bootstd: doc: Add documentation

Add documentation for this feature, including the commands and full
devicetree bindings.

Signed-off-by: Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>

11 files changed, 1376 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index 963ec91c89..bda7b81efc 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -702,6 +702,10 @@ F:	boot/bootmeth*.c
 F:	boot/bootstd.c
 F:	cmd/bootdev.c
 F:	cmd/bootflow.c
+F:	doc/develop/bootstd.rst
+F:	doc/usage/bootdev.rst
+F:	doc/usage/bootflow.rst
+F:	doc/usage/bootmeth.rst
 F:	drivers/mmc/mmc_bootdev.c
 F:	include/bootdev.h
 F:	include/bootflow.h
diff --git a/doc/develop/bootstd.rst b/doc/develop/bootstd.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5e9c0d282b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/develop/bootstd.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,638 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+:
+
+U-Boot Standard Boot
+====================
+
+Introduction
+------------
+
+Standard boot provides a built-in way for U-Boot to automatically boot
+an Operating System without custom scripting and other customisation. It
+introduces the following concepts:
+
+   - bootdev  - a device which can hold or access a distro (e.g. MMC, Ethernet)
+   - bootmeth - a method to scan a bootdev to find bootflows (e.g. distro boot)
+   - bootflow - a description of how to boot (provided by the distro)
+
+For Linux, the distro (Linux distribution, e.g. Debian, Fedora) is responsible
+for creating a bootflow for each kernel combination that it wants to offer.
+These bootflows are stored on media so they can be discovered by U-Boot. This
+feature is typically called `distro boot` (see :doc:`distro`) because it is
+a way for distributions to boot on any hardware.
+
+Traditionally U-Boot has relied on scripts to implement this feature. See
+disto_boodcmd_ for details. This is done because U-Boot has no native support
+for scanning devices. While the scripts work remarkably well, they can be hard
+to understand and extend, and the feature does not include tests. They are also
+making it difficult to move away from ad-hoc CONFIGs, since they are implemented
+using the environment and a lot of #defines.
+
+Standard boot is a generalisation of distro boot. It provides a more built-in
+way to boot with U-Boot. The feature is extensible to different Operating
+Systems (such as Chromium OS) and devices (beyond just block and network
+devices). It supports EFI boot and EFI bootmgr too.
+
+
+Bootflow
+--------
+
+A bootflow is a file that describes how to boot a distro. Conceptually there can
+be different formats for that file but at present U-Boot only supports the
+BootLoaderSpec_ format. which looks something like this::
+
+   menu autoboot Welcome to Fedora-Workstation-armhfp-31-1.9. Automatic boot in # second{,s}. Press a key for options.
+   menu title Fedora-Workstation-armhfp-31-1.9 Boot Options.
+   menu hidden
+
+   label Fedora-Workstation-armhfp-31-1.9 (5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl)
+       kernel /vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl
+       append ro root=UUID=9732b35b-4cd5-458b-9b91-80f7047e0b8a rhgb quiet LANG=en_US.UTF-8 cma=192MB cma=256MB
+       fdtdir /dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/
+       initrd /initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img
+
+As you can see it specifies a kernel, a ramdisk (initrd) and a directory from
+which to load devicetree files. The details are described in disto_boodcmd_.
+
+The bootflow is provided by the distro. It is not part of U-Boot. U-Boot's job
+is simply to interpret the file and carry out the instructions. This allows
+distros to boot on essentially any device supported by U-Boot.
+
+Typically the first available bootflow is selected and booted. If that fails,
+then the next one is tried.
+
+
+Bootdev
+-------
+
+Where does U-Boot find the media that holds the operating systems? That is the
+job of bootdev. A bootdev is simply a layer on top of a media device (such as
+MMC, NVMe). The bootdev accesses the device, including partitions and
+filesystems that might contain things related to an operating system.
+
+For example, an MMC bootdev provides access to the individual partitions on the
+MMC device. It scans through these to find filesystems, then provides a list of
+these for consideration.
+
+
+Bootmeth
+--------
+
+Once the list of filesystems is provided, how does U-Boot find the bootflow
+files in these filesystems. That is the job of bootmeth. Each boot method has
+its own way of doing this.
+
+For example, the distro bootmeth simply looks through the provided filesystem
+for a file called `extlinux/extlinux.conf`. This files constitutes a bootflow.
+If the distro bootmeth is used on multiple partitions it may produce multiple
+bootflows.
+
+Note: it is possible to have a bootmeth that uses a partition or a whole device
+directly, but it is more common to use a filesystem.
+
+
+Boot process
+------------
+
+U-Boot tries to use the 'lazy init' approach whereever possible and distro boot
+is no exception. The algorithm is::
+
+   while (get next bootdev)
+      while (get next bootmeth)
+          while (get next bootflow)
+              try to boot it
+
+So U-Boot works its way through the bootdevs, trying each bootmeth in turn to
+obtain bootflows, until it either boots or exhausts the available options.
+
+Instead of 500 lines of #defines and a 4KB boot script, all that is needed is
+the following command::
+
+   bootflow scan -lb
+
+which scans for available bootflows, optionally listing each find it finds (-l)
+and trying to boot it (-b).
+
+
+Controlling ordering
+--------------------
+
+Several options are available to control the ordering of boot scanning:
+
+
+boot_targets
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This environment variable can be used to control the list of bootdevs searched
+and their ordering, for example::
+
+   setenv boot_targets "mmc0 mmc1 usb pxe"
+
+Entries may be removed or re-ordered in this list to affect the boot order. If
+the variable is empty, the default ordering is used, based on the priority of
+bootdevs and their sequence numbers.
+
+
+bootmeths
+~~~~~~~~~
+
+This environment variable can be used to control the list of bootmeths used and
+their ordering for example::
+
+   setenv bootmeths "syslinux efi"
+
+Entries may be removed or re-ordered in this list to affect the order the
+bootmeths are tried on each bootdev. If the variable is empty, the default
+ordering is used, based on the bootmeth sequence numbers, which can be
+controlled by aliases.
+
+The :ref:`usage/cmd/bootmeth:bootmeth command` (`bootmeth order`) operates in
+the same way as setting this variable.
+
+
+Bootdev uclass
+--------------
+
+The bootdev uclass provides an simple API call to obtain a bootflows from a
+device::
+
+   int bootdev_get_bootflow(struct udevice *dev, struct bootflow_iter *iter,
+                            struct bootflow *bflow);
+
+This takes a iterator which indicates the bootdev, partition and bootmeth to
+use. It returns a bootflow. This is the core of the bootdev implementation. The
+bootdev drivers that implement this differ depending on the media they are
+reading from, but each is responsible for returning a valid bootflow if
+available.
+
+A helper called `bootdev_find_in_blk()` makes it fairly easy to implement this
+function for each media device uclass, in a few lines of code.
+
+
+Bootdev drivers
+---------------
+
+A bootdev driver is typically fairly simple. Here is one for mmc::
+
+    static int mmc_get_bootflow(struct udevice *dev, struct bootflow_iter *iter,
+                    struct bootflow *bflow)
+    {
+        struct udevice *mmc_dev = dev_get_parent(dev);
+        struct udevice *blk;
+        int ret;
+
+        ret = mmc_get_blk(mmc_dev, &blk);
+        /*
+         * If there is no media, indicate that no more partitions should be
+         * checked
+         */
+        if (ret == -EOPNOTSUPP)
+            ret = -ESHUTDOWN;
+        if (ret)
+            return log_msg_ret("blk", ret);
+        assert(blk);
+        ret = bootdev_find_in_blk(dev, blk, iter, bflow);
+        if (ret)
+            return log_msg_ret("find", ret);
+
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    static int mmc_bootdev_bind(struct udevice *dev)
+    {
+        struct bootdev_uc_plat *ucp = dev_get_uclass_plat(dev);
+
+        ucp->prio = BOOTDEVP_0_INTERNAL_FAST;
+
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    struct bootdev_ops mmc_bootdev_ops = {
+        .get_bootflow    = mmc_get_bootflow,
+    };
+
+    static const struct udevice_id mmc_bootdev_ids[] = {
+        { .compatible = "u-boot,bootdev-mmc" },
+        { }
+    };
+
+    U_BOOT_DRIVER(mmc_bootdev) = {
+        .name        = "mmc_bootdev",
+        .id        = UCLASS_BOOTDEV,
+        .ops        = &mmc_bootdev_ops,
+        .bind        = mmc_bootdev_bind,
+        .of_match    = mmc_bootdev_ids,
+    };
+
+The implementation of the `get_bootflow()` method is simply to obtain the
+block device and call a bootdev helper function to do the rest. The
+implementation of `bootdev_find_in_blk()` checks the partition table, and
+attempts to read a file from a filesystem on the partition number given by the
+`@iter->part` parameter.
+
+Each bootdev has a priority, which indicates the order in which it is used.
+Faster bootdevs are used first, since they are more likely to be able to boot
+the device quickly.
+
+
+Device hierarchy
+----------------
+
+A bootdev device is a child of the media device. In this example, you can see
+that the bootdev is a sibling of the block device and both are children of
+media device::
+
+    mmc           0  [ + ]   bcm2835-sdhost        |   |-- mmc@7e202000
+    blk           0  [ + ]   mmc_blk               |   |   |-- mmc@7e202000.blk
+    bootdev       0  [   ]   mmc_bootdev           |   |   `-- mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+    mmc           1  [ + ]   sdhci-bcm2835         |   |-- sdhci@7e300000
+    blk           1  [   ]   mmc_blk               |   |   |-- sdhci@7e300000.blk
+    bootdev       1  [   ]   mmc_bootdev           |   |   `-- sdhci@7e300000.bootdev
+
+The bootdev device is typically created automatically in the media uclass'
+`post_bind()` method by calling `bootdev_setup_for_dev()`. The code typically
+something like this::
+
+    ret = bootdev_setup_for_dev(dev, "eth_bootdev");
+    if (ret)
+        return log_msg_ret("bootdev", ret);
+
+Here, `eth_bootdev` is the name of the Ethernet bootdev driver and `dev`
+is the ethernet device. This function is safe to call even if standard boot is
+not enabled, since it does nothing in that case. It can be added to all uclasses
+which implement suitable media.
+
+
+The bootstd device
+------------------
+
+Standard boot requires a single instance of the bootstd device to make things
+work. This includes global information about the state of standard boot. See
+`struct bootstd_priv` for this structure, accessed with `bootstd_get_priv()`.
+
+Within the devicetree, if you add bootmeth devices or a system bootdev, they
+should be children of the bootstd device. See `arch/sandbox/dts/test.dts` for
+an example of this.
+
+
+The system bootdev
+------------------
+
+Some bootmeths don't operate on individual bootdevs, but on the whole system.
+For example, the EFI boot manager does its own device scanning and does not
+make use of the bootdev devices. Such bootmeths can make use of the system
+bootdev, typically considered last, after everything else has been tried.
+
+
+.. _`Automatic Devices`:
+
+Automatic devices
+-----------------
+
+It is possible to define all the required devices in the devicetree manually,
+but it is not necessary. The bootstd uclass includes a `dm_scan_other()`
+function which creates the bootstd device if not found. If no bootmeth devices
+are found at all, it creates one for each available bootmeth driver as well as a
+system bootdev.
+
+If your devicetree has any bootmeth device it must have all of them that you
+want to use, as well as the system bootdev if needed, since no bootmeth devices
+will be created automatically in that case.
+
+
+Using devicetree
+----------------
+
+If a bootdev is complicated or needs configuration information, it can be
+added to the devicetree as a child of the media device. For example, imagine a
+bootdev which reads a bootflow from SPI flash. The devicetree fragment might
+look like this::
+
+    spi@0 {
+        flash@0 {
+            reg = <0>;
+            compatible = "spansion,m25p16", "jedec,spi-nor";
+            spi-max-frequency = <40000000>;
+
+            bootdev {
+                compatible = "u-boot,sf-bootdev";
+                offset = <0x2000>;
+                size = <0x1000>;
+            };
+        };
+    };
+
+The `sf-bootdev` driver can implement a way to read from the SPI flash, using
+the offset and size provided, and return that bootflow file back to the caller.
+When distro boot wants to read the kernel it calls disto_getfile() which must
+provide a way to read from the SPI flash. See `distro_boot()` at distro_boot_
+for more details.
+
+Of course this is all internal to U-Boot. All the distro sees is another way
+to boot.
+
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+Standard boot is enabled with `CONFIG_BOOTSTD`. Each bootmeth has its own CONFIG
+option also. For example, `CONFIG_BOOTMETH_DISTRO` enables support for distro
+boot from a disk.
+
+
+Available bootmeth drivers
+--------------------------
+
+Bootmeth drivers are provided for:
+
+   - distro boot from a disk (syslinux)
+   - distro boot from a network (PXE)
+   - EFI boot using bootefi
+   - EFI boot using boot manager
+
+
+Command interface
+-----------------
+
+Three commands are available:
+
+`bootdev`
+    Allows listing of available bootdevs, selecting a particular one and
+    getting information about it. See :doc:`../usage/cmd/bootdev`
+
+`bootflow`
+    Allows scanning one or more bootdevs for bootflows, listing available
+    bootflows, selecting one, obtaining information about it and booting it.
+    See :doc:`../usage/cmd/bootflow`
+
+`bootmeth`
+    Allow listing of available bootmethds and setting the order in which they
+    are tried. See :doc:`../usage/cmd/bootmeth`
+
+.. _BootflowStates:
+
+Bootflow states
+---------------
+
+Here is a list of states that a bootflow can be in:
+
+=======  =======================================================================
+State    Meaning
+=======  =======================================================================
+base     Starting-out state, indicates that no media/partition was found. For an
+         SD card socket it may indicate that the card is not inserted.
+media    Media was found (e.g. SD card is inserted) but no partition information
+         was found. It might lack a partition table or have a read error.
+part     Partition was found but a filesystem could not be read. This could be
+         because the partition does not hold a filesystem or the filesystem is
+         very corrupted.
+fs       Filesystem was found but the file could not be read. It could be
+         missing or in the wrong subdirectory.
+file     File was found and its size detected, but it could not be read. This
+         could indicate filesystem corruption.
+ready    File was loaded and is ready for use. In this state the bootflow is
+         ready to be booted.
+=======  =======================================================================
+
+
+Theory of operation
+-------------------
+
+This describes how standard boot progresses through to booting an operating
+system.
+
+To start. all the necessary devices must be bound, including bootstd, which
+provides the top-level `struct bootstd_priv` containing optional configuration
+information. The bootstd device is also holds the various lists used while
+scanning. This step is normally handled automatically by driver model, as
+described in `Automatic Devices`_.
+
+Bootdevs are also required, to provide access to the media to use. These are not
+useful by themselves: bootmeths are needed to provide the means of scanning
+those bootdevs. So, all up, we need a single bootstd device, one or more bootdev
+devices and one or more bootmeth devices.
+
+Once these are ready, typically a `bootflow scan` command is issued. This kicks
+of the iteration process, which involves looking through the bootdevs and their
+partitions one by one to find bootflows.
+
+Iteration is kicked off using `bootflow_scan_first()`, which calls
+`bootflow_scan_bootdev()`.
+
+The iterator is set up with `bootflow_iter_init()`. This simply creates an
+empty one with the given flags. Flags are used to control whether each
+iteration is displayed, whether to return iterations even if they did not result
+in a valid bootflow, whether to iterate through just a single bootdev, etc.
+
+Then the ordering of bootdevs is determined, by `bootdev_setup_iter_order()`. By
+default, the bootdevs are used in the order specified by the `boot_targets`
+environment variable (e.g. "mmc2 mmc0 usb"). If that is missing then their
+sequence order is used, as determined by the `/aliases` node, or failing that
+their order in the devicetree. For BOOTSTD_FULL, if there is a `bootdev-order`
+property in the bootstd node, then this is used as a final fallback. In any
+case, the iterator ends up with a `dev_order` array containing the bootdevs that
+are going to be used, with `num_devs` set to the number of bootdevs and
+`cur_dev` starting at 0.
+
+Next, the ordering of bootdevs is determined, by `bootmeth_setup_iter_order()`.
+By default the ordering is again by sequence number, i.e. the `/aliases` node,
+or failing that the order in the devicetree. But the `bootmeth order` command
+or `bootmeths` environment variable can be used to set up an ordering. If that
+has been done, the ordering is in `struct bootstd_priv`, so that ordering is
+simply copied into the iterator. Either way, the `method_order` array it set up,
+along with `num_methods`. Then `cur_method` is set to 0.
+
+At this point the iterator is ready to use, with the first bootdev and bootmeth
+selected. All the other fields are 0. This means that the current partition is
+0, which is taken to mean the whole device, since partition numbers start at 1.
+It also means that `max_part` is 0, i.e. the maximum partition number we know
+about is 0, meaning that, as far as we know, there is no partition table on this
+bootdev.
+
+With the iterator ready, `bootflow_scan_bootdev()` checks whether the current
+settings produce a valid bootflow. This is handled by `bootflow_check()`, which
+either returns 0 (if it got something) or an error if not (more on that later).
+If the `BOOTFLOWF_ALL` iterator flag is set, even errors are returned as
+incomplete bootflows, but normally an error results in moving onto the next
+iteration.
+
+The `bootflow_scan_next()` function handles moving onto the next iteration and
+checking it. In fact it sits in a loop doing that repeatedly until it finds
+something it wants to return.
+
+The actual 'moving on' part is implemented in `iter_incr()`. This is a very
+simple function. It increments the first counter. If that hits its maximum, it
+sets it to zero and increments the second counter. You can think of all the
+counters together as a number with three digits which increment in order, with
+the least-sigificant digit on the right, counting like this:
+
+   ========    =======    =======
+   bootdev     part       method
+   ========    =======    =======
+   0           0          0
+   0           0          1
+   0           0          2
+   0           1          0
+   0           1          1
+   0           1          1
+   1           0          0
+   1           0          1
+   ========    =======    =======
+
+The maximum value for `method` is `num_methods - 1` so when it exceeds that, it
+goes back to 0 and the next `part` is considered. The maximum value for that is
+`max_part`, which is initially zero for all bootdevs. If we find a partition
+table on that bootdev, `max_part` can be updated during the iteration to a
+higher value - see `bootdev_find_in_blk()` for that, described later. If that
+exceeds its maximum, then the next bootdev is used. In this way, iter_incr()
+works its way through all possibilities, moving forward one each time it is
+called.
+
+There is no expectation that iteration will actually finish. Quite often a
+valid bootflow is found early on. With `bootflow scan -b`, that causes the
+bootflow to be immediately booted. Assuming it is successful, the iteration never
+completes.
+
+Also note that the iterator hold the **current** combination being considered.
+So when `iter_incr()` is called, it increments to the next one and returns it,
+the new **current** combination.
+
+Note also the `err` field in `struct bootflow_iter`. This is normally 0 and has
+thus has no effect on `iter_inc()`. But if it is non-zero, signalling an error,
+it indicates to the iterator what it should do when called. It can force moving
+to the next partition, or bootdev, for example. The special values
+`BF_NO_MORE_PARTS` and `BF_NO_MORE_DEVICES` handle this. When `iter_incr` sees
+`BF_NO_MORE_PARTS` it knows that it should immediately move to the next bootdev.
+When it sees `BF_NO_MORE_DEVICES` it knows that there is nothing more it can do
+so it should immediately return. The caller of `iter_incr()` is responsible for
+updating the `err` field, based on the return value it sees.
+
+The above describes the iteration process at a high level. It is basically a
+very simple increment function with a checker called `bootflow_check()` that
+checks the result of each iteration generated, to determine whether it can
+produce a bootflow.
+
+So what happens inside of `bootflow_check()`? It simply calls the uclass
+method `bootdev_get_bootflow()` to ask the bootdev to return a bootflow. It
+passes the iterator to the bootdev method, so that function knows what we are
+talking about. At first, the bootflow is set up in the state `BOOTFLOWST_BASE`,
+with just the `method` and `dev` intiialised. But the bootdev may fill in more,
+e.g. updating the state, depending on what it finds.
+
+Based on what the bootdev responds with, `bootflow_check()` either
+returns a valid bootflow, or a partial one with an error. A partial bootflow
+is one that has some fields set up, but did not reach the `BOOTFLOWST_READY`
+state. As noted before, if the `BOOTFLOWF_ALL` iterator flag is set, then all
+bootflows are returned, even partial ones. This can help with debugging.
+
+So at this point you can see that total control over whether a bootflow can
+be generated from a particular iteration, or not, rests with the bootdev.
+Each one can adopt its own approach.
+
+Going down a level, what does the bootdev do in its `get_bootflow()` method?
+Let us consider the MMC bootdev. In that case the call to
+`bootdev_get_bootflow()` ends up in `mmc_get_bootflow()`. It locates the parent
+device of the bootdev, i.e. the `UCLASS_MMC` device itself, then finds the block
+device associated with it. It then calls the helper function
+`bootdev_find_in_blk()` to do all the work. This is common with just about any
+bootdev that is based on a media device.
+
+The `bootdev_find_in_blk()` helper is implemented in the bootdev uclass. It
+names the bootflow and copies the partition number in from the iterator. Then it
+calls the bootmeth device to check if it can support this device. This is
+important since some bootmeths only work with network devices, for example. If
+that check fails, it stops.
+
+Assuming the bootmeth is happy, or at least indicates that it is willing to try
+(by returning 0 from its `check()` method), the next step is to try the
+partition. If that works it tries to detect a file system. If that works then it
+calls the bootmeth device once more, this time to read the bootflow.
+
+Note: At present a filesystem is needed for the bootmeth to be called on block
+devices, simply because we don't have any examples where this is not the case.
+This feature can be added as needed.
+
+If we take the example of the `bootmeth_distro` driver, this call ends up at
+`distro_read_bootflow()`. It has the filesystem ready, so tries various
+filenames to try to find the `extlinux.conf` file, reading it if possible. If
+all goes well the bootflow ends up in the `BOOTFLOWST_READY` state.
+
+At this point, we fall back from the bootmeth driver, to
+`bootdev_find_in_blk()`, then back to `mmc_get_bootflow()`, then to
+`bootdev_get_bootflow()`, then to `bootflow_check()` and finally to its caller,
+either `bootflow_scan_bootdev()` or `bootflow_scan_next()`. In either case,
+the bootflow is returned as the result of this iteration, assuming it made it to
+the  `BOOTFLOWST_READY` state.
+
+That is the basic operation of scanning for bootflows. The process of booting a
+bootflow is handled by the bootmeth driver for that bootflow. In the case of
+distro boot, this parses and processes the `extlinux.conf` file that was read.
+See `distro_boot()` for how that works. The processing may involve reading
+additional files, which is handled by the `read_file()` method, which is
+`distro_read_file()` in this case. All bootmethds should support reading files,
+since the bootflow is typically only the basic instructions and does not include
+the operating system itself, ramdisk, device tree, etc.
+
+The vast majority of the bootstd code is concerned with iterating through
+partitions on bootdevs and using bootmethds to find bootflows.
+
+How about bootdevs which are not block devices? They are handled by the same
+methods as above, but with a different implementation. For example, the bootmeth
+for PXE boot (over a network) uses `tftp` to read files rather than `fs_read()`.
+But other than that it is very similar.
+
+
+Tests
+-----
+
+Tests are located in `test/boot` and cover the core functionality as well as
+the commands. All tests use sandbox so can be run on a standard Linux computer
+and in U-Boot's CI.
+
+For testing, a DOS-formatted disk image is used with a single FAT partition on
+it. This is created in `setup_bootflow_image()`, with a canned one from the
+source tree used if it cannot be created (e.g. in CI).
+
+
+Bootflow internals
+------------------
+
+The bootstd device holds a linked list of scanned bootflows as well as the
+currently selected bootdev and bootflow (for use by commands). This is in
+`struct bootstd_priv`.
+
+Each bootdev device has its own `struct bootdev_uc_plat` which holds a
+list of scanned bootflows just for that device.
+
+The bootflow itself is documented in bootflow_h_. It includes various bits of
+information about the bootflow and a buffer to hold the file.
+
+
+Future
+------
+
+Apart from the to-do items below, different types of bootflow files may be
+implemented in future, e.g. Chromium OS support which is currently only
+available as a script in chromebook_coral.
+
+
+To do
+-----
+
+Some things that need to be done to completely replace the distro-boot scripts:
+
+- add bootdev drivers for dhcp, sata, scsi, ide, virtio
+- PXE boot for EFI
+- support for loading U-Boot scripts
+
+Other ideas:
+
+- `bootflow prep` to load everything preparing for boot, so that `bootflow boot`
+  can just do the boot.
+- automatically load kernel, FDT, etc. to suitable addresses so the board does
+  not need to specify things like `pxefile_addr_r`
+
+
+.. _disto_boodcmd: https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/master/include/config_distro_bootcmd.h
+.. _BootLoaderSpec: http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/BootLoaderSpec/
+.. _distro_boot: https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/master/boot/distro.c
+.. _bootflow_h: https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/master/include/bootflow.h
diff --git a/doc/develop/distro.rst b/doc/develop/distro.rst
index 0113a3d4ec..3ee3dac6a2 100644
--- a/doc/develop/distro.rst
+++ b/doc/develop/distro.rst
@@ -157,6 +157,9 @@ a line with "CONFIG_DISTRO_DEFAULTS=y". If you want to enable this
 from Kconfig itself, for e.g. all boards using a specific SoC then
 add a "imply DISTRO_DEFAULTS" to your SoC CONFIG option.
 
+
+TO BE UPDATED:
+
 In your board configuration file, include the following::
 
     #ifndef CONFIG_SPL_BUILD
diff --git a/doc/develop/index.rst b/doc/develop/index.rst
index 2e6d6c302a..d32ec49022 100644
--- a/doc/develop/index.rst
+++ b/doc/develop/index.rst
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Implementation
    :maxdepth: 1
 
    bloblist
+   bootstd
    ci_testing
    commands
    config_binding
diff --git a/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootdev.txt b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootdev.txt
index 95b7fec821..4bb2345a0b 100644
--- a/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootdev.txt
+++ b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootdev.txt
@@ -6,3 +6,21 @@ child of the media device (UCLASS_MMC, UCLASS_SPI_FLASH, etc.)
 
 The bootdev driver is provided by the media devices. The bindings for each
 are described in this file (to come).
+
+Required properties:
+
+compatible:
+   "u-boot,bootdev-eth" - Ethernet bootdev
+   "u-boot,bootdev-mmc" - MMC bootdev
+   "u-boot,bootdev-usb" - USB bootdev
+
+
+Example:
+
+	mmc1 {
+		compatible = "sandbox,mmc";
+
+		mmc-bootdev {
+			compatible = "u-boot,bootdev-eth";
+		};
+	};
diff --git a/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootmeth.txt b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootmeth.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..de6396a7b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootmeth.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+U-Boot standard boot methods (bootmeth)
+======================================
+
+This provides methods (called bootmeths) for locating bootflows on a boot
+device (bootdev). These are normally created as children of the bootstd device.
+
+Required properties:
+
+compatible:
+   "u-boot,distro-syslinux" - distro boot from a block device
+   "u-boot,distro-pxe" - distro boot from a network device
+   "u-boot,distro-efi" - EFI boot from an .efi file
+   "u-boot,efi-bootmgr" - EFI boot using boot manager (bootmgr)
+
+
+Example:
+
+	bootstd {
+		compatible = "u-boot,boot-std";
+
+		filename-prefixes = "/", "/boot/";
+		bootdev-order = "mmc2", "mmc1";
+
+		syslinux {
+			compatible = "u-boot,distro-syslinux";
+		};
+
+		efi {
+			compatible = "u-boot,distro-efi";
+		};
+	};
diff --git a/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootstd.txt b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootstd.txt
index f048b9dd32..8706c5f499 100644
--- a/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootstd.txt
+++ b/doc/device-tree-bindings/bootstd.txt
@@ -25,4 +25,12 @@ Example:
 
 		filename-prefixes = "/", "/boot/";
 		bootdev-order = "mmc2", "mmc1";
+
+		syslinux {
+			compatible = "u-boot,distro-syslinux";
+		};
+
+		efi {
+			compatible = "u-boot,distro-efi";
+		};
 	};
diff --git a/doc/usage/cmd/bootdev.rst b/doc/usage/cmd/bootdev.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5e02e32c51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/usage/cmd/bootdev.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+:
+
+bootdev command
+===============
+
+Synopis
+-------
+
+::
+
+    bootdev list [-p]      - list all available bootdevs (-p to probe)\n"
+    bootdev select <bm>    - select a bootdev by name\n"
+    bootdev info [-p]      - show information about a bootdev";
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+The `bootdev` command is used to manage bootdevs. It can list available
+bootdevs, select one and obtain information about it.
+
+See :doc:`../../develop/bootstd` for more information about bootdevs in general.
+
+
+bootdev list
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This lists available bootdevs
+
+Scanning with `-p` causes the bootdevs to be probed. This happens automatically
+when they are used.
+
+The list looks something like this:
+
+===  ======  ======  ========  =========================
+Seq  Probed  Status  Uclass    Name
+===  ======  ======  ========  =========================
+  0   [ + ]      OK  mmc       mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+  1   [   ]      OK  mmc       sdhci@7e300000.bootdev
+  2   [   ]      OK  ethernet  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev
+===  ======  ======  ========  =========================
+
+
+The fields are as follows:
+
+Seq:
+    Sequence number in the scan, used to reference the bootflow later
+
+Probed:
+    Shows a plus (+) if the device is probed, empty if not.
+
+Status:
+    Shows the status of the device. Typically this is `OK` meaning that there is
+    no error. If you use -p and an error occurs when probing, then this shows
+    the error number. You can look up Linux error codes to find the meaning of
+    the number.
+
+Uclass:
+    Name of the media device's Uclass. This indicates the type of the parent
+    device (e.g. MMC, Ethernet).
+
+Name:
+    Name of the bootdev. This is generated from the media device appended
+    with `.bootdev`
+
+
+bootdev select
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Use this to select a particular bootdev. You can select it by the sequence
+number or name, as shown in `bootdev list`.
+
+Once a bootdev is selected, you can use `bootdev info` to look at it or
+`bootflow scan` to scan it.
+
+If no bootdev name or number is provided, then any existing bootdev is
+unselected.
+
+
+bootdev info
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This shows information on the current bootdev, with the format looking like
+this:
+
+=========  =======================
+Name       mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+Sequence   0
+Status     Probed
+Uclass     mmc
+Bootflows  1 (1 valid)
+=========  =======================
+
+Most of the information is the same as `bootdev list` above. The new fields
+are:
+
+Device
+    Name of the bootdev
+
+Status
+    Shows `Probed` if the device is probed, `OK` if not. If `-p` is used and the
+    device fails to probe, an error code is shown.
+
+Bootflows
+    Indicates the number of bootflows attached to the bootdev. This is 0
+    unless you have used 'bootflow scan' on the bootflow, or on all bootflows.
+
+
+Example
+-------
+
+This example shows listing available bootdev and getting information about
+one of them::
+
+   U-Boot> bootdev list
+   Seq  Probed  Status  Uclass    Name
+   ---  ------  ------  --------  ------------------
+     0   [ + ]      OK  mmc       mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+     1   [   ]      OK  mmc       sdhci@7e300000.bootdev
+     2   [   ]      OK  ethernet  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev
+   ---  ------  ------  --------  ------------------
+   (3 devices)
+   U-Boot> bootdev sel 0
+   U-Boot> bootflow scan
+   U-Boot> bootdev info
+   Name:      mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+   Sequence:  0
+   Status:    Probed
+   Uclass:    mmc
+   Bootflows: 1 (1 valid)
+
+
+Return value
+------------
+
+The return value $? is always 0 (true).
diff --git a/doc/usage/cmd/bootflow.rst b/doc/usage/cmd/bootflow.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aa12dc2e3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/usage/cmd/bootflow.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,427 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+:
+
+bootflow command
+================
+
+Synopis
+-------
+
+::
+
+    bootflow scan [-abel] [bootdev]
+    bootflow list [-e]
+    bootflow select [<num|name>]
+    bootflow info [-d]
+    bootflow boot
+
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+The `bootflow` command is used to manage bootflows. It can scan bootdevs to
+locate bootflows, list them and boot them.
+
+See :doc:`../../develop/bootstd` for more information.
+
+
+bootflow scan
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Scans for available bootflows, optionally booting the first valid one it finds.
+This operates in two modes:
+
+- If no bootdev is selected (see `bootdev select`) it scans bootflows one
+  by one, extracting all the bootdevs from each
+- If a bootdev is selected, it just scans that one bootflow
+
+Flags are:
+
+-a
+    Collect all bootflows, even those that cannot be loaded. Normally if a file
+    is not where it is expected, then the bootflow fails and so is dropped
+    during the scan. With this option you can see why each bootflow would be
+    dropped.
+
+-b
+    Boot each valid bootflow as it is scanned. Typically only the first bootflow
+    matters, since by then the system boots in the OS and U-Boot is no-longer
+    running. `bootflow scan -b` is a quick way to boot the first available OS.
+    A valid bootflow is one that made it all the way to the `loaded` state.
+
+-e
+    Used with -l to also show errors for each bootflow. The shows detailed error
+    information for each bootflow that failed to make it to the `loaded` state.
+
+-l
+    List bootflows while scanning. This is helpful when you want to see what
+    is happening during scanning. Use it with the `-b` flag to see which
+    bootdev and bootflows are being tried.
+
+The optional argument specifies a particular bootdev to scan. This can either be
+the name of a bootdev or its sequence number (both shown with `bootdev list`).
+Alternatively a convenience label can be used, like `mmc0`, which is the type of
+device and an optional sequence number. Specifically, the label is the uclass of
+the bootdev's parent followed by the sequence number of that parent. Sequence
+numbers are typically set by aliases, so if you have 'mmc0' in your devicetree
+alias section, then `mmc0` refers to the bootdev attached to that device.
+
+
+bootflow list
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Lists the previously scanned bootflows. You must use `bootflow scan` before this
+to see anything.
+
+If you scanned with -a and have bootflows with errors, -e can be used to show
+those errors.
+
+The list looks something like this:
+
+===  ======  ======  ========  ====  ===============================   ================
+Seq  Method  State   Uclass    Part  Name                              Filename
+===  ======  ======  ========  ====  ===============================   ================
+  0  distro  ready   mmc          2  mmc\@7e202000.bootdev.part_2      /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf
+  1  pxe     ready   ethernet     0  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev.0            rpi.pxe/extlinux/extlinux.conf
+===  ======  ======  ========  ====  ===============================   ================
+
+The fields are as follows:
+
+Seq:
+    Sequence number in the scan, used to reference the bootflow later
+
+Method:
+    The boot method (bootmeth) used to find the bootflow. Several methods are
+    included in U-Boot.
+
+State:
+    Current state of the bootflow, indicating how far the bootdev got in
+    obtaining a valid one. See :ref:`BootflowStates` for a list of states.
+
+Uclass:
+    Name of the media device's Uclass. This indicates the type of the parent
+    device (e.g. MMC, Ethernet).
+
+Part:
+    Partition number being accesseed, numbered from 1. Normally a device will
+    have a partition table with a small number of partitions. For devices
+    without partition tables (e.g. network) this field is 0.
+
+Name:
+    Name of the bootflow. This is generated from the bootdev appended with
+    the partition information
+
+Filename:
+    Name of the bootflow file. This indicates where the file is on the
+    filesystem or network device.
+
+
+bootflow select
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Use this to select a particular bootflow. You can select it by the sequence
+number or name, as shown in `bootflow list`.
+
+Once a bootflow is selected, you can use `bootflow info` and `bootflow boot`.
+
+If no bootflow name or number is provided, then any existing bootflow is
+unselected.
+
+
+bootflow info
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This shows information on the current bootflow, with the format looking like
+this:
+
+=========  ===============================
+Name       mmc\@7e202000.bootdev.part_2
+Device     mmc\@7e202000.bootdev
+Block dev  mmc\@7e202000.blk
+Type       distro
+Method:    syslinux
+State      ready
+Partition  2
+Subdir     (none)
+Filename   /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+Buffer     3db7ad48
+Size       232 (562 bytes)
+Error      0
+=========  ===============================
+
+Most of the information is the same as `bootflow list` above. The new fields
+are:
+
+Device
+    Name of the bootdev
+
+Block dev
+    Name of the block device, if any. Network devices don't have a block device.
+
+Subdir
+    Subdirectory used for retrieving files. For network bootdevs this is the
+    directory of the 'bootfile' parameter passed from DHCP. All file retrievals
+    when booting are relative to this.
+
+Buffer
+    Buffer containing the bootflow file. You can use the :doc:`md` to look at
+    it, or dump it with `bootflow info -d`.
+
+Size
+    Size of the bootflow file
+
+Error
+    Error number returned from scanning for the bootflow. This is 0 if the
+    bootflow is in the 'loaded' state, or a negative error value on error. You
+    can look up Linux error codes to find the meaning of the number.
+
+Use the `-d` flag to dump out the contents of the bootfile file.
+
+
+bootflow boot
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This boots the current bootflow.
+
+
+Example
+-------
+
+Here is an example of scanning for bootflows, then listing them::
+
+    U-Boot> bootflow scan -l
+    Scanning for bootflows in all bootdevs
+    Seq  Type         State   Uclass    Part  Name                      Filename
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ------------------------  ----------------
+    Scanning bootdev 'mmc@7e202000.bootdev':
+      0  distro       ready   mmc          2  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p    /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    Scanning bootdev 'sdhci@7e300000.bootdev':
+    Card did not respond to voltage select! : -110
+    Scanning bootdev 'smsc95xx_eth.bootdev':
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    BOOTP broadcast 1
+    DHCP client bound to address 192.168.4.30 (4 ms)
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe/'.
+    Load address: 0x200000
+    Loading: *
+    TFTP error: 'Is a directory' (0)
+    Starting again
+
+    missing environment variable: pxeuuid
+    Retrieving file: rpi.pxe/pxelinux.cfg/01-b8-27-eb-a6-61-e1
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe/pxelinux.cfg/01-b8-27-eb-a6-61-e1'.
+    Load address: 0x2500000
+    Loading: ##################################################  566 Bytes
+    	 45.9 KiB/s
+    done
+    Bytes transferred = 566 (236 hex)
+      1  distro       ready   ethernet     0  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev.0 rpi.pxe/extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    No more bootdevs
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ------------------------  ----------------
+    (2 bootflows, 2 valid)
+    U-Boot> bootflow l
+    Showing all bootflows
+    Seq  Type         State   Uclass    Part  Name                      Filename
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ------------------------  ----------------
+      0  distro       ready   mmc          2  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p    /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+      1  pxe          ready   ethernet     0  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev.0     rpi.pxe/extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ------------------------  ----------------
+    (2 bootflows, 2 valid)
+
+
+The second one is then selected by name (we could instead use `bootflow sel 0`),
+displayed and booted::
+
+    U-Boot> bootflow info
+    No bootflow selected
+    U-Boot> bootflow sel mmc@7e202000.bootdev.part_2
+    U-Boot> bootflow info
+    Name:      mmc@7e202000.bootdev.part_2
+    Device:    mmc@7e202000.bootdev
+    Block dev: mmc@7e202000.blk
+    Sequence:  1
+    Method:    distro
+    State:     ready
+    Partition: 2
+    Subdir:    (none)
+    Filename:  extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    Buffer:    3db7ae88
+    Size:      232 (562 bytes)
+    Error:     0
+    U-Boot> bootflow boot
+    ** Booting bootflow 'smsc95xx_eth.bootdev.0'
+    Ignoring unknown command: ui
+    Ignoring malformed menu command:  autoboot
+    Ignoring malformed menu command:  hidden
+    Ignoring unknown command: totaltimeout
+    1:	Fedora-Workstation-armhfp-31-1.9 (5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl)
+    Retrieving file: rpi.pxe/initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img
+    get 2700000 rpi.pxe/initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe/initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img'.
+    Load address: 0x2700000
+    Loading: ###################################T ###############  57.7 MiB
+    	 1.9 MiB/s
+    done
+    Bytes transferred = 60498594 (39b22a2 hex)
+    Retrieving file: rpi.pxe//vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl
+    get 80000 rpi.pxe//vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe//vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl'.
+    Load address: 0x80000
+    Loading: ##################################################  7.2 MiB
+    	 2.3 MiB/s
+    done
+    Bytes transferred = 7508480 (729200 hex)
+    append: ro root=UUID=9732b35b-4cd5-458b-9b91-80f7047e0b8a rhgb quiet LANG=en_US.UTF-8 cma=192MB cma=256MB
+    Retrieving file: rpi.pxe//dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb
+    get 2600000 rpi.pxe//dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe//dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb'.
+    Load address: 0x2600000
+    Loading: ##################################################  13.8 KiB
+    	 764.6 KiB/s
+    done
+    Bytes transferred = 14102 (3716 hex)
+    Kernel image @ 0x080000 [ 0x000000 - 0x729200 ]
+    ## Flattened Device Tree blob at 02600000
+       Booting using the fdt blob at 0x2600000
+       Using Device Tree in place at 02600000, end 02606715
+
+    Starting kernel ...
+
+    [  OK  ] Started Show Plymouth Boot Screen.
+    [  OK  ] Started Forward Password R…s to Plymouth Directory Watch.
+    [  OK  ] Reached target Local Encrypted Volumes.
+    [  OK  ] Reached target Paths.
+    ....
+
+
+Here we scan for bootflows and boot the first one found::
+
+    U-Boot> bootflow scan -bl
+    Scanning for bootflows in all bootdevs
+    Seq  Method       State   Uclass    Part  Name                    Filename
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ----------------------  ----------------
+    Scanning bootdev 'mmc@7e202000.bootdev':
+      0  distro       ready   mmc          2  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p  /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    ** Booting bootflow 'mmc@7e202000.bootdev.part_2'
+    Ignoring unknown command: ui
+    Ignoring malformed menu command:  autoboot
+    Ignoring malformed menu command:  hidden
+    Ignoring unknown command: totaltimeout
+    1:	Fedora-KDE-armhfp-31-1.9 (5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl)
+    Retrieving file: /initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img
+    getfile 2700000 /initramfs-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl.img
+    Retrieving file: /vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl
+    getfile 80000 /vmlinuz-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl
+    append: ro root=UUID=b8781f09-e2dd-4cb8-979b-7df5eeaaabea rhgb LANG=en_US.UTF-8 cma=192MB console=tty0 console=ttyS1,115200
+    Retrieving file: /dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb
+    getfile 2600000 /dtb-5.3.7-301.fc31.armv7hl/bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb
+    Kernel image @ 0x080000 [ 0x000000 - 0x729200 ]
+    ## Flattened Device Tree blob at 02600000
+       Booting using the fdt blob at 0x2600000
+       Using Device Tree in place at 02600000, end 02606715
+
+    Starting kernel ...
+
+    [    0.000000] Booting Linux on physical CPU 0x0
+
+
+Here is am example using the -e flag to see all errors::
+
+    U-Boot> bootflow scan -a
+    Card did not respond to voltage select! : -110
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    BOOTP broadcast 1
+    DHCP client bound to address 192.168.4.30 (4 ms)
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe/'.
+    Load address: 0x200000
+    Loading: *
+    TFTP error: 'Is a directory' (0)
+    Starting again
+
+    missing environment variable: pxeuuid
+    Retrieving file: rpi.pxe/pxelinux.cfg/01-b8-27-eb-a6-61-e1
+    Waiting for Ethernet connection... done.
+    Using smsc95xx_eth device
+    TFTP from server 192.168.4.1; our IP address is 192.168.4.30
+    Filename 'rpi.pxe/pxelinux.cfg/01-b8-27-eb-a6-61-e1'.
+    Load address: 0x2500000
+    Loading: ##################################################  566 Bytes
+    	 49.8 KiB/s
+    done
+    Bytes transferred = 566 (236 hex)
+    U-Boot> bootflow l -e
+    Showing all bootflows
+    Seq  Type         State   Uclass    Part  Name                   Filename
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ---------------------  ----------------
+      0  distro       fs      mmc          1  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+         ** File not found, err=-2
+      1  distro       ready   mmc          2  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+      2  distro       fs      mmc          3  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p /extlinux/extlinux.conf
+         ** File not found, err=-1
+      3  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      4  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      5  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      6  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      7  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      8  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      9  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      a  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      b  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      c  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      d  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      e  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+      f  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+     10  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+     11  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+     12  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+     13  distro       media   mmc          0  mmc@7e202000.bootdev.p <NULL>
+         ** No partition found, err=-2
+     14  distro       ready   ethernet     0  smsc95xx_eth.bootdev.0 rpi.pxe/extlinux/extlinux.conf
+    ---  -----------  ------  --------  ----  ---------------------  ----------------
+    (21 bootflows, 2 valid)
+    U-Boot>
+
+
+Return value
+------------
+
+On success `bootflow boot` normally boots into the Operating System and does not
+return to U-Boot. If something about the U-Boot processing fails, then the
+return value $? is 1. If the boot succeeds but for some reason the Operating
+System returns, then $? is 0, indicating success.
+
+For other subcommands, the return value $? is always 0 (true).
+
+
+.. BootflowStates_:
diff --git a/doc/usage/cmd/bootmeth.rst b/doc/usage/cmd/bootmeth.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9fc7ebf0ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/usage/cmd/bootmeth.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+:
+
+bootmeth command
+================
+
+Synopis
+-------
+
+::
+
+    bootmeth list [-a]          - list selected bootmeths (-a for all)
+    bootmeth order "[<bm> ...]" - select the order of bootmeths\n"
+
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+The `bootmeth` command is used to manage bootmeths. It can list them and change
+the order in which they are used.
+
+See :doc:`../../develop/bootstd` for more information.
+
+
+.. _bootmeth_order:
+
+bootmeth order
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Selects which bootmeths to use and the order in which they are invoked. When
+scanning bootdevs, each bootmeth is tried in turn to see if it can find a valid
+bootflow. You can use this command to adjust the order or even to omit some
+boomeths.
+
+The argument is a quoted list of bootmeths to use, by name.
+
+
+bootmeth list
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This lists the selected bootmeths, or all of them, if the `-a` flag is used.
+The format looks like this:
+
+=====  ===  ==================  =================================
+Order  Seq  Name                Description
+=====  ===  ==================  =================================
+    0    0  distro              Syslinux boot from a block device
+    1    1  efi                 EFI boot from an .efi file
+    2    2  pxe                 PXE boot from a network device
+    3    3  sandbox             Sandbox boot for testing
+    4    4  efi_mgr             EFI bootmgr flow
+=====  ===  ==================  =================================
+
+The fields are as follows:
+
+Order:
+    The order in which these bootmeths are invoked for each bootdev. If this
+    shows as a hyphen, then the bootmeth is not in the current ordering.
+
+Seq:
+    The sequence number of the bootmeth, i.e. the normal ordering if none is set
+
+Name:
+    Name of the bootmeth
+
+Description:
+    A friendly description for the bootmeth
+
+
+Example
+-------
+
+This shows listing bootmeths. All are present and in the normal order::
+
+    => bootmeth list
+    Order  Seq  Name                Description
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+        0    0  distro              Syslinux boot from a block device
+        1    1  efi                 EFI boot from an .efi file
+        2    2  pxe                 PXE boot from a network device
+        3    3  sandbox             Sandbox boot for testing
+        4    4  efi_mgr             EFI bootmgr flow
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+    (5 bootmeths)
+
+Now the order is changed, to include only two of them::
+
+    => bootmeth order "sandbox distro"
+    => bootmeth list
+    Order  Seq  Name                Description
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+        0    3  sandbox             Sandbox boot for testing
+        1    0  distro              Syslinux boot from a block device
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+    (2 bootmeths)
+
+The -a flag shows all bootmeths so you can clearly see which ones are used and
+which are not::
+
+    => bootmeth list -a
+    Order  Seq  Name                Description
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+        1    0  distro              Syslinux boot from a block device
+        -    1  efi                 EFI boot from an .efi file
+        -    2  pxe                 PXE boot from a network device
+        0    3  sandbox             Sandbox boot for testing
+        -    4  efi_mgr             EFI bootmgr flow
+    -----  ---  ------------------  ------------------
+    (5 bootmeths)
diff --git a/doc/usage/index.rst b/doc/usage/index.rst
index f343e4e05f..c03f4aef9e 100644
--- a/doc/usage/index.rst
+++ b/doc/usage/index.rst
@@ -23,9 +23,12 @@ Shell commands
    cmd/addrmap
    cmd/askenv
    cmd/base
+   cmd/bootdev
    cmd/bootefi
+   cmd/bootflow
    cmd/booti
    cmd/bootmenu
+   cmd/bootmeth
    cmd/button
    cmd/cbsysinfo
    cmd/conitrace