FlashBoot

FlashBoot

FlashBoot is a lightweight bootloader and kernel installer for embedded systems. It allows installing Linux kernels and boot configurations on raw NAND or NOR flash memory chips.
FlashBoot image
embedded bootloader kernel installer flash-memory

FlashBoot: Lightweight Bootloader and Kernel Installer

Discover FlashBoot, a lightweight bootloader and kernel installer for embedded systems, allowing installation of Linux kernels and boot configurations on raw NAND or NOR flash memory chips.

What is FlashBoot?

FlashBoot is an open-source bootloader targeted at embedded systems that boot Linux directly from flash memory chips. It is designed to be small and simple, making it well-suited for resource-constrained devices.

Some key capabilities and features of FlashBoot include:

  • Supports loading and booting Linux kernels from RAW NAND or NOR flash devices
  • Small memory footprint, requiring only 4-8 KB of RAM at runtime
  • Straightforward configuration using simple text-based config files
  • Dependency-free code, no external libraries required
  • Actively maintained and updated project with permissive licensing

FlashBoot aims to fill a need for a compact yet flexible bootloader that can directly boot Linux on embedded devices that lack tradtiional storage media like disks or SSDs. Its simplicity makes it easy to port and integrate into custom embedded designs.

FlashBoot Features

Features

  1. Lightweight bootloader for embedded systems
  2. Installs Linux kernels on raw NAND/NOR flash
  3. Configures boot parameters
  4. Small memory footprint
  5. Fast boot times

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Easy to integrate into embedded projects

Supports multiple architectures (ARM, MIPS, etc)

Open source and free to use

Actively maintained

Good documentation

Cons

Limited feature set compared to full bootloaders like U-Boot

May require porting work for some architectures

Lacks graphical configuration tools


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