AXL SDK

Version	0.1.0
License	MIT
C header	`#include <axl.h>`
Website	axl.aximcode.com
Source	github.com/aximcode/axl-sdk
Build	`axl-cc hello.c -o hello.efi`

AXL

AXL (AximCode Library) is a GLib-inspired C library for UEFI, plus an SDK for building UEFI applications and drivers without EDK2.

AXL Library (libaxl.a) — the library itself: data structures, file I/O, networking (TCP, UDP, HTTP, TLS), graphics, event loop, logging, and more. UTF-8 everywhere, standard C types, axl_snake_case API.
AXL SDK — packages the library with headers, a CRT0 entry point, and axl-cc (a compiler wrapper). Build .efi binaries with a single command — no EDK2 source tree, no gnu-efi, just clang or GCC.

#include <axl.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
    axl_printf("Hello from %s\n", argv[0]);

    AXL_AUTOPTR(AxlString) s = axl_string_new("AXL ");
    axl_string_append_printf(s, "v%d", 1);
    axl_printf("%s\n", axl_string_str(s));

    return 0;
}

$ axl-cc hello.c -o hello.efi    # 11KB binary, zero external deps

Include <axl.h> for the full API, or individual headers for specific modules (e.g., <axl/axl-mem.h>, <axl/axl-net.h>).

AXL Library API

Category	Functions	GLib equivalent
Memory	`axl_malloc`, `axl_free`, `axl_calloc`, `axl_new`	`g_malloc`, `g_free`, `g_new0`
Auto-cleanup	`AXL_AUTO_FREE`, `AXL_AUTOPTR(Type)`	`g_autofree`, `g_autoptr`
Strings	`axl_strdup`, `axl_strsplit`, `axl_strjoin`	`g_strdup`, `g_strsplit`
String builder	`axl_string_new`, `axl_string_append`	`GString`
String search	`axl_strstr`, `axl_strchr`, `axl_str_has_prefix`	`g_strstr_len`, `g_str_has_prefix`
Printf	`axl_printf`, `axl_fprintf`, `axl_asprintf`	`g_print`
File I/O	`axl_fopen`, `axl_fread`, `axl_fseek`, `axl_readline`	POSIX-style
File ops	`axl_file_get_contents`, `axl_file_info`, `axl_file_delete`	`g_file_get_contents`
Directories	`axl_dir_open`, `axl_dir_read`, `axl_dir_mkdir`	`g_dir_open`
Hash table	`axl_hash_table_new`, `axl_hash_table_insert`	`GHashTable`
Dynamic array	`axl_array_new`, `axl_array_append`	`GArray`
Linked lists	`axl_list_append`, `axl_slist_prepend`	`GList`, `GSList`
Queue	`axl_queue_push_tail`, `axl_queue_pop_head`	`GQueue`
JSON	`axl_json_parse`, `axl_json_get_string`	json-glib
Cache	`axl_cache_new`, `axl_cache_put`, `axl_cache_get`	—
Config + CLI	`axl_config_new`, `axl_config_parse_args`, `axl_config_get_*`	`GOptionContext`, `GKeyFile`
Event loop	`axl_loop_run`, `axl_loop_add_timer`	`GMainLoop`
Deferred work	`axl_defer`, `axl_signal_emit`	—
Logging	`axl_info`, `axl_debug`, `axl_error`	`g_info`, `g_debug`
HTTP client	`axl_http_get`, `axl_http_request`	libsoup
HTTP server	`axl_http_server_new`, `axl_http_server_add_route`	libsoup
TCP sockets	`axl_tcp_connect`, `axl_tcp_listen`	`GSocket`
UDP sockets	`axl_udp_open`, `axl_udp_send`, `axl_udp_sendrecv`	—
TLS (optional)	`axl_tls_init`, `axl_tls_generate_self_signed`	— (mbedTLS)
Graphics	`axl_gfx_fill_rect`, `axl_gfx_draw_text`	— (UEFI GOP)
Task pool	`axl_async_submit`, `axl_buf_pool_new`	— (UEFI MP)
Environment	`axl_getenv`, `axl_setenv`, `axl_chdir`	`g_getenv`, `g_chdir`
System	`axl_reset`, `axl_driver_load`, `gBS`, `gST`	— (UEFI-specific)
SMBIOS	`axl_smbios_find`, `axl_smbios_get_string`	— (UEFI-specific)
Utilities	`AXL_ARRAY_SIZE`, `AXL_CONTAINER_OF`	`G_N_ELEMENTS`

Quick start

Requirements

GCC + binutils for the host toolchain, plus gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu + binutils-aarch64-linux-gnu if you want to cross-build aa64 UEFI binaries.
No EDK2, no gnu-efi, no external UEFI SDK.

Install the SDK

Binary packages are published on each GitHub Release. Each package bundles both x64 and aa64 UEFI target libs.

Debian / Ubuntu:

curl -LO https://github.com/aximcode/axl-sdk/releases/latest/download/axl-sdk_0.1.2-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./axl-sdk_0.1.2-1_amd64.deb

Fedora / RHEL:

curl -LO https://github.com/aximcode/axl-sdk/releases/latest/download/axl-sdk-0.1.2-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo dnf install ./axl-sdk-0.1.2-1.x86_64.rpm

TLS flavor (for HTTPS support via mbedTLS): replace axl-sdk with axl-sdk-tls in the filenames above.

Build from source (contributors, or if no package matches your distro): ./scripts/install.sh --prefix /opt/axl-sdk produces the same FHS layout under /opt/axl-sdk/.

Build an app

axl-cc hello.c -o hello.efi

Cross-build for AARCH64

axl-cc --arch aa64 hello.c -o hello-aa64.efi

CMake

find_package(axl REQUIRED)
axl_add_app(hello hello.c)

Build a driver

axl-cc --type driver mydriver.c -o mydriver.efi

Run tests

# Unit tests (776 tests)
./test/integration/test-axl.sh

# Tool tests (hexdump, grep, find, sysinfo, etc.)
./test/integration/test-tools.sh

# HTTP integration tests
./test/integration/test-http.sh

# UDP integration tests
./test/integration/test-udp.sh

# HTTPS integration tests (requires AXL_TLS=1 build)
./test/integration/test-https.sh

# All architectures (x64 + aa64)
./test/integration/test-all.sh

Documentation

API Reference — auto-generated from headers (Sphinx + Breathe)
Coding Style — naming conventions, formatting
Porting Guide — how to port EDK2 apps to axl-cc
Design — architecture, phases
Roadmap — phase tracker

Architecture

AXL Library

include/axl/ — public headers. axl_snake_case functions, AxlPascalCase types, standard C types, UTF-8 strings.
src/ — module implementations. Each directory has a README.md with overview, examples, and usage guidance: mem, data (str, string, hash, array, list, queue, json, cache), io, log, util (args, config, path, env, sys, driver), loop (event loop, defer, signal), task (arena, task pool, buf pool, async), net (tcp, udp, http, tls), gfx.
Backend (src/backend/) — platform abstraction over UEFI firmware services. Single native implementation.

AXL SDK

axl-cc — compiler wrapper. Invokes clang + lld-link (or GCC) with the right flags, includes, and libraries.
axl-crt0 — UEFI entry point stub. Bridges EFI_HANDLE + EFI_SYSTEM_TABLE to int main(int argc, char **argv).
axl.cmake — CMake integration via axl_add_app().
include/uefi/ — auto-generated UEFI type definitions from the UEFI spec HTML. No dependency on EDK2 headers.

Optional: TLS

TLS support uses mbedTLS (v3.6.3) as a git submodule. Build with AXL_TLS=1 to enable HTTPS server/client and self-signed certificate generation.

Status

AXL is under active development. The core library is stable with 776 unit tests + 16 tool tests + 17 HTTP integration tests + 3 UDP tests + 5 HTTPS tests. Apps and drivers build with just clang (or GCC) — no EDK2 or external UEFI SDK needed.

License

BSD-2-Clause-Patent

Modules

Guides

Reference