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authorAlyssa Rosenzweig <alyssa@rosenzweig.io>2017-03-17 22:24:25 -0700
committerAlyssa Rosenzweig <alyssa@rosenzweig.io>2017-03-17 22:24:25 -0700
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+<div class="section">
+
+Libreboot documentation {#pagetop}
+=======================
+
+Information about this release can be found at
+[release.html](release.html). Always check
+[libreboot.org](http://libreboot.org) for updates.
+
+[What is libreboot?](#why)
+
+[Answers to frequently asked questions about
+Libreboot](https://libreboot.org/faq/)
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="section">
+
+Libreboot is compatible with GNU+Linux and several BSD systems.
+
+For GNU+Linux, have a look at our [list of GNU+Linux distributions that
+we recommend](distros/).
+
+For BSD, refer to [the libreboot FAQ](https://libreboot.org/faq/#bsd).
+We wish to merge instructions into the official libreboot documentation,
+if someone will provide it. We do have some instructions now for NetBSD,
+FreeBSD and OpenBSD, but they are still incomplete. See [bsd/](bsd/).
+
+Installing libreboot
+====================
+
+- [What systems can I use libreboot on?](hcl/)
+- [How to install libreboot](install/)
+
+Installing operating systems
+============================
+
+- [List of recommended GNU+Linux distributions for
+ libreboot](distros/)
+- [How to install GNU+Linux on a libreboot system](gnulinux/)
+- [How to install BSD on a libreboot system](bsd/)
+
+Information for developers
+==========================
+
+- [How to compile the libreboot source code](git/)
+- [Depthcharge payload](depthcharge/)
+- [GRUB payload](grub/)
+
+Other information
+=================
+
+- [Hardware modifications](hardware/)
+- [Miscellaneous](misc/)
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="why" class="section">
+
+About the libreboot project
+===========================
+
+Libreboot is a free BIOS or UEFI replacement ([free as in
+freedom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software)); libre *boot
+firmware* that initializes the hardware and starts a bootloader for your
+operating system. It\'s also an open source BIOS, but open source fails
+to promote freedom; *please call libreboot **[free
+software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software)***.
+
+Libreboot originally began during December 2013, as a commercial effort
+by the [Ministry of Freedom](https://minifree.org) to achieve RYF
+endorsement for a modified ThinkPad X60 (the first system to ever be
+added to libreboot), which it did then achieve.
+
+Back then, the name *libreboot* didn\'t exist; the project was nameless,
+referring to itself as a *deblobbed version of coreboot*. The project
+named itself libreboot at some point during early 2014, and has since
+rapidly expanded to support more hardware and become more user-friendly.
+
+Libreboot is a [coreboot](http://coreboot.org/) distribution (distro)
+with proprietary software removed, intended to be a
+[free](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software) (libre) \'BIOS\'
+replacement for your computer. The project is aimed at users, attempting
+to make coreboot as easy to use as possible.
+
+Libreboot has many practical advantages over proprietary boot firmware,
+such as faster boot speeds and better security. You can [install
+GNU+Linux with encrypted /boot/](gnulinux/), [verify GPG signatures on
+your kernel](http://www.coreboot.org/GRUB2#signed_kernels), put a kernel
+in the flash chip and more.
+
+The libreboot project has three main goals:
+-------------------------------------------
+
+- ***Recommend and distribute only free software***. Coreboot
+ distributes certain pieces of proprietary software which is needed
+ on some systems. Examples can include things like CPU microcode
+ updates, memory initialization blobs and so on. The coreboot project
+ sometimes recommends adding more blobs which it does not distribute,
+ such as the Video BIOS or Intel\'s *Management Engine*. However, a
+ lot of dedicated and talented individuals in coreboot work hard to
+ replace these blobs whenever possible.
+- ***Support as much hardware as possible!*** Libreboot supports less
+ hardware than coreboot, because most systems from coreboot still
+ require certain proprietary software to work properly. Libreboot is
+ an attempt to support as much hardware as possible, without any
+ proprietary software.
+- ***Make coreboot easy to use***. Coreboot is notoriously difficult
+ to install, due to an overall lack of user-focussed documentation
+ and support. Most people will simply give up before attempting to
+ install coreboot.\
+ \
+ Libreboot attempts to bridge this divide, making sure that
+ everything from building to installing coreboot is automated, as
+ much as is feasibly possible. Secondly, the project produces
+ documentation aimed at non-technical users. Thirdly, the project
+ attempts to provide excellent user support via mailing lists and
+ 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. The build system
+ is also fully automated, so building from source is easy if you
+ wanted to do that (for whatever reason).
+
+Libreboot is a coreboot distribution, 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.
+
+All new coreboot development should be done in coreboot (upstream), not
+libreboot! Libreboot is about deblobbing and packaging coreboot in a
+user-friendly way, where most work is already done for the user.
+
+For example, if you wanted to add a new board to libreboot, you should
+add it to coreboot first. Libreboot will automatically receive your code
+at a later date, when it updates itself.
+
+The deblobbed coreboot tree used in libreboot is referred to as
+*coreboot-libre*, to distinguish it as a component of *libreboot*.
+
+Libreboot is a \'stable\' version of coreboot
+---------------------------------------------
+
+- Coreboot uses the [rolling
+ release](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_release) model, which
+ means that it is not guaranteed to be stable, or to even work at all
+ on a given day. Coreboot does have a strict code review process, but
+ being such a large project with so many contributors, regressions
+ are always possible.
+- Libreboot freezes on a particular revision of coreboot, making sure
+ that everything works properly, making fixes on top of that and
+ repeating this during each subsequent update to a later version of
+ coreboot. By doing this, it provides a stronger guarantee to the
+ user that the firmware will be reliable, and not break their system.
+
+[Back to top of page.](#pagetop)
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="version" class="section">
+
+How do I know what version I\'m running?
+========================================
+
+If you are at least 127 commits after release 20150518 (commit message
+*build/roms/helper: add version information to CBFS*) (or you have any
+**upstream** stable release of libreboot after 20150518), then you can
+press C at the GRUB console, and use this command to find out what
+version of libreboot you have:\
+**cat (cbfsdisk)/lbversion**\
+This will also work on non-release images (the version string is
+automatically generated, using *git describe \--tags HEAD*), built from
+the git repository. A file named *version* will also be included in the
+archives that you downloaded (if you are using release archives).
+
+If it exists, you can also extract this *lbversion* file by using the
+*cbfstool* utility which libreboot includes, from a ROM image that you
+either dumped or haven\'t flashed yet. In your distribution, run
+cbfstool on your ROM image (*libreboot.rom*, in this example):\
+\$ **./cbfstool libreboot.rom extract -n lbversion -f lbversion**\
+You will now have a file, named *lbversion*, which you can read in
+whatever program it is that you use for reading/writing text files.
+
+For git, it\'s easy. Just check the git log.
+
+For releases on or below 20150518, or snapshots generated from the git
+repository below 127 commits after 20150518, you can find a file named
+*commitid* inside the archives. If you are using pre-built ROM images
+from the libreboot project, you can press C in GRUB for access to the
+terminal, and then run this command:\
+**lscoreboot**\
+You may find a date in here, detailing when that ROM image was built.
+For pre-built images distributed by the libreboot project, this is a
+rough approximation of what version you have, because the version
+numbers are dated, and the release archives are typically built on the
+same day as the release; you can correlate that with the release
+information in [release.html](release.html).
+
+For 20160818, note that the lbversion file was missing from CBFS on GRUB
+images. You can still find out what libreboot version you have by
+comparing checksums of image dumps (with the descriptor blanked out with
+00s, and the same done to the ROMs from the release archive, if you are
+on a GM45 laptop).
+
+There may also be a ChangeLog file included in your release archive, so
+that you can look in there to figure out what version you have.
+
+You can also check the documentation that came with your archives, and
+in *docs/release.html* will be the information about the version of
+libreboot that you are using.
+
+Generally speaking, it is advisable to use the latest version of
+libreboot.
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="section">
+
+Copyright © 2014, 2015, 2016 Leah Rowe &lt;info@minifree.org&gt;\
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
+International license or any later version published by Creative
+Commons; A copy of the license can be found at
+[cc-by-sa-4.0.txt](cc-by-sa-4.0.txt)
+
+Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at
+<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode>
+
+UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE EXTENT
+POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS AND
+AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND
+CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY,
+OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE,
+MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT,
+ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE
+OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF
+WARRANTIES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT
+APPLY TO YOU.
+
+TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU
+ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR
+OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL,
+PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES
+ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN
+IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES,
+COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT
+ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
+
+The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above
+shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most
+closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability.
+
+</div>