# Add other linux distro's entry to systemd boot menu

**URL:** https://discourse.nixos.org/t/add-other-linux-distros-entry-to-systemd-boot-menu/68038
**Category:** Guides
**Created:** [August 16, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/add-other-linux-distros-entry-to-systemd-boot-menu/68038 "2025-08-16T00:48:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![LukitaisNaN](https://discourse.nixos.org/user_avatar/discourse.nixos.org/lukitaisnan/32/33049_2.png) [@LukitaisNaN](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/LukitaisNaN)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/add-other-linux-distros-entry-to-systemd-boot-menu/68038/1 "2025-08-16T00:48:57Z")

</div>

Hi! Today I installed arch linux and couldn’t find a solution to this final step. Just old posts that ended up changing to grub.

Get the disk UUID where you have your partition installed.  
`$ ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/`

Example output:

```auto
...
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 ago 15 14:41 82923365-30db-6cde-ae91-d22a817fa407 -> ../../sda4
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 ago 15 14:41 a6f007ed-8473-4b83-b6fb-0d640f18c0a1 -> ../../sda5
...

```

If I had installed my distro on sda4 I should copy `82923365-30db-6cde-ae91-d22a817fa407`

Add this to your configuration.nix

```auto
  boot.loader.systemd-boot.extraEntries = {
    "Arch.conf" = ''
      title Example Arch Linux example
      linux /vmlinuz-linux
      initrd /initramfs-linux.img
      options root=UUID=82923365-30db-6cde-ae91-d22a817fa407 rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap rw
      '';
  };

```

- Replace the example’s UUID with yours. (Also rootfstype if the disk is formatted with any other filesystem)

- _title_ option sets the name that will show on the boot menu. Use as many spaces as you like.

- _linux_ and _initrd_ already exist on `/boot`, there is no need to change that.

- “systemd-boot does not accept tabs for indentation, use spaces instead.” [ref](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd-boot#Loader_configuration)

- _Arch.conf_ is the name of the file that will be created at `/boot/loader/entries`, you are free to change it to whatever you want, leave that .conf at the end, just in case.

Rebuild, reboot and it should appear now.

First “guide” here, if I got something wrong, drop me a comment and I’ll change it.

Hope this helps.

# Error handling

**Booting process interrupted/slowed by some “Searching for xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx…”**

- Check if the disk’s uuid its correct.
- If you copied it manually, try using something like

```auto
ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/ >> configuration.nix

```

This will append ls’s output to your configuration.nix file. Go to the end of it and you will see all the output there, copy relevant, delete the rest.