boot.kontango.net — Boot anything, from anywhere

01

Easiest

USB or ISO

Download a bootable image, write it to a USB stick or mount it as virtual media. Works on any physical machine or VM — no network config, no DHCP setup, no infrastructure.

Step 01

Download the ISO from the downloads section below

Step 02

Write to USB with Rufus (Windows), Balena Etcher, or dd

Step 03

Boot the machine from USB — set boot order in BIOS if needed

Step 04

HookOS loads automatically. No interaction needed.

Linux / macOS — write to USB# Linux
$ dd if=kontango-hook-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

# macOS
$ dd if=kontango-hook-x86_64.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m
# Linux
$ dd if=kontango-hook-aarch64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

# macOS
$ dd if=kontango-hook-aarch64.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m

02

Instant

Direct iPXE Chainload

Already at an iPXE prompt? One command boots HookOS immediately. Works from any iPXE shell — built-in firmware, netboot.xyz, or a rescue environment.

iPXE shell — type these commandsiPXE> dhcp
iPXE> chain https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/x86_64/hook.ipxe
iPXE> dhcp
iPXE> chain https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/aarch64/hook.ipxe
iPXE> dhcp
iPXE> chain https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/latest-lts-x86_64/hook.ipxe
iPXE> dhcp
iPXE> chain https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/latest-lts-aarch64/hook.ipxe

03

Network

Network PXE Boot

Configure your DHCP server to chainload boot.kontango.net. Every machine on the network can boot HookOS — no USB, no manual steps, just power on.

DHCP server configuration# /etc/dnsmasq.conf
dhcp-boot=tag:ipxe,https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/x86_64/hook.ipxe
dhcp-boot=undionly.kpxe,pxeserver,<your-tftp-ip>
enable-tftp
tftp-root=/var/lib/tftpboot
# /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf
if exists user-class and option user-class = "iPXE" {
  filename "https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/x86_64/hook.ipxe";
} else {
  filename "undionly.kpxe";
  next-server <your-tftp-ip>;
}
# OPNsense: Services → DHCPv4 → [interface]
# Network Booting section:

Enable Network Booting:  checked
Next Server:             <your-tftp-ip>
Default BIOS filename:   undionly.kpxe
Default UEFI filename:   ipxe.efi

# Advanced: add to "Additional BOOTP/DHCP Options"
# Option 175, string:
https://boot.kontango.net/api/v1/hook/x86_64/hook.ipxe

04

Infrastructure

Virtual Media & IPMI

Mount the ISO via iLO, iDRAC, IPMI, or hypervisor virtual media. No physical access required — boot remote servers the same way as local ones.

iLO / iDRAC

Open the remote console → Virtual Media → Mount ISO → boot

Proxmox

Attach ISO as CD-ROM → set boot order → start VM

VMware / VirtualBox

VM Settings → Storage → Mount ISO → boot from CD

DigitalOcean / Cloud

Use recovery console or custom image upload to chainload iPXE

            IPMI / ipmitool — remote ISO mount
            
$ ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc-ip> -U admin -P pass \
    chassis bootdev cdrom

# Then mount ISO via web console or:
$ ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc-ip> -U admin -P pass \
    sol activate

Boot anything,
from anywhere.

Four ways to boot.
Any machine. Any location.

Get the images

All available variants

Four ways to boot.Any machine. Any location.

Get the images

All available variants

Four ways to boot.
Any machine. Any location.