path: root/libreboot.7

.Dd July 30, 2024
.Dt libreboot 7
.Os "Libreboot"
.Sh NAME
.Pp
.Nm libreboot
.Nd a coreboot distribution
.
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Pp
The
.Nm
project provides free, open source, and libre boot firmware based on
coreboot, replacing proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware on specific Intel/AMD
x86 and ARM based motherboards. It initialises the hardware (e.g. memory
controller, CPU, peripherals) and starts a bootloader for your operating
system. Linux and BSD are well-supported.
.Pp
We believe the freedom to study, share, modify and use software, without
any restriction, is one of the fundamental human rights that everyone
must have. In this context, software freedom matters. Your freedom
matters. Education matters. Right to repair matters; Libreboot lets you
continue to use your hardware, with continued firmware updates. All of
this is why Libreboot exists.
.
.Sh RECENT RELEASE
.Pp
The latest release is
.Xr libreboot-20240612 7 .
.
.Sh MINIFREE
.Lk https://minifree.org Minifree, Ltd.
sells devices with Libreboot preinstalled, and provides a
send-in installation service for supported devices.
The founder and lead developer of Libreboot, Leah Rowe, also owns
and operates Minifree; sales provide funding for Libreboot.
.Sh HARDWARE SUPPORT
.Pp See
.Xr libreboot-hardware 7
.
.Sh OPERATING SYSTEMS
.Pp
For documentation in booting operating systems, please see their
respective manual pages:
.Bl -tag
.It Linux
.Xr libreboot-linux 7
.It BSDs
.Xr libreboot-bsd 7
.El
.
.Sh DESIGN OVERVIEW
.Pp

Libreboot provides 
.Lk https://coreboot.org/ coreboot
for
.Lk https://doc.coreboot.org/getting_started/architecture.html  machine initialisation ,
which then jumps to a 
.Lk https://doc.coreboot.org/payloads.html payload
in
the boot flash; coreboot works with many programs, but Libreboot specifically
provides SeaBIOS, GNU GRUB and U-Boot as options. Memtest86+ is also provided
in flash, on some mainboards. The payload is the program in flash that provides
the early user interface, for booting an operating system. This payload
infrastructure means you can run whatever you want (even Linux!) from the
boot flash.
.Pp
Libreboot is specifically a 
.Em coreboot distribution ,
in the same way that
Debian is a 
.Em Linux distribution .
Libreboot makes coreboot easy to use for
non-technical users, by providing a
fully automated build system
.Xr "(" libreboot-lbmk 7 ")" ","
automated build process
.Xr "(" libreboot-build 7 ")" ","
and
user-friendly installation instructions
.Xr "(" libreboot-install 7 ")" ","
in addition to
regular binary releases that provide pre-compiled ROM images for installation
on supported hardware. Without automation such as that provided by Libreboot,
coreboot would be inaccessible for most users.
.
.Sh WHY USE LIBREBOOT
.Pp
If you're already inclined towards free software, maybe already a coreboot user,
Libreboot makes it easier to either get started or otherwise maintain coreboot
on your machine, via build automation. It provides regular tested releases,
pre-assembled, often with certain patches on top of coreboot (and other code)
to ensure stability. By comparison, coreboot uses a rolling-release model, with
a snapshot of the codebase every few months; it is very much developer-oriented,
whereas Libreboot is specifically crafted for end users. In other words, the
purpose of Libreboot is to
.Em Just Work .
Direct configuration and installation of coreboot is also possible, but
Libreboot makes it
.Em much
easier.
.Pp
Libreboot gives you freedoms that you otherwise can't get with most
other boot firmware, plus faster boot speeds and 
better security
.Xr "(" libreboot-grub-hardening 7 ")" "."
It's extremely powerful and configurable for many use cases. If you're
unhappy with the restrictions (not to mention, security issues) imposed
on you by proprietary BIOS vendors, then Libreboot is one possible
choice for you. Since it inherits coreboot, it doesn't have any known
backdoors in the code, nor does it contain legacy cruft from the 1980s.
Libreboot provides a sleek, fast boot experience for Linux/BSD systems,
based on coreboot which is regularly audited and improved.
.Pp
Libreboot is more reliable than proprietary firmware. Many people use proprietary
(non-libre) boot firmware, even if they use a libre operating system.
Proprietary firmware often contains backdoors, 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.
.Pp
Libreboot is a community-oriented project, with a focus on helping users
escape proprietary boot firmware; we ourselves want to live in a world
where all software is free, and so, Libreboot is an effort to help get
closer to that world. Unlike the big vendors, we don't try to stifle you
in any way, nor do we see you as a security threat; we regard the
ability to use, study, modify and redistribute software freely to be a
human right that everyone must have. Extended to computers, these are
products that you purchased, and so you should have the freedom to
change them in any way you like. When you see Intel talk about their
.Em Boot Guard
(which prevents coreboot by only letting firmware signed by
them be executed) or other vendors imposing similar restrictions, and
you hear them talk about "security", they are only talking about 
.Em their
security, not yours. In the Libreboot project, it is reversed; we see
Intel Boot Guard and similar such technologies as an attack on your
freedom over your own property (your computer), and so, we make it our
mission to help you wrest back such control.
.Sh LIBREBOOT IS NOT A FORK OF COREBOOT
.Pp
In fact, Libreboot tries to stay as close to *stock* coreboot as possible,
for each board, but with many different types of configuration provided
automatically by the Libreboot build system.
.Pp
In the same way that Alpine Linux is a 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 a simple script,
and it will build entire ROM images. An automated build system,
.Xr libreboot-lbmk 7
(Libreboot MaKe), builds these ROM images automatically, without any user input
or intervention required. Configuration has already been performed in advance.
.Pp
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 simplified instructions, written
for non-technical users
.Xr "(" libreboot-install 7 ")" "."
.
.Sh CONTRIBUTING TO LIBREBOOT
.Pp
.Xr libreboot-tasks 7
lists things that could be worked on. It will be updated over time as
more tasks are added/completed. If you want to help, you could pick one
of these tasks and work on it.
.Pp
But, the single biggest way you can help is to add new mainboards in Libreboot,
by submitting a config. Anything coreboot supports can be integrated in
Libreboot, with ROM images provided in releases. See:
.Bl -tag
.It Apply to become a board maintainer/tester
.Xr libreboot-lbmk-testing 7
.It Porting guide for new mainboards
.Xr libreboot-lbmk-porting 7
.It Libreboot build system maintanance manual
.Xr libreboot-lbmk 7
.El
.Pp
Additionally, we appreciate build system maintainance (see above), documentation
(which is critical for any serious project), and ironing out bugs on the bug
tracker.
.Pp
User support is also critical. Stick around on IRC, and if you're competent to
help someone with their issue (or wily enough to learn with them), that is a
great service to the project.
A lot of people also ask for user support on
.Lk https://reddit.com/r/libreboot .
.Pp
You can check bugs listed on the
.Lk https://codeberg.org/libreboot/lbmk/issues bug tracker .
.Pp
If you have a fix for a bug, you can submit a patch
.Xr ( libreboot-submit-patch 7 ) .
.
.Sh SUPPORT
.Pp
Help is available via
.Lk https://web.libera.chat/#libreboot #libreboot
on the
.Lk https://libera.chat Libera.Chat
IRC network.
.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Bl -tag
.It Libreboot's main website
.Lk https://libreboot.org
.It Libreboot bug tracker
.Lk https://codeberg.org/libreboot/lbmk/issues
.It Libreboot manual root
.Xr libreboot 7
.It Binary blob reduction policy
.Xr libreboot-policy 7
.It Free Software
.Lk https://writefreesoftware.org
.It Right to repair
.Lk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_repair
.El
.
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