Linux on UEFI platforms

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is an interface between operating systems and the hardware platform’s firmware. UEFI provides a standard environment for running UEFI apps. UEFI apps include:

  • the UEFI shell.
  • UKIs – OS kernels that are Unified Kernel Images. An UKI can be booted from UEFI without any boot manager.
  • boot managers for booting operating systems.

UEFI defines variables through which an operating system can interact with the firmware.

Linux on UEFI platforms

created onNovember 23, 2025
enable access to UEFI on Linux enable EFI Runtime Services support in the kernel The kernel configuration parameter CONFIG_EFI=y enables EFI Runtime Services in the kernel. ...