Set Additional Kernel Command-Line Arguments

At times it may be necessary to set additional command-line arguments for the kernel shipped with KDE Linux, and have them persist indefinitely — for example, to turn on experimental hardware or driver support, or enable hardware pasthrough support for virtual machines.

Warning: this process is dangerous. Setting inappropriate kernel command-line arguments can reduce performance, increase energy usage, damage hardware components, or prevent the system from starting up.

Only proceed if you accept these risks, have a backup, and possess the technical ability to reverse any mistakes.


If you’d like to proceed, here’s how:

  1. Create the folder /boot/loader/addons/ (only needs to be done once per system):
    run0 mkdir -p /boot/loader/addons/

  2. Create a kernel add-on containing the desired command-line arguments:
    run0 ukify build --cmdline '[arguments go here]' --output /boot/loader/addons/extra_args.addon.efi
    Replace [arguments go here] with the actual command-line arguments. For example: debug_objects

This add-on will then apply the additional kernel arguments for every boot, irrespective of which OS version the system is booted into.

If the add-on causes problems or is no longer needed, simply delete it:

run0 rm /boot/loader/addons/extra_args.addon.efi

A full list of supported command-line options can be found here.

Article contributed by under the CC-BY-4.0 license.