Libreboot provides libre boot firmware (based on coreboot) that initializes the hardware (e.g. memory controller, CPU, peripherals) on specific Intel/AMD x86 and ARM targets, which then starts a bootloader for your operating system (Linux/BSD). https://libreboot.org/
 
 
 
 
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Leah Rowe d845791d6f rom.sh: support making pcsx-redux bios release
I also checked the copyright declarations in the
directory src/mips/openbios where the PCSX-Redux BIOS
is, gleaning all the copyright years: 2019-2024 at this
time.

The years will be updated as and when PCSX-Redux is
updated in lbmk. Their BIOS is under MIT so I made lbmk
generate an appropriate COPYING file alongside the binary,
containing:

Copyright (c) 2019-2024 PCSX-Redux authors

Along with the actual text of the MIT license. With all
of this, the PCSX-Redux BIOS can now be included in
Libreboot releases.

No actual tarball is created. The release script in lbmk
simply copies the bin/ directory to ../roms

I'm leaving the PCSX-Redux BIOS release uncompressed,
because, and this will sound patronising because that is
my precise intention: Windows users don't know how to do
anything. If I provide a tarball to Windows users, they
won't know what to do. Libreboot releases always go on rsync
mirrors, which also have HTTP servers with indexing enabled,
for browsing release files.

I mention Windows users, because most people who use the PCSX
Redux BIOS will probably use it on a PlayStation emulator, and
most emulator users are on Windows. I can't really be bothered
to provide it as a .zip archive, and it's only 512kb, so just
provide it uncompressed in Libreboot releases!

Releases were already possible under this scheme, so this
patch really just adds the COPYING file. It's simply a courtesy
to the PCSX-Redux developers, providing proper credit to them.

Signed-off-by: Leah Rowe <leah@libreboot.org>
2024-10-08 13:27:08 +01:00
config rom.sh: support making pcsx-redux bios release 2024-10-08 13:27:08 +01:00
include rom.sh: support making pcsx-redux bios release 2024-10-08 13:27:08 +01:00
script dell3050micro: make GRUB the primary payload 2024-10-06 09:22:21 +01:00
util remove util/autoport 2024-07-16 03:57:08 +01:00
.gitignore unified cache file handling for vendorfile/subfile 2024-07-17 18:15:52 +01:00
COPYING libreboot! 2021-05-18 13:56:12 +01:00
README.md emphasis on readme that lbmk isn't a coreboot fork 2024-07-22 02:00:26 +01:00
build lib.sh: new function mk() to handle trees in bulk 2024-07-28 13:35:31 +01:00
mk support ./mk in place of ./update trees 2024-07-22 23:36:04 +01:00
projectname update README 2021-05-18 14:05:01 +01:00
projectsite add projectsite file: point to libreboot.org 2024-06-02 23:15:27 +01:00
update remove build symlink, rename lbmk to build 2023-10-06 02:12:52 +01:00
vendor lbmk: use 2-level directory structure in script/ 2023-10-20 01:00:38 +01:00

README.md

Libreboot

Find libreboot documentation at https://libreboot.org/

The libreboot project provides libre boot firmware that initializes the hardware (e.g. memory controller, CPU, peripherals) on specific Intel/AMD x86 and ARM targets, which then starts a bootloader for your operating system. Linux/BSD are well-supported. It replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware. Help is available via #libreboot IRC on Libera IRC.

Why use Libreboot?

Why should you use libreboot?

Libreboot gives you freedoms that you otherwise can't get with most other boot firmware. It's extremely powerful and configurable for many use cases.

You have rights. The right to privacy, freedom of thought, freedom of speech and the right to read. In this context, Libreboot gives you these rights. Your freedom matters. Right to repair matters. Many people use proprietary (non-libre) boot firmware, even if they use a libre OS. Proprietary firmware often contains backdoors (more info on the FAQ), and it and can be buggy. The libreboot project was founded in December 2013, with the express purpose of making coreboot firmware accessible for non-technical users.

The libreboot project uses coreboot for hardware initialisation. Coreboot is notoriously difficult to install for most non-technical users; it handles only basic initialization and jumps to a separate payload program (e.g. GRUB, Tianocore), which must also be configured. The libreboot software solves this problem; it is a coreboot distribution with an automated build system (named lbmk) that builds complete ROM images, for more robust installation. Documentation is provided.

How does Libreboot differ from coreboot?

In the same way that Debian is a GNU+Linux distribution, libreboot is a coreboot distribution. If you want to build a ROM image from scratch, you otherwise have to perform expert-level configuration of coreboot, GRUB and whatever other software you need, to prepare the ROM image. With libreboot, you can literally download from Git or a source archive, and run make, and it will build entire ROM images. An automated build system, named lbmk (Libreboot MaKe), builds these ROM images automatically, without any user input or intervention required. Configuration has already been performed in advance.

If you were to build regular coreboot, without using libreboot's automated build system, it would require a lot more intervention and decent technical knowledge to produce a working configuration.

Regular binary releases of libreboot provide these ROM images pre-compiled, and you can simply install them, with no special knowledge or skill except the ability to follow installation instructions and run commands BSD/Linux.

Project goals

  • Support as much hardware as possible! Libreboot aims to eventually have maintainers for every board supported by coreboot, at every point in time.
  • Make coreboot easy to use. Coreboot is notoriously difficult to install, due to an overall lack of user-focused documentation and support. Most people will simply give up before attempting to install coreboot. Libreboot's automated build system and user-friendly installation instructions solves this problem.

Libreboot attempts to bridge this divide by providing a build system automating much of the coreboot image creation and customization. Secondly, the project produces documentation aimed at non-technical users. Thirdly, the project attempts to provide excellent user support via IRC.

Libreboot already comes with a payload (GRUB), flashprog and other needed parts. Everything is fully integrated, in a way where most of the complicated steps that are otherwise required, are instead done for the user in advance.

You can download ROM images for your libreboot system and install them without having to build anything from source. If, however, you are interested in building your own image, the build system makes it relatively easy to do so.

Not a coreboot fork!

Libreboot is not a fork of coreboot. Every so often, the project re-bases on the latest version of coreboot, with the number of custom patches in use minimized. Tested, stable (static) releases are then provided in Libreboot, based on specific coreboot revisions.

How to help

You can check bugs listed on the bug tracker.

If you spot a bug and have a fix, the website has instructions for how to send patches, and you can also report it. Also, this entire website is written in Markdown and hosted in a separate repository where you can send patches.

Any and all development discussion and user support are all done on the IRC channel. More information is on https://libreboot.org/contact.html.

LICENSE FOR THIS README

It's just a README file. This README file is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero license, version 1.0 of the license, which you can read here:

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.txt