split_bootimg.pl

The Android boot.img file contains a kernel and a ramdisk. While researching Android, I've needed to manipulate the ramdisk of a phone. I created the split_bootimg.pl script to parse the boot.img file format and extract the parts.

The following example uses the boot.img from the full TC4-RC28 update: 

% ./split_bootimg.pl boot.img 
Page size: 2048 (0x00000800)
Kernel size: 1388548 (0x00153004)
Ramdisk size: 141518 (0x000228ce)
Second size: 0 (0x00000000)
Board name: 
Command line: no_console_suspend=1
Writing boot.img-kernel ... complete.
Writing boot.img-ramdisk.gz ... complete.

Extract the ramdisk. 

% mkdir ramdisk
% cd ramdisk
% gzip -dc ../boot.img-ramdisk.gz | cpio -i
% cd ..

Make any changes necessary (e.g., set ro.secure=0 in default.prop).

Recreate the cpio archive using the mkbootfs binary produced from building the Android source code (The cpio utility in OS X does not recognize the newc format, therefore mkbootfs is the best option for OS X users). 

% mkbootfs ./ramdisk | gzip > ramdisk-new.gz

Recreate the image file using the mkbootimg binary produced from building the Android source code. 

% mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' \
  	    --kernel boot.img-kernel \
	    --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz \
            -o boot-new.img

Additional Notes: