Add Limine bootloader support with themed styling

Phase 2: Bootloader improvements

- Add bootloader choice: systemd-boot (default) or Limine
- Configure Limine with classical theme colors:
  - Dark brown background (#1a1611)
  - Tan text (#d4c4a8)
  - Gold accents (#d4a857)
- Add Plymouth boot splash option
- Update installer to prompt for bootloader choice
- Add example-limine configuration
- Update documentation with boot options

Users can now choose between:
1. systemd-boot - Simple, reliable, well-tested (default)
2. Limine - Modern, prettier, themed to match Nomarchy

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ Download the ISO from the releases page and boot from it for a fresh installatio
 - **SwayNC** - Notification center
 - **Neovim** - Fully configured with LSP support
 - **Classical Theme** - Earthy, vintage aesthetic inspired by historical paintings
+- **Bootloader Choice** - systemd-boot (default) or Limine (prettier, more features)
+- **Plymouth** - Optional boot splash screen
 
 ## Keybindings
 

docs/CUSTOMIZATION.md

@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ Your configuration lives in `~/.config/nomarchy/config.nix`:
   # Performance (security tradeoff!)
   enableMitigationsOff = false;
 
+  # Boot
+  bootloader = "systemd-boot";  # or "limine" for prettier boot
+  enablePlymouth = false;       # Boot splash screen
+
   # Theme
   theme = "classical";
 }

flake.nix

@@ -57,14 +57,17 @@
       # Performance (security-conscious defaults)
       enableMitigationsOff = false; # Opt-in only
 
+      # Boot
+      bootloader = "systemd-boot"; # or "limine"
+      enablePlymouth = false; # Boot splash
+
       # Theme
       theme = "classical";
     };
   in {
     # NixOS configurations
     nixosConfigurations = {
-      # Example configuration (requires hardware-configuration.nix)
-      # Users create their own configuration via the installer
+      # Example configuration with systemd-boot (default)
       example = mkHost {
         system = "x86_64-linux";
         config = defaultConfig // {
@@ -73,7 +76,24 @@
         extraModules = [
           # Minimal test hardware config
           ({...}: {
-            boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
+            fileSystems."/" = {
+              device = "/dev/disk/by-label/nixos";
+              fsType = "ext4";
+            };
+          })
+        ];
+      };
+
+      # Example configuration with Limine bootloader
+      example-limine = mkHost {
+        system = "x86_64-linux";
+        config = defaultConfig // {
+          hostname = "nomarchy-limine";
+          bootloader = "limine";
+          enablePlymouth = true;
+        };
+        extraModules = [
+          ({...}: {
             fileSystems."/" = {
               device = "/dev/disk/by-label/nixos";
               fsType = "ext4";

installer/install.sh

@@ -117,6 +117,28 @@ prompt_location() {
     echo ""
 }
 
+prompt_bootloader() {
+    echo -e "${BOLD}Bootloader${NC}"
+    echo "1) systemd-boot (default) - Simple, reliable, well-tested"
+    echo "2) Limine - Modern, prettier, themed to match Nomarchy"
+    read -rp "Choose bootloader [1/2]: " bootloader_choice
+    bootloader_choice="${bootloader_choice:-1}"
+
+    if [[ "$bootloader_choice" == "2" ]]; then
+        bootloader="limine"
+        echo -e "${CYAN}Using Limine bootloader${NC}"
+    else
+        bootloader="systemd-boot"
+        echo -e "${CYAN}Using systemd-boot${NC}"
+    fi
+
+    read -rp "Enable Plymouth boot splash? [y/N]: " plymouth
+    plymouth="${plymouth:-n}"
+    [[ "$plymouth" =~ ^[Yy] ]] && enable_plymouth="true" || enable_plymouth="false"
+
+    echo ""
+}
+
 prompt_features() {
     echo -e "${BOLD}Optional Features${NC}"
 
@@ -182,6 +204,10 @@ generate_config() {
   enablePrinting = ${enable_printing};
   enableBluetooth = true;
 
+  # Boot
+  bootloader = "${bootloader}";
+  enablePlymouth = ${enable_plymouth};
+
   # Performance (security tradeoff)
   enableMitigationsOff = ${enable_mitigations_off};
 
@@ -253,6 +279,8 @@ show_summary() {
     echo -e "Timezone:    ${CYAN}${timezone}${NC}"
     echo -e "Locale:      ${CYAN}${locale}${NC}"
     echo -e "Keyboard:    ${CYAN}${keyboard}${NC}"
+    echo -e "Bootloader:  ${CYAN}${bootloader}${NC}"
+    echo -e "Plymouth:    ${CYAN}${enable_plymouth}${NC}"
     echo -e "Syncthing:   ${CYAN}${enable_syncthing}${NC}"
     echo -e "Mullvad:     ${CYAN}${enable_mullvad}${NC}"
     echo -e "Printing:    ${CYAN}${enable_printing}${NC}"
@@ -303,6 +331,7 @@ main() {
     prompt_locale
     prompt_keyboard
     prompt_location
+    prompt_bootloader
     prompt_features
 
     show_summary

modules/core/boot.nix

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Boot configuration
-# Supports both systemd-boot (default) and Limine
+# Supports systemd-boot (default) and Limine (optional)
 {
   config,
   lib,
@@ -7,19 +7,94 @@
   nomarchyConfig,
   ...
 }: let
-  # For ISO builds, we'll use Limine; for regular installs, systemd-boot
-  useSystemdBoot = nomarchyConfig.bootloader or "systemd-boot" == "systemd-boot";
+  bootloader = nomarchyConfig.bootloader or "systemd-boot";
+  useLimine = bootloader == "limine";
+  useSystemdBoot = bootloader == "systemd-boot";
+
+  # Theme colors for Limine
+  theme = config.nomarchy.theme or (import ../../themes/classical/colors.nix);
 in {
-  # Systemd-boot (default for NixOS installs)
+  # Systemd-boot (default - simpler, well-tested)
   boot.loader.systemd-boot = lib.mkIf useSystemdBoot {
     enable = true;
     configurationLimit = 10;
+    editor = false; # Disable editor for security
   };
 
-  boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = useSystemdBoot;
+  # EFI variables - needed for both bootloaders
+  boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
 
-  # Limine support (for ISO)
-  boot.loader.limine = lib.mkIf (!useSystemdBoot) {
+  # Limine bootloader (optional - prettier, more features)
+  boot.loader.limine = lib.mkIf useLimine {
     enable = true;
+
+    # Support both BIOS and UEFI
+    efiSupport = true;
+    biosSupport = true;
+
+    # Max generations to show
+    maxGenerations = 10;
+
+    # Disable editor for security (can be overridden)
+    enableEditor = false;
+
+    # Validate boot files
+    validateChecksums = true;
+    panicOnChecksumMismatch = false;
+
+    # Styling
+    style = {
+      # Background color (dark brown from classical theme)
+      backdrop = "1a1611";
+
+      # Wallpaper style
+      wallpaperStyle = "stretched";
+
+      # Boot wallpaper (optional - can be set by user)
+      wallpapers = lib.mkIf (builtins.pathExists ../../themes/classical/wallpapers/boot.png) [
+        ../../themes/classical/wallpapers/boot.png
+      ];
+
+      # Graphical terminal settings
+      graphicalTerminal = {
+        # Font (Limine uses built-in fonts)
+        # Background color (RRGGBB)
+        background = "1a1611";
+        # Foreground/text color
+        foreground = "d4c4a8";
+        # Bright foreground
+        brightForeground = "d4a857";
+      };
+
+      # Interface styling
+      interface = {
+        # Resolution (empty = auto)
+        resolution = "";
+        # Branding colors
+        brandingColor = "d4a857";  # Gold accent
+      };
+    };
+
+    # Extra config for branding
+    extraConfig = ''
+      # Nomarchy Bootloader
+      TIMEOUT=5
+      GRAPHICS=yes
+      VERBOSE=no
+    '';
+  };
+
+  # Kernel parameters (applied regardless of bootloader)
+  boot.kernelParams = [
+    "quiet"
+    "splash"
+    "loglevel=3"
+    "udev.log_level=3"
+  ];
+
+  # Plymouth boot splash (optional, works with both bootloaders)
+  boot.plymouth = lib.mkIf (nomarchyConfig.enablePlymouth or false) {
+    enable = true;
+    theme = "bgrt"; # Uses system logo
   };
 }