# multiboot2-header

[](https://crates.io/crates/multiboot2-header)
[](https://docs.rs/multiboot2-header/)
Rust library with type definitions and parsing functions for Multiboot2 headers,
as well as a builder to build them at runtime. This library is `no_std` and can
be used in bootloaders.
What this library is good for:
- construct a Multiboot2 header at runtime (constructing one at build-time with
macros is not done yet, contributions are welcome!)
- write a Multiboot2-bootloader that parses a Multiboot2-header
- understanding Multiboot2 headers better
- analyze Multiboot2 headers at runtime
## Features and `no_std` Compatibility
This library is always `no_std` without `alloc`. However, the default `builder`-
feature requires the `alloc`-crate and an `#[global_allocator]` to be available.
You need the `builder` only if you want to construct new headers at runtime.
For parsing, the feature is not relevant, and you can deactivate it.
```toml
# without `builder`-feature (and without `alloc`-crate)
multiboot2-header = { version = "<latest>", default-features = false }
# else (requires `alloc`-crate)
multiboot2-header = "<latest>"
```
## Example 1: Builder + Parse
```rust
use multiboot2_header::builder::{InformationRequestHeaderTagBuilder, Multiboot2HeaderBuilder};
use multiboot2_header::{HeaderTagFlag, HeaderTagISA, MbiTagType, RelocatableHeaderTag, RelocatableHeaderTagPreference, Multiboot2Header};
/// Small example that creates a Multiboot2 header and parses it afterwards.
fn main() {
// We create a Multiboot2 header during runtime here. A practical example is that your
// program gets the header from a file and parses it afterwards.
let mb2_hdr_bytes = Multiboot2HeaderBuilder::new(HeaderTagISA::I386)
.relocatable_tag(RelocatableHeaderTag::new(
HeaderTagFlag::Required,
0x1337,
0xdeadbeef,
4096,
RelocatableHeaderTagPreference::None,
))
.information_request_tag(
InformationRequestHeaderTagBuilder::new(HeaderTagFlag::Required)
.add_irs(&[MbiTagType::Cmdline, MbiTagType::BootLoaderName]),
)
.build();
// Cast bytes in vector to Multiboot2 information structure
let mb2_hdr = unsafe { Multiboot2Header::from_addr(mb2_hdr_bytes.as_ptr().cast()) };
println!("{:#?}", mb2_hdr);
}
```
## Example 2: Multiboot2 header as static data in Rust file
You can use the builder, construct a Multiboot2 header, write it to a file and
include it like this:
```
#[used]
#[no_mangle]
#[link_section = ".text.multiboot2_header"]
static MULTIBOOT2_HDR: [u8; 64] = *include_bytes!("mb2_hdr_dump.bin");
```
You may need a special linker script to place this symbol in the first 32768
bytes of the ELF. See Multiboot2 specification.
## MSRV
The MSRV is 1.70.0 stable.
## License & Contribution
See main [README](https://github.com/rust-osdev/multiboot2/blob/main/README.md)
file.