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 e5b898f6cb consolidate u-boot/seabios/coreboot build scripts
See file:
resources/scripts/build/defconfig/for
It is based on:
resources/scripts/build/payload/u-boot

The u-boot payload script has been deleted, as has the
seabios payload script; the build/boot/roms logic has
been heavily simplified too, by removing the logic for
building of elf files based on defconfig.

SeaBIOS, U-Boot and coreboot all use defconfig-type
infrastructure for their build systems, and they are
fundamentally the *same* in how to compile each codebase,
at least in an lbmk context, regardless of actual (and
very huge) differences in these codebases.

Several hundred sources-lines of code have been eliminated
by this change, drastically simplifying everything; U-Boot
payload compiling also now errors out when a single build
fails, instead of continuing. Also: build/boot/roms no longer
re-compiles a coreboot target that was already compiled,
which is the same behaviour observed for payloads.

(this means you must now manually delete a target, when you
wish to re-build it; the build/boot/roms logic now more or
less just runs cbfstool; blobutil is handled from
build/defconfig/for)

ALSO: Since crossgcc is now handled by build/defconfig/for, not
build/boot/roms, standalone compiling of u-boot is now possible.
This has been tested. You compile it like so:
./build defconfig for u-boot
or specific trees, e.g.
./build defconfig for u-boot default

One other consequence of this patch is that re-building the same
ROM image is now much faster, because the same builds are re-used
unless deleted. This could be useful when testing grub.cfg changes,
for example, if that's all you change. With things like ccache used
(not yet used robustly in lbmk), this could speed things up more,
depending on the codebase.

This patch demonstrates the raw power of lbmk; it is a very
simple and highly efficient build system, and now much more so!

Signed-off-by: Leah Rowe <leah@libreboot.org>
2023-08-19 23:18:32 +01:00
blobs NEW BOARD: Dell Precision T1650 2023-08-14 09:37:07 +01:00
resources consolidate u-boot/seabios/coreboot build scripts 2023-08-19 23:18:32 +01:00
util util/nvmutil: reduced indentation inside loop 2023-06-14 10:56:11 +01:00
.gitcheck use env in shell scripts 2023-05-18 13:17:28 +01:00
.gitignore consolidate u-boot/seabios/coreboot build scripts 2023-08-19 23:18:32 +01:00
COPYING libreboot! 2021-05-18 13:56:12 +01:00
Makefile consolidate u-boot/seabios/coreboot build scripts 2023-08-19 23:18:32 +01:00
README.md Update 'README.md' 2023-07-01 23:48:34 +00:00
build unify these scripts: build, modify and update 2023-05-27 10:54:50 +01:00
fetch remove download scripts, consolidate into script 2023-08-17 11:50:06 +01:00
fetch_trees remove download scripts, consolidate into script 2023-08-17 11:50:06 +01:00
lbmk don't call blobutil directly from lbmk 2023-08-17 11:56:17 +01:00
modify unify these scripts: build, modify and update 2023-05-27 10:54:50 +01:00
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update unify these scripts: build, modify and update 2023-05-27 10:54:50 +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), flashrom 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