Maze Linux / Wiki

Kernel Management

Maze always keeps two kernels installed:

Kernel	Role
linux	Current Arch kernel — the one you normally boot
linux-lts	Long-term-support kernel — kept for recovery

When a bad update arrives, the second kernel is already installed, built and signed. You do not have to download or repair anything to get back in — you pick it from the boot menu. See If the System Won't Boot.

Both kernels are sealed into signed Unified Kernel Images, so both boot with Secure Boot enabled.

Checking what is installed

pacman -Q linux linux-lts

Choosing the default kernel

Graphical: Maze Kernel Switcher (maze-kernel), in the application menu.

From a terminal:

sudo maze-kernel-helper set-default linux-lts   # the GUI normally does this for you

The choice survives updates — Maze will not silently switch you back.

Why the ESP needs room

Each kernel is stored as a single signed image of roughly 90 MB, and Maze keeps two of them plus the previous image as a fallback. A 512 MB EFI System Partition is tight; 1 GB or more is comfortable. If your ESP is too small, maze-boot-check will say so rather than failing silently at the next update.

See also: Updating · Secure Boot · Diagnostics

Prefer the GUI. maze-kernel-helper is the privileged backend that the Kernel Switcher calls through pkexec. Running it directly works, but the supported path is maze-kernel.