[PATCH v2 11/11] doc: bootefi: note two-phase runtime variables selftest

[Simon Glass]

Hi Harsimran,

On 2026-05-14T12:49:13, Harsimran Singh Tungal
<harsimransingh.tungal at arm.com> wrote:
> doc: bootefi: note two-phase runtime variables selftest
>
> The bootefi documentation did not describe how to run the
> runtime-variable selftest, so users had no guidance on its reboot
> requirements or on which flow applies to their configuration.
>
> Document the runtime-variable selftest flow in bootefi.rst. Describe
> the non-volatile path, note the single-run
> CONFIG_EFI_RT_VOLATILE_STORE=y case, and show how to select the
> runtime-variable selftest with efi_selftest.
>
> Signed-off-by: Harsimran Singh Tungal <harsimransingh.tungal at arm.com>
>
> doc/usage/cmd/bootefi.rst | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 27 insertions(+)

Reviewed-by: Simon Glass <sjg at chromium.org>

> diff --git a/doc/usage/cmd/bootefi.rst b/doc/usage/cmd/bootefi.rst
> @@ -160,6 +160,33 @@ environment variable to match one of the listed identifiers
>  Some of the tests execute the ExitBootServices() UEFI boot service and will not
>  return to the command line but require a board reset.

>
> +When CONFIG_EFI_RT_VOLATILE_STORE is enabled, the test
> +*variables at runtime* completes in a single run and does not require
> +a reboot.

This contradicts the sentence above it. All three tests live in the
EFI_SETUP_BEFORE_BOOTTIME_EXIT phase, so the framework calls
efi_st_exit_boot_services() before executing them and a board reset is
still required to get back to the prompt. What I suspect you mean is
that the volatile path does not need an intermediate reboot between
setup and verify - please reword, e.g. "completes in a single run and
does not require an intermediate reboot to carry state across runs (a
board reset is still needed afterwards, as for any test that calls
ExitBootServices())".

> diff --git a/doc/usage/cmd/bootefi.rst b/doc/usage/cmd/bootefi.rst
> @@ -160,6 +160,33 @@ environment variable to match one of the listed identifiers
> +When CONFIG_EFI_RT_VOLATILE_STORE is not enabled, the runtime-variable
> +flow is split into *variables at runtime setup* and
> +*variables at runtime verify*. Run the setup test once to create the
> +runtime-accessible variable in non-volatile storage, reboot, then run
> +the verify test to validate, append, and delete that variable.

Worth noting that both halves are on_request tests, so they will not
be picked up by 'bootefi selftest' without naming them explicitly. A
single sentence ("Both phases are on-request tests, so they only run
when selected by efi_selftest.") would make this self-contained.

Regards,
Simon