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v0.2.0
Prebuilt UEFI drivers, for use without Nix.
| Artifact | Cell size | For |
|---|---|---|
bigconsolex64.efi |
16x32 | x86-64; the embedded font at its native size |
bigconsole2xx64.efi |
32x64 | x86-64; panels or viewing distances where 16x32 is still too small |
bigconsoleaa64.efi |
16x32 | AArch64; the embedded font at its native size |
bigconsole2xaa64.efi |
32x64 | AArch64; panels or viewing distances where 16x32 is still too small |
Verify a download against SHA256SUMS before installing it.
Supported platforms
x86-64 and AArch64 UEFI. On x86-64 the driver is verified on every change against TianoCore edk2 (OVMF in QEMU at 3840x2160, both variants, loaded from the UEFI shell) and is in use on one AMI Aptio V firmware, loaded by systemd-boot. On AArch64 it is verified the same way against edk2's ArmVirtQemu on an emulated machine, and has not been run on real hardware. Firmware early-loading (a Driver#### entry, e.g. Driver0000) has not received much testing on either. Other vendors' firmware should work by the UEFI driver-binding rules the console takeover relies on, but has not been tried.
From the moment it loads, everything that writes through Simple Text Output renders big: systemd-boot, the UEFI shell, GRUB in console mode, rEFInd in text mode, iPXE, shim and MokManager, and whatever those chainload. Programs that draw their own pixels (GRUB gfxterm, rEFInd's graphical mode, Limine, Windows Boot Manager) and the Linux console after boot are unaffected.
Provenance
The artifacts are the store paths the repository's CI built and pushed to its binary cache for the tagged commit, copied out and renamed; they are byte-identical to what nix build .#big-console-dxe (or -2x) produces at that tag, which is one way to check a download beyond SHA256SUMS.
Installing
The quickest path is the systemd-boot drop-in: copy one of the artifacts to EFI/systemd/drivers/ on your EFI System Partition, keeping the x64.efi (or aa64.efi) filename suffix, which systemd-boot requires. The driver takes the console over when it loads, so nothing else needs configuring.
rEFInd loads it from its drivers_x64 (or drivers_aa64) directory, and a UEFI shell on load. A Driver#### NVRAM entry makes the firmware load it before its own screens; that path has not received much testing. See the README for details.
The text grid stays at the firmware's current mode, normally 80x25 drawn as a centered block of big cells; to fill the panel, select the full-screen mode (systemd-boot: console-mode max in loader.conf).
Secure Boot
If Secure Boot is enabled, the driver must be signed by a key your platform's signature database trusts, or the firmware will skip it and boot with the stock console. Signing with your own db key:
sbsign --key db.key --cert db.crt \
--output bigconsolex64.efi bigconsolex64.efi
A skipped driver is not fatal. Boot proceeds; the console is just the small one again.
v0.1.0
Prebuilt UEFI drivers, for use without Nix.
| Artifact | Cell size | For |
|---|---|---|
bigconsolex64.efi |
16x32 | The embedded font at its native size |
bigconsole2xx64.efi |
32x64 | Panels or viewing distances where 16x32 is still too small |
Verify a download against SHA256SUMS before installing it.
Supported platforms
x86-64 UEFI. The driver is verified on every change against TianoCore edk2 (OVMF in QEMU at 3840x2160, both variants, loaded from the UEFI shell) and is in use on one AMI Aptio V firmware, loaded by systemd-boot. Firmware early-loading (a Driver#### entry, e.g. Driver0000) has not received much testing. Other vendors' firmware should work by the UEFI driver-binding rules the console takeover relies on, but has not been tried. There is no AArch64 build yet.
From the moment it loads, everything that writes through Simple Text Output renders big: systemd-boot, the UEFI shell, GRUB in console mode, rEFInd in text mode, iPXE, shim and MokManager, and whatever those chainload. Programs that draw their own pixels (GRUB gfxterm, rEFInd's graphical mode, Limine, Windows Boot Manager) and the Linux console after boot are unaffected.
Provenance
The artifacts are the store paths the repository's CI built and pushed to its binary cache for the tagged commit, copied out and renamed; they are byte-identical to what nix build .#big-console-dxe (or -2x) produces at that tag, which is one way to check a download beyond SHA256SUMS.
Installing
The quickest path is the systemd-boot drop-in: copy one of the artifacts to EFI/systemd/drivers/ on your EFI System Partition, keeping the x64.efi filename suffix, which systemd-boot requires. The driver takes the console over when it loads, so nothing else needs configuring.
rEFInd loads it from its drivers_x64 directory, and a UEFI shell on load. A Driver#### NVRAM entry makes the firmware load it before its own screens; that path has not received much testing. See the README for details.
The text grid stays at the firmware's current mode, normally 80x25 drawn as a centered block of big cells; to fill the panel, select the full-screen mode (systemd-boot: console-mode max in loader.conf).
Secure Boot
If Secure Boot is enabled, the driver must be signed by a key your platform's signature database trusts, or the firmware will skip it and boot with the stock console. Signing with your own db key:
sbsign --key db.key --cert db.crt \
--output bigconsolex64.efi bigconsolex64.efi
A skipped driver is not fatal. Boot proceeds; the console is just the small one again.