# corna/me_cleaner

Tool for partial deblobbing of Intel ME/TXE firmware images

Repository: https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/me_cleaner
Language: Python
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2024-05-28T18:44:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3579, "days_push": 827, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5030, forks 303 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:08.642738+00:00)

## What it is
A Python script that modifies Intel ME/TXE firmware images to reduce the co-processor's ability to interact with the system, disabling it during normal operation. It supports partial deblobbing across most Intel platforms, from complete removal on pre-Nehalem chips to minimal boot-only modules on newer generations.

## Use cases
- disable Intel ME on my laptop for privacy
- neutralize Intel Management Engine firmware
- prepare ME firmware for coreboot installation
- reduce Intel ME attack surface on x86
- deblob proprietary firmware from my motherboard
- make Intel ME active only during boot

## When to choose
- you want to disable or minimize Intel ME/TXE firmware for privacy or free-software reasons
- you are preparing a firmware image for coreboot or Libreboot
- you have a firmware dump and an external SPI programmer to flash it back

## When to avoid
- you need Intel AMT, Boot Guard, or other ME-dependent features
- you cannot safely dump and reflash the SPI flash chip
- your board has an unsupported or unusual ME firmware implementation

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, privacy, developer-tools
- domain: security, privacy, hardware
- platform: windows, cli, python
- tags: intel-me, firmware, deblobbing, coreboot, spi-programmer, privacy, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- corna/me_cleaner (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:08.642738+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:17:27.502858+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:08.642738+00:00, sha 29163062af5f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.