Summary
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OpenC6 brings retro BIOS-like firmware to the ESP32-C6, reminiscent of classic PC setup screens.
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It is open source and hosts small payloads, allowing you to hot-swap modules into RAM or XIP.
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The project is still evolving; Missing features and benefits include an open file system and execution security.
Long before UEFI came out, PCs used to use a BIOS to configure everything. It took quite a bit longer to get the job done, but seeing the old BIOS screens brings back memories of diving into an older PC and adjusting settings to better control the hardware. If you long for those days, someone managed to design a BIOS for the ESP32-C6 chip, and while it’s not fully featured yet, it’s still really cool.
OpenC6 BIOS brings a cool retro BIOS to your ESP32-C6
It’s more than just a pretty face
How he saw it HackadayThis brilliant feat was accomplished by Breakpass on GitHub. It is called OpenC6 BIOS and its main objective is to bring a BIOS to ESP32-C6 chips. It’s completely open source and allows your ESP32 to run a “PC/server-like architecture” on a $2 chip. That seems fine to me.
This is how Rompass describes the OpenC6 BIOS:
Instead of monolithic firmwares, OpenC6 acts as a host platform. It initializes the hardware, provides out-of-band management through a standalone LP-Core coprocessor, and exposes a standardized system call interface (ABI). This allows you to exchange, download and run tiny, ultra-fast bare-metal files.
Payloadsdirectly into RAM or Execute-In-Place (XIP) Flash.
It’s not exactly the same BIOS you’ll find on a PC; However, it will allow you to run modules from RAM instead of the operating system kernel and give you more customization with your chip.
The GitHub page has all the code and setup instructions, so if you want to try it out, grab it from the link above. It’s worth noting that this project is not complete yet; In fact, Rompass posted a bounty board for features they’d like to see, including a completely open source file system and a security measure to prevent corrupted runs from being triggered.
