May 12, 2026
Boot drama, but make it secure
Lanzaboote – NixOS Secure Boot
NixOS Finally Gets a Boot-Time Bodyguard — and users are weirdly calm about it
TLDR: Lanzaboote is bringing startup-time protection to NixOS, plugging a major security gap for users of the Linux system. In the comments, people were less shocked by the feature than by the attention it got, with veterans saying it already works well and others begging for an easier setup.
A niche Linux security project somehow turned into a surprisingly juicy comment-section mood check. The big news: developers behind Lanzaboote are building a way for NixOS to use Secure Boot, a feature that helps stop sneaky tampering before your computer even fully starts. In plain English, it’s like putting a bouncer at the door so fake startup code can’t stroll in and steal your disk password. Very important! Very serious! And yet the community reaction was less panic, more “uh, I’ve already been using this for ages.”
That’s where the drama lives. One user casually popped in to say they were shocked to see this on the front page because they already run Lanzaboote with sbctl and use it for encrypted-disk tricks with a security chip. Another went even further, basically giving the project the ultimate boring compliment: it’s been “set and forget” stable for nearly a year, even in a Windows 11 dual-boot setup. For a security tool, that’s basically a standing ovation.
Still, there was gentle side-eye. The biggest gripe is that setup is still intimidating, with users having to make and install their own security keys. One commenter immediately suggested the obvious fix: just integrate sbctl already and make the scary parts less scary. And then came the funniest drive-by comment of all: “This needs a (2022).” Translation: nice article, but the internet detectives noticed it’s old news. In classic nerd-forum fashion, the hottest scandal here is that the software works — and the only real outrage is the timestamp.
Key Points
- •The article describes a project to add Secure Boot support to NixOS, which did not have it at the time of writing.
- •NixOS uses systemd-boot on UEFI systems, and Secure Boot in that setup depends on signed Unified Kernel Images (UKIs).
- •Because NixOS commonly retains many system generations, embedding a full kernel and initrd in each UKI would consume too much EFI System Partition space.
- •The team created Lanzaboote, a Rust-based UEFI application that conforms to the UKI specification while keeping the kernel and initrd separate and relying on UEFI LoadImage for signature checks.
- •The project also includes lanzatool, NixOS modules, and integration tests, but still requires users to generate and enroll their own keys because support for default Microsoft-trusted key chains is not yet available.