Mouse support in the boot menu

[massadm]

Currently, Limine lacks the ability to navigate the boot menu using a computer mouse. Adding support for moving through boot options via mouse wheel scrolling, or even implementing full point-and-click functionality, would significantly expand the range of use cases.

Furthermore, Bluetooth keyboards are completely useless at the bootloader stage before the OS and its driver stack load. In such setups, a USB mouse (or a mouse connected via a dedicated 2.4GHz wireless dongle) is often the only functional input device available.

As an additional argument, Limine has recently become the de facto default bootloader for a popular gamer-oriented Arch Linux distribution. Gaming setups often rely heavily on mouse navigation, making this feature highly relevant for a growing number of users.

Thank you for your amazing work on this bootloader!

[GhostedGaming]

Why is pressing enter too much of a hassle? Also I bet most people use wired or Bluetooth dongle keyboards

[massadm]

It's not about pressing Enter being a "hassle" — it's just that on many modern, new setups, it's physically impossible during the pre-boot phase.

The thing is, "Bluetooth dongle keyboards" are mostly a thing of the past now. The industry has largely shifted away from proprietary USB receivers for keyboards, moving instead to native Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) that connects directly to the motherboard's built-in Bluetooth controller.

This creates a bit of a technology gap in modern, new setups because mice and keyboards have completely different technical requirements. Mice need near-zero latency and high polling rates for precise cursor tracking, which BLE can't do efficiently. That's why modern performance mice still rely on dedicated 2.4GHz USB dongles or wires. Keyboards, on the other hand, don't need high polling rates for basic typing, so manufacturers switched them to BLE to save battery and cut costs.

As a result, it is incredibly common to see modern, new setups with a high-performance 2.4GHz or wired mouse paired with a purely BLE keyboard.

This asymmetry completely breaks the pre-OS environment. Since UEFI doesn't load the full OS Bluetooth driver stack, these native BLE keyboards simply do not function at the bootloader stage, meaning you literally cannot press Enter. At the same time, the 2.4GHz or wired mouse is already up and running, making it the only functional input device the UEFI can actually see.

Forcing users to change their hardware just to interact with a bootloader doesn't make much sense for a modern project. Adding mouse support via UEFI pointer protocols is a necessity for hardware compatibility with modern, new setups, not just a matter of convenience.

🙏