version: "1.0.1" name: aosp-kernel-and-boot description: | AOSP Part II — Kernel & Boot. Use when reasoning about Android's bootloader handoff, init.rc / first-stage init / second-stage init, the Generic Kernel Image (GKI) and KMI stability, dm-verity / Android Verified Boot, the kernel's Android-specific subsystems (binder driver, ashmem→memfd, low-memory killer, PSI), vendor modules, or system properties (property_service, property contexts, ro/persist/sys/build prefixes). Chapters 4–6. metadata: author: 'utzcoz' last-updated: '2026-06-16'

AOSP Part II — Kernel & Boot

How an Android device boots, how the Generic Kernel Image keeps vendor and platform decoupled, and how system properties fan out across the early-boot trust chain.

Chapters in this Part

• 04-boot-and-init.md — bootloader handoff, first/second-stage init, init.rc parsing, services and triggers, early-mount, Zygote startup
• 05-kernel.md — Generic Kernel Image, vendor modules, KMI stability, dm-verity / AVB, Android-specific subsystems
• 06-system-properties.md — property_service, property contexts/SELinux, persistent properties, ro/persist/sys/build prefixes, getprop/setprop plumbing

When to load which chapter

• Question mentions init, init.rc, services, triggers, Zygote startup, bootloader → 04-boot-and-init.md
• Question mentions GKI, KMI, kernel modules, dm-verity, AVB, LMK, PSI, ashmem, memfd → 05-kernel.md
• Question mentions getprop/setprop, system properties, ro./persist./sys./build. prefixes → 06-system-properties.md