2026's first barebox release is out! 🎉

With 280 commits since v2025.12.0, it's one of our bigger releases and much more than what we can cover in 500 characters, but here's two highlights:

- barebox can now act as EFI firmware and load EFI applications. Most testing has been done against GRUB and Debian, but expect the feature to stabilize more over the coming months!

- Support added for four Amazon Kindle 6th and 7th generation e-book readers

Release notes are here: https://lore.barebox.org/barebox/aW42tXvmSurUGNg-@pengutronix.de/

@barebox Does this mean I can run barebox from u-boot? xD

@fun

This has always been possible.

For chainloading barebox from other bootloaders, CONFIG_BOARD_GENERIC_DT generates an extra barebox image that doesn't embed any device tree, but looks identical to a Linux kernel and thus can be booted like one from many bootloaders, including U-Boot.

CONFIG_BOARD_GENERIC_FIT takes it a step further and includes it alongside all enabled DTs, so you can target dozens of SoCs and hundreds of boards at once.

Here's the relevant doc: https://www.barebox.org/doc/latest/user/barebox.html#starting-barebox

@fun EFI-wise:

< v2026.01.0: EFI support was restricted to consuming services by e.g. Tianocore or U-Boot's EFI loader

≥ v2026.01.0: barebox can provide EFI as well

A funny implementation aspect is that it's now possible to enable all of BOARD_GENERIC_DT, EFI_LOADER and EFI_PAYLOAD at once, so a single barebox image can be:

- booted like a kernel by executing its first instruction
- provide EFI services
- loaded as EFI app via its PE header

With the last step being repeatable till OOM :)