ZFSBootMenu is a Linux bootloader that attempts to provide an experience similar to FreeBSD’s bootloader. By taking advantage of ZFS features, it allows a user to have multiple “boot environments” (with different distributions, for example), manipulate snapshots before booting, and, for the adventurous user, even bootstrap a system installation via zfs recv.

In essence, ZFSBootMenu is a small, self-contained Linux system that knows how to find other Linux kernels and initramfs images within ZFS filesystems. When a suitable kernel and initramfs are identified (either through an automatic process or direct user selection), ZFSBootMenu launches that kernel using the kexec command.

For more details, see:

• Documentation
• Boot Environments and You: A Primer

Join us on IRC

Come chat about ZFSBootMenu in #zfsbootmenu on libera.chat