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'''Limine''' is an advanced multiprotocol x86/x86_64 [[BIOS]] and [[UEFI]] bootloader, with support for the Linux, The [[Limine Bare Bones|Limine boot protocol]], [[Multiboot|multiboot1 and 2]], and [[Stivale|stivale1 and 2]] boot protocols (and serving as the reference implementation for these last two).
'''Limine''' is an advanced, portable, multiprotocol bootloader, with support for Linux, the [[Limine Bare Bones|native Limine boot protocol]], and [[Multiboot|multiboot1 and 2]].


== History ==
== History ==


Limine was created as the reference implementation for the [[stivale]] boot protocols. The protocols were conceived as a response to the shortcomings of [[Multiboot]]. As of Limine 3.0, a new boot protocol, simply called the [[Limine Bare Bones|Limine boot protocol]] was introduced to supersede stivale 1 and 2.
Limine was created as the reference implementation for the '''stivale''' boot protocols. The protocols were conceived as a response to the shortcomings of [[Multiboot]]. As of Limine 3.x, a new boot protocol, simply called the [[Limine Bare Bones|Limine boot protocol]] was introduced to supersede stivale 1 and 2. As of Limine 4.x, support for the legacy stivale protocols has been dropped.


It originally only supported [[BIOS]] and the stivale1 protocol, but it was later expanded to also support [[UEFI]] and the Linux and [[multiboot]] protocols.
It originally only supported x86 [[BIOS]] and the stivale1 protocol, but it was later expanded to also support [[UEFI]], the Linux and [[multiboot]] protocols, and other architectures such as aarch64.


== Supported protocols and filesystems ==
== Supported protocols and filesystems ==


As mentioned above, Limine supports the [[Limine Bare Bones|Limine]] and [[stivale]] boot protocols, alongside Linux's own boot protocol (which means one can boot Linux fully using Limine), multiboot 1 and 2 (allowing it to boot a vast catalogue of hobby OSes and more), and chainloading to allow to undirectly boot unsupported operating systems such as Microsoft Windows.
As mentioned above, Limine supports the [[Limine Bare Bones|Limine]] boot protocol, alongside Linux's own boot protocol (which means one can boot Linux fully using Limine), multiboot 1 and 2 (allowing it to boot a vast catalogue of hobby OSes and more), and chainloading to allow to indirectly boot unsupported operating systems such as Microsoft Windows.


It supports the [[FAT|FAT12/16/32]], [[ext2]], [[ext3]], [[ext4]], [[NTFS]], and [[ISO 9660]] (used by optical media and hybrid ISO images) filesystems alongside the lesser known [[echfs]] file system.
It supports the [[FAT|FAT12/16/32]] and [[ISO 9660]] (used by optical media and hybrid ISO images) filesystems.

== Supported Architectures ==
Currently Limine supports [[X86]], [[X86-64]], aarch64 (64 bit [[ARM]]), and riscv64 (64 bit [[RISC-V]]). X86 system support is targeted for Pentium Pro (i686) class machines as the minimum.


== How to use Limine with your kernel ==
== How to use Limine with your kernel ==
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* [[Limine Bare Bones]]
* [[Limine Bare Bones]]
* [[stivale]]


== External Links ==
== External Links ==
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine-barebones Barebones kernel template using Limine.]
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine Limine source code on GitHub.]
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine Limine source code on GitHub.]
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine/blob/trunk/PROTOCOL.md Limine boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine/blob/trunk/PROTOCOL.md Limine boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/stivale/stivale/blob/master/STIVALE.md stivale boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/stivale/stivale/blob/master/STIVALE.md stivale boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/stivale/stivale/blob/master/STIVALE2.md stivale2 boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/stivale/stivale/blob/master/STIVALE2.md stivale2 boot protocol specification.]
*[https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine-barebones Barebones kernel template using Limine.]


[[Category:Bootloaders]]
[[Category:Bootloaders]]

Latest revision as of 04:10, 10 December 2023

Limine is an advanced, portable, multiprotocol bootloader, with support for Linux, the native Limine boot protocol, and multiboot1 and 2.

History

Limine was created as the reference implementation for the stivale boot protocols. The protocols were conceived as a response to the shortcomings of Multiboot. As of Limine 3.x, a new boot protocol, simply called the Limine boot protocol was introduced to supersede stivale 1 and 2. As of Limine 4.x, support for the legacy stivale protocols has been dropped.

It originally only supported x86 BIOS and the stivale1 protocol, but it was later expanded to also support UEFI, the Linux and multiboot protocols, and other architectures such as aarch64.

Supported protocols and filesystems

As mentioned above, Limine supports the Limine boot protocol, alongside Linux's own boot protocol (which means one can boot Linux fully using Limine), multiboot 1 and 2 (allowing it to boot a vast catalogue of hobby OSes and more), and chainloading to allow to indirectly boot unsupported operating systems such as Microsoft Windows.

It supports the FAT12/16/32 and ISO 9660 (used by optical media and hybrid ISO images) filesystems.

Supported Architectures

Currently Limine supports X86, X86-64, aarch64 (64 bit ARM), and riscv64 (64 bit RISC-V). X86 system support is targeted for Pentium Pro (i686) class machines as the minimum.

How to use Limine with your kernel

The Limine Bare Bones article contains a basic tutorial on how to use Limine and its protocol. Furthermore, a GitHub repository containing a simple example template for a 64-bit kernel loaded using Limine can be found in the external links section.

See Also

Articles

External Links