Boot and recovery manager for embedded systems.

C99 | Zero dependencies | Zero allocations | Callback-driven | Portable

Without a startup orchestrator, devices can get stuck in crash loops: boot, fail, reset, repeat.

microboot tracks boot history, detects crash loops, and lets you switch into a recovery strategy before a device gets stuck permanently.

• Boot reason detection (cold, watchdog, crash dump, brownout, user)
• Crash loop detection with configurable threshold
• Boot mode decision (NORMAL, RECOVERY, SAFE, FACTORY)
• Persistent CRC-protected boot record
• Clean shutdown tracking
• Boot confirmation hook to reset crash counter
• Last uptime tracking for diagnostics

mboot_t boot;
mboot_init(&boot, &flash_io, HAL_GetTick);
mboot_start(&boot);

switch (mboot_mode(&boot)) {
case MBOOT_MODE_NORMAL:
    start_application();
    mboot_confirm(&boot);
    break;
case MBOOT_MODE_RECOVERY:
    start_recovery_server();
    break;
case MBOOT_MODE_FACTORY:
    load_factory_defaults();
    start_application();
    break;
default:
    break;
}

Linux/macOS:

cd tests
make

Windows (MSYS2/MinGW shell):

cd tests
make

• include/mboot.h: public API
• src/mboot.c: implementation
• tests/test_all.c: test suite
• docs/: design and integration docs

• API reference
• Design notes
• Porting guide
• Contributing
• Changelog

GitHub Actions workflow runs build and tests on each push and pull request to master.

MIT License, Copyright (c) 2026 Vanderhell. See LICENSE.