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The Libreboot project provides mostly free, libre, and open source boot firmware based on coreboot, replacing proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware for supported 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.
You can also buy Libreboot preinstalled from Minifree Ltd, on select hardware, as well as sending your compatible hardware for Libreboot installation. The founder and lead developer of Libreboot, Leah Rowe, also owns and operates Minifree; sales provide funding for Libreboot.
Latest release
Libreboot releases are named after the release date, and may come with amendments called “revisions”. You may wish to read the release schedule.
The latest release is Libreboot 20241206. This release adds support for the U-boot payload, and the following boards: Lenovo ThinkPad T480, Lenovo ThinkPad T480S, Dell OptiPlex 780 USFF, Dell OptiPlex 780 MT.
The latest amendment is Libreboot 20241206 revision 8.
Technical overview
Libreboot provides coreboot for machine initialisation, which then jumps to a payload in the boot flash; coreboot works with many payloads, but Libreboot specifically provides SeaBIOS, GNU GRUB and U-Boot as options. 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 from the boot flash (e.g. you may customize the payload to boot Linux from flash, if you so desire).
Not a fork of coreboot
Libreboot is a coreboot distribution, in the same way that Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution. Libreboot makes coreboot accessible and easy to use for non-technical users by providing a fully automated build system and user-friendly installation instructions along with regular binary releases with pre-compiled ROM images. Building regular coreboot without Libreboot’s automated build system requires significantly more technical knowledge.
Why use Libreboot?
- It offers a easy way to configure and install coreboot.
- It gives you freedoms that proprietary boot firmware cannot provide.
- It offers options to improve security such as full disk encryption (including the boot partition), GPG-signed kernels and initramfs’s, and other options via GRUB hardening.
- It does not contain backdoors (e.g. the Intel ME and the AMD PSP).
- It is community-oriented.
Documentation information
The official documentation is at libreboot.org.
The one you’re reading right now is Runxi Yu’s unofficial attempt to document Libreboot with language that they personally consider to be more accessible. This version of the documentation is not supported by the upstream project.