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Libreboot

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Libreboot
Original author(s)Leah Rowe
Developer(s)The Libreboot project
Initial release12 December 2013; 10 years ago (2013-12-12)
Stable release20240504 (May 4, 2024; 36 days ago (2024-05-04)) [±][1]
Preview release20240225 (February 25, 2024; 3 months ago (2024-02-25)) [±][2]
Repositoryhttps://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk
PlatformIA-32, x86-64, ARMv7[3]
TypeFirmware
LicenseGNU GPLv3[4]
Websitelibreboot.org

Libreboot (briefly known as GNU Libreboot[5][6]) is a free-software project based on coreboot, aimed at replacing the proprietary BIOS firmware contained by most computers. Libreboot is a lightweight system designed to perform only the minimum number of tasks necessary to load and run a modern 32-bit or 64-bit operating system.

Characteristics

Libreboot is established as a distribution of coreboot, but with proprietary binary blobs removed from coreboot.[7][8][9] Libreboot is not a straight fork of coreboot; instead, it periodically re-bases itself on the latest versions of coreboot, with patches submitted and, if accepted, merged directly by the coreboot project. Libreboot also makes coreboot easy to use by automating the build and installation processes, in addition to providing user-friendly documentation.[10][11][12][13]

Libreboot made possible the required modifications for completely free software variants of some ThinkPad, Chromebook, and MacBook laptops, in addition to desktop, server, and workstation motherboards.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Libreboot can work with a number of Linux distributions and BSD operating systems.[24][25][26][27][28] Windows is not supported, and its use is strongly discouraged by the Libreboot project.

History

Libreboot was originally launched by Leah Rowe[29][30] in 2013 to make a 100% free software version of coreboot, by removing binary blobs included in the coreboot source code. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) heavily promoted Libreboot with a press release, several months later[31], as did notable tech news website Phoronix[32]. Since February 2015, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has publicly endorsed Libreboot[33][34][35] and it is famously used by the FSF's founder, Richard Stallman.[36] It is listed on the coreboot project website, officially, as a "blob-free coreboot distribution".[37] Libreboot became part of the GNU Project in May 2016.[5][38]

In September 2016, lead developer Leah Rowe announced that Libreboot would leave the GNU Project and in January 2017, Richard Stallman officially announced that Libreboot had left GNU.[39][40] Rowe, who is a transgender person, announced this decision after alleging that the FSF had discriminated against a trans woman employee by firing her after she had allegedly reported gender harassment.[41][42][43] The FSF publicly denied this allegation on the same day.[44][45] In April 2017, the Libreboot project removed all references to these allegations from its website, the lead developer Leah Rowe apologized for what happened and the leadership was transferred to other contributors, with Rowe remaining as a developer (but not the leader) in the project.[46] Three weeks later, an official proposal was published, advocating for Libreboot to re-join GNU.[47][48][49]

On 30 March 2021, Leah Rowe appointed herself once again as leader of the Libreboot project, removing then lead developers Sebastian 'Swift Geek' Grzywna and Andrew Robbins in what the latter described as a coup.[50] Rowe elaborated on the reasoning behind this decision, stating her own disagreement with what she perceived as a failed re-write of Libreboot's build system, a re-write which Leah herself had scrapped several months prior in her own development branch of Libreboot.[51] On 31 March 2021, the project announced its full support for the reinstatement of Richard Stallman to the board of directors at the Free Software Foundation.[52][53][54] On 22 May 2021, under the direction of Rowe as lead developer, a new Libreboot release was announced, covered widely by tech media, the Free Software Foundation and the public at large.[55][56][57][58]

References

  1. ^ "Libreboot - Libreboot news". Libreboot. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Libreboot - Libreboot news". Libreboot. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Coreboot ARM". coreboot. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. ^ "libreboot's COPYING file". notabug.org. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "List of GNU software packages on 22 May 2016". GNU project. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  6. ^ "[Libreboot] GNU Libreboot, version 20160818 released". lists.gnu.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ Gay, Joshua (4 August 2014). "Replace your proprietary BIOS with Libreboot". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Libreboot". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  9. ^ Bärwaldt, Erik. "Liberated » Linux Magazine". Linux Magazine. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Libreboot on an X60, Part I: the Setup | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Libreboot on an x60, Part II: the Installation | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  12. ^ By (16 December 2016). "Harrowing Story Of Installing Libreboot On ThinkPad". Hackaday. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  13. ^ By (20 August 2018). "Installing LibreBoot The (Very) Lazy Way". Hackaday. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  14. ^ Software, Jiyu (11 January 2021). "Building a high performance free as in freedom server on a budget". Jiyu Software. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Hardware/Laptops Comparison/Libreboot Laptops comparison - LibrePlanet". libreplanet.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Coreboot Now Works On The Older MacBook 1,1 Too - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Libreboot Adds Experimental ThinkPad R500 Support - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Libreboot Now Supports An AMD/ASUS Motherboard - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Libreboot Now Supports The Chromebook C201 - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  20. ^ "A Modern Server Motherboard Is Now Supported By Coreboot/Libreboot - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Libreboot Gets Support For An Older Core 2 Desktop Motherboard - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Another Intel Motherboard Has Been Set Free All The Way Down To The BIOS By Libreboot - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  23. ^ "GNU Libreboot Release Adds New Chromebook & ASUS/Gigabyte/Intel Board Support - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Installing Parabola on Libreboot with full disk encryption (including /boot) - ParabolaWiki". wiki.parabola.nu. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Debian Installer with Libreboot - Elena ``of Valhalla Homepage". www.trueelena.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Trisquel GNU/Linux installation guides". Retrieved 22 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "Installation on libreboot - Gentoo Wiki". wiki.gentoo.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Libreboot – BSD operating systems". libreboot.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Replace your proprietary BIOS with Libreboot — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  30. ^ "FSF Talks Up Libreboot As New Coreboot Downstream - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Replace your proprietary BIOS with Libreboot — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  32. ^ "FSF Talks Up Libreboot As New Coreboot Downstream - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Campaign for Free BIOS". 15 February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015.
  34. ^ "Recommended Complete Systems — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Hardware Devices that Support GNU/Linux — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  36. ^ "How I do my Computing". stallman.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  37. ^ "coreboot for end users". coreboot.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  38. ^ Larabel, Michael (19 May 2016). "Libreboot, Coreboot Downstream, Becomes A GNU Project". Phoronix. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  39. ^ "GNU Officially Boots Libreboot". FOSS Force. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  40. ^ Stallman, Richard (5 January 2017). "Goodbye to GNU Libreboot". Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  41. ^ Zammit, Damien (18 September 2016). "Libreboot Screwup". zammit.org. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2016. [the contributors] are not consulted about any of the views expressed on the libreboot.org website when they are hastily published by Leah Rowe.
  42. ^ "Libreboot Leaves The GNU, The Free Software Foundation Denounced - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Libreboot Leaves GNU Claiming Gender Identity Discrimination by FSF". FOSS Force. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  44. ^ Sullivan, John (16 September 2016). "Free Software Foundation statement on 2016-09-16". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  45. ^ "FSF, RMS Issue Statements Over Libreboot's Accusations - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  46. ^ "Libreboot Reorganizes: Seeks to Make Amends". FOSS Force. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  47. ^ Larabel, Michael (22 April 2017). "Libreboot Is Now Considering Whether To RE-Join The GNU". Phoronix. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  48. ^ "Libreboot Wants Back Into GNU". FOSS Force. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  49. ^ Hall, Christine (26 April 2017). "Libreboot Applies to Rejoin GNU". FOSS Force. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  50. ^ "Leah Rowe Coups Libreboot".
  51. ^ "swiftgeek and Andrew Robbins removed from the Libreboot project".
  52. ^ Darkcrizt (31 March 2021). "Libreboot author comes to Stallman's defense as others continue to resign from FOSS". Desde Linux. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  53. ^ "Grass-roots Richard Stallman Support-Letter Has Reached 3600+ Signers". LinuxReviews. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  54. ^ Francisco, Thomas Claburn in San. "FSF doubles down on Richard Stallman's return: Sure, he is 'troubling for some' but we need him, says org". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  55. ^ "Libreboot Sees First New Release In Nearly 5 Years, Supports More Old Motherboards - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  56. ^ "Libreboot 20210522 released! | Tux Machines". www.tuxmachines.org. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  57. ^ "Alternative Firmware Libreboot 20210522 unterstützt mehr Mainboards". Linux-Magazin (in German). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  58. ^ "Big news: Libreboot 20210522 has been released! This is the first new release since 2016..." Free Software Foundation. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021 – via Twitter.
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