| Limine | |
|---|---|
 Example Limine boot menu | |
| Developers | Mintsuki and contributors |
| Stable release | 10.5.0[1]
/ 11 December 2025 |
| Repository | codeberg.org/Limine/Limine |
| Written in | C, assembly languages |
| Platform | ARM, RISC-V, loongArch, x86[2][3] |
| Type | Bootloader |
| License | BSD-2-Clause |
| Website | limine-bootloader.org |
Limine is a portable boot loader and the reference implementation for the Limine boot protocol.[4][5] Multiboot2, chainloading, and the Linux boot protocols are also supported. Limine supports the ISO-9660 and FAT filesystems.[6][7]
Limine aims to provide a more robust alternative to bootloaders like GNU GRUB,[8] as well as its own boot protocol as an alternative to the Multiboot specification, with the goal of reducing the amount of work needed for a kernel developer to get a workable 64-bit environment once booted.[4]
Limine is packaged by several Linux distributions, being offered by Arch Linux, where it is an option in archinstall,[9][10][11][12][13][14] as well as included in EasyOS[15] (a derivative of Puppy Linux[16]), CachyOS,[17][18], Chimera Linux,[19] and KaOS.[20][21][22] Limine is also used by Cosmos[23] and supported by SerenityOS.[24]
See also
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- GNU GRUB
- BOOTMGR - current Windows bootloader
- rEFInd - alternative boot loader for UEFI-based computers
- Comparison of boot loaders
References
- ^ "Release 10.5.0". 11 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (2024-08-03). "Limine 8.0 Bootloader Released With LoongArch Support". Phoronix. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ Schürrmann, Tim (2024-08-06). "Alternativer Bootloader Limine 8.0.1 unterstützt LoongArch64-Systeme" (in German). Linux-Magazin. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ a b "Limine". limine-bootloader.org. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
- ^ Holwerda, Thom (2024-08-04). "Limine: a modern, advanced, portable, multiprotocol bootloader and boot manager". OSNews. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (2025-02-17). "Limine 9.0 Bootloader Drops EXT4 File-System Support". Phoronix. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
- ^ Schürrmann, Tim (2025-02-17). "Bootloader Limine 9.0.0 entfernt Unterstützung für Ext-Dateisysteme" (in German). Linux-Magazin. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (2024-01-14). "Limine 7.0 Bootloader Released". Phoronix. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (2023-07-31). "Archinstall 2.6 Released For Latest Easy-To-Use Arch Linux Installer". Phoronix. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
- ^ Nestor, Marius (2023-07-30). "Arch Linux Installer Now Supports Hyperland WM, Limine Bootloader". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ Nestor, Marius (2025-03-30). "Arch Linux Installer Archinstall 3.0.3 Improves Limine Bootloader Support". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Borisov, Bobby (2025-03-30). "Archinstall 3.0.3 Rolls Out with Partitioning and Bootloader Improvements". Linuxiac. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Nestor, Marius (2025-11-29). "Archinstall 3.0.14 Allows UEFI Bootloader Installation to Removable Locations". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Batt, Simon (2025-12-01). "Installing Arch Linux just got a whole lot less intimidating". XDA. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ darkcrizt (2022-11-15). "EasyOS 4.5 "Dunfell" arrives with a large number of fixes and new sfs". Ubunlog. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
- ^ Rudra, Sourav (2023-08-02). "EasyOS: An Experimental Distro With Unique Qualities". It's FOSS News. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (2025-03-30). "CachyOS Adds Limine Bootloader, Easier Samba Integration & NTSYNC Wine". Phoronix. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
- ^ Borisov, Bobby (2025-03-30). "CachyOS March 2025 Release Brings Limine Bootloader". Linuxiac. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Borisov, Bobby (2025-04-21). "Chimera Linux Introduces Key Bootloader Changes". Linuxiac. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
- ^ Nestor, Marius (2025-11-30). "KaOS Linux 2025.11 Adds Support for the Limine Bootloader, KDE Plasma 6.5". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Borisov, Bobby (2025-11-30). "KaOS 2025.11 Ships Plasma 6.5.3, Linux Kernel 6.17". Linuxiac. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ Bauduin, Sven (2025-12-01). "KaOS 2025.11: Die pure Essenz von KDE Plasma 6.5 und Qt 6" (in German). PCGH. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
- ^ "IL2CPU". cosmos.github.io. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ "SerenityOS Changelog for Monday, February 14, 2022". changelog.serenityos.org. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
Further reading
- The Limine Boot Protocol Specification
- Limine Bare Bones - OSDev Wiki
- Limine - ArchWiki
- Limine - Gentoo wiki
