# zbm-dev/zfsbootmenu

Bootloader for root-on-ZFS systems with support for snapshots and native full disk encryption

Repository: https://github.com/zbm-dev/zfsbootmenu
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/zfsbootmenu
Homepage: https://zfsbootmenu.org
Language: Shell
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: zfs, linux, bootloader, boot-environment, boot-menu, zfs-filesystem, openzfs, zfsonlinux, initramfs, zpool, void-linux, dracut, snapshots, initcpio, mkinitcpio, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-16T21:27:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 78/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 39, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2641, "days_push": 17, "days_rel": 244, "gap_med": 169.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1148, forks 97 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:46.083085+00:00)

## What it is
ZFSBootMenu is a Linux bootloader for root-on-ZFS systems that finds kernels and initramfs images inside ZFS filesystems and launches them via kexec. It supports multiple boot environments, snapshot manipulation before boot, and ZFS native encryption.

## Use cases
- boot linux from a zfs root filesystem
- manage multiple boot environments on zfs
- roll back to a zfs snapshot before booting
- boot an encrypted zfs root pool
- install a new distribution via zfs recv from the boot menu
- select which kernel to boot on a zfs system

## When to choose
- your root filesystem is ZFS and you want snapshot-aware booting
- you need multiple independent boot environments on one machine
- you use ZFS native encryption and need a bootloader that can unlock it
- you want FreeBSD-like boot environment workflows on Linux

## When to avoid
- your root filesystem is ext4, btrfs, or any non-ZFS filesystem
- you want a simple graphical bootloader like GRUB with theming
- you need to boot non-Linux operating systems like Windows
- you are not comfortable managing ZFS pools and boot environments

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: file-system, cli, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, self-hosted, developer-tools
- platform: cli
- tags: zfs, bootloader, boot-environments, snapshots, full-disk-encryption, initramfs, kexec, openzfs, linux

## Member repositories
- zbm-dev/zfsbootmenu (main) score 78

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:46.083085+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 2026-08-30T06:33:53.287381+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zbm-dev/zfsbootmenu (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:46.083085+00:00, sha 1c59bc8c6e7e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.