exactly one of these USE flags must be enabled.
    ```bash
    echo sys-boot/minegrub-theme theme0 > /etc/portage/package.use/50-minegrub-theme
    ```
- Install
    ```bash
    emerge sys-boot/double-minegrub-menu::tomoshibi-overlay
    ```
- The remain steps are the same as manual installation, i'll copy these here.
- regenerate the grub.cfg
    ```bash
    sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    ```
- to **enable** it, you need to set a grub environmental variable:
    ```bash
    sudo grub-editenv - set config_file=mainmenu.cfg
    ```
- Done!
- If you want to remove it all you need to do is
    ```bash
    emerge -c sys-boot/double-minegrub-menu::tomoshibi-overlay
    sudo grub-editenv - unset config_file
    ```
- After that please edit your `/etc/default/grub` properly.

## Ventoy Support

[Ventoy](https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html) is using a modified version of grub, but has theme support.
If you want Ventoy to use both themes see [here.](./ventoy/README.md)

# Explanation (???)

oh boi here we go:

We have our cool theme to select our distro, but now we want a main menu "before it".

When grub starts, it by default reads the file `grub.cfg` usually located in `/boot/grub/grub.cfg` to set all the options (like timeout, default boot option, theme) and add all the boot options.
This file is usually generated by `grub-mkconfig` which uses configuration options set in `/etc/default/grub` and scripts in `/etc/grub.d/*` to create the full config file.

**NOW:** what do we need?

We want grub to read a second `.cfg` file that sets the theme to the main menu theme (`./mainmenu.cfg`) and that includes boot options like "Singlebooter" "Onlinebooter" or "UEFI Realms" (so cool). 
And if we select "Singlebooter" we want to load "the real config file" with the world-selection theme and that includes all of your personal boot options.

- We need some code to autoload another config file
- To get the code that does that into `grub.cfg` we write it in a file (`05_twomenus`) and put it in `/etc/grub.d/`, so it gets included when generating the grub.cfg 
- To automatically load another configfile we can just call `configfile $prefix/mainmenu.cfg` in grub.cfg
    - `$prefix` contains the disk/partition absolute path to your `/boot/grub` folder
- For some reason I thought it was a good idea to turn it off easily:
    - We only load the main-menu if the environmental variable `config_file=` is set 
    - if yes, we load that file (with `configfile $prefix/$config_file`)
    - `grub.cfg` normally loads variables automatically from the file `/boot/grub/grubenv`, so all we have to do is set it there 
    - with `grub-editenv - set config_file=mainmenu.cfg`

- now mainmenu.cfg gets loaded.
- the first boot item will load our `grub.cfg`-configfile again.

- BUT:
- to prevent grub.cfg to load the other config file again, we put that code into another if clause
- when we select an item, grub sets the variable `chosen`, so we can only load the config file if this variable has not been set yet
- and that's it!

**TLDR:**
- `grub.cfg` tries to load a second config_file if the grub environmental variable `config_file` is set
- this config file shows us the main menu
- if we select "Singlebooter" it loads the grub.cfg again
- but now the "chosen" variable is set (because we have chosen an option)
- and if this variable is set, we prevent the grub.cfg to load mainmenu.cfg, and we see our normal boot options

# Notes (!!!)
- the fun zone

- I write unnesessarily long READMEs
- you don't have to READ IT, but you did read (until) this line, so: Hello :D
- Fun-fact: if you generate or copy your grub.cfg to /boot/grub/custom.cfg your grub will be stuck in an infinite loop! (Luckily I learned that in a VM)
- I'm proud of this
- USE THIS ON YOUR OWN RISK, if your grub is broken i take no responsibilty, better have that live boot stick ready