Gummiboot (software)

gummiboot is an open-source boot loader, now the systemd-boot component of systemd.

Designed for systems using the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and developed by the Red Hat employees Kay Sievers and Harald Hoyer, gummiboot is intended to be a minimal alternative to GNU GRUB that "just works": it automatically detects bootable images (including Linux kernel images, operating systems, and other boot loaders), does not require a configuration file, provides a basic menu-based interface, and can also integrate with systemd to provide performance data.

As a word play, the name "gummiboot" means "inflatable boat" in German, the native language of its initial developers. Despite being developed by two of its employees, Red Hat's Fedora Project does not use gummiboot for booting UEFI systems; instead, it will use efilinux to chainload GRUB.

gummiboot is licensed under version 2.1 of the GNU Lesser General Public License, unlike GRUB which is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL v3). This distinction is intended to allow gummiboot to be suitable for use on UEFI systems implementing "secure boot", due to concerns surrounding its requirement to distribute all authorization keys (digital certificates) needed to run GPL-v3-licensed software if hardware restrictions such as secure boot are in effect.