Bootloader
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A bootloader is a program that, in the Linux context, finds and runs the operating system kernel when the system is started. It typically provides a choice between multiple operating systems, and the ability to customize the arguments it will be launched with.
Available software
Depending on the architecture of the machine, several bootloaders are available:
| Name | Package | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFI stub | - | Using the (U)EFI firmware to directly load a Linux kernel, skipping the use of a secondary bootloader. | |
| GRUB 2 | sys-boot/grub | Reworked version of GRUB. Gentoo's default bootloader on x86, amd64, ppc, ppc64, sparc and some mips based devices. | |
| LILO | sys-boot/lilo | Simple boot loader with some advantages over GRUB and GRUB2. | Beneficial for low-memory devices (e.g. < 32MiB). |
| Limine | sys-boot/limine::guru | Multiprotocol bootloader and boot manager. | GURU |
| rEFInd | sys-boot/refind | Boot manager for EFI and UEFI platforms. | Does not provide native drivers to read XFS devices. |
| syslinux | sys-boot/syslinux | Collection of simple bootloaders for various purposes. | |
| systemd-boot | sys-apps/systemd or sys-apps/systemd-utils | Bootloader that is specific to UEFI firmware and the systemd init system. | |
| U-Boot | dev-embedded/u-boot-tools | Bootloader popular with embedded devices. See also U-boot-tools. |
See also
- Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Bootloader
- Security Handbook/Boot Path Security — boot path security.
- Embedded Handbook/Bootloaders
External resources
- Comparison of boot loaders (Wikipedia)