How do I change the plymouth bootscreen?

Question

With regards to Plymouth --

Are there alternative boot screens available?

What's the easiest way to change the boot screen?

Answer 1

You can get a list of themes available via the repositories through Synaptic Package Manager or through the command line via aptitude:

$ aptitude search plymouth-theme
p   lubuntu-plymouth-theme        - plymouth theme for Lubuntu                                                                                                                        
p   plymouth-theme-fade-in        - graphical boot animation and logger - fade-in theme                        
p   plymouth-theme-glow           - graphical boot animation and logger - glow theme                           
i   plymouth-theme-kubuntu-logo   - graphical boot animation and logger - kubuntu-logo theme                   
p   plymouth-theme-sabily         - plymouth theme for Sabily                                                  
p   plymouth-theme-script         - graphical boot animation and logger - script theme                         
p   plymouth-theme-solar          - graphical boot animation and logger - solar theme                          
p   plymouth-theme-spinfinity     - graphical boot animation and logger - spinfinity theme                     
p   plymouth-theme-text           - graphical boot animation and logger - text theme                           
c   plymouth-theme-ubuntu-logo    - graphical boot animation and logger - ubuntu-logo theme                    
i   plymouth-theme-ubuntu-text    - graphical boot animation and logger - ubuntu-logo theme                    
p   plymouth-theme-ubuntustudio   - Ubuntu Studio Plymouth theme                                               
p   xubuntu-plymouth-theme        - Plymouth theme for Xubuntu           

You can then install the resulting packages via Synaptic or aptitude as normal:

$ sudo aptitude install plymouth-theme-solar

If you're looking for something not in the repositories, UbuntuGeek has an excellent tutorial on how to install and create your own custom Plymouth themes.

Answer 2

To change between the installed themes you should do:

sudo update-alternatives --config default.plymouth
sudo update-initramfs -u

The first will list available themes to choose from, the second command with update initramfs with a new theme.