Change linux kernel installation directory

Is it possible to change default destination( /boot/ ) of make install at installing custom linux kernel.

Short answer

You need to use INSTALL_PATH environment variable to change installation directory.

Example:

$ export INSTALL_PATH=/tmp
$ make install

Details

From make help:

install - Install kernel using

• (your) ~/bin/installkernel or

• (distribution) /sbin/installkernel or

• install to $(INSTALL_PATH) and run lilo

From Documentation/kbuild/kbuild.txt:

INSTALL_PATH specifies where to place the updated kernel and system map images. Default is /boot, but you can set it to other values.

Also, from Documentation/kbuild/makefiles.txt:

INSTALL_PATH

This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install the resident kernel image and System.map file. Use this for architecture-specific install targets.

Addendum

Kernel modules could also be an important part of kernel installation. As @KJ7LNW mentioned, INSTALL_MOD_PATH environment variable can be used to specify the modules installation path, e.g.:

$ make INSTALL_MOD_PATH=/tmp modules_install

To control the headers installation path, one can use INSTALL_HDR_PATH:

$ make INSTALL_HDR_PATH=/tmp headers_install

Device tree binaries can be installed to INSTALL_DTBS_PATH:

$ make INSTALL_DTBS_PATH=/tmp dtbs_install

For more details, check out the Kbuild documentation.