The Clover UEFI Bootloader
A legacy of macOS booting, firmware emulation, and Hackintosh innovation.
The History of Clover
Clover was born out of necessity. As Apple transitioned away from BIOS and adopted EFI/UEFI, the Hackintosh community required a new way to boot macOS. Chameleon, the legacy BIOS bootloader of the era, could no longer keep up.
In 2011, developer Slice began work on a new UEFI bootloader based on EDK2, eventually bringing on board a team of brilliant developers. Clover revolutionized the Hackintosh scene by providing real-time SMBIOS emulation, ACPI patching, and kext injection.
Today, while OpenCore has taken the spotlight for modern macOS installations, Clover remains a highly respected, actively maintained project under the CloverHackyColor organization, continuing to provide legacy support, alternative configurations, and a beloved GUI theme engine.
Evolution Over Time
2011 - The Beginning
Slice starts the project based on EDK2 sources. The goal is to create a UEFI bootloader that doesn't require a real Mac or a BIOS legacy emulator to boot OS X.
2013 - Mainstream Adoption
Clover becomes the standard for Hackintosh builds. Introduction of the Clover Configurator tool and a massive library of boot themes.
2015 - Expansion
Support for Windows and Linux is refined. Advanced features like UEFI memory fixes (AptioMemoryFix) are integrated, making Hackintosh setups easier than ever.
2019 - The CloverHackyColor Era
The project is officially moved to the CloverHackyColor organization on GitHub. A new team takes over maintenance, modernizing the codebase and continuing updates for newer macOS versions.
2020 - OpenCore Integration
Developer jief_machak, with help from Slice, begins the monumental task of integrating OpenCore into Clover. This allows users to leverage OpenCore's modern memory fixes, secure boot, and APFS support directly within Clover's beloved GUI, bridging the gap between legacy and modern Hackintosh eras.
Present - Active Maintenance
Clover continues to receive updates, maintaining compatibility with the latest macOS releases while preserving its classic configuration style and legacy hardware support.
The Developers
Clover was created by Slice, with help from a dedicated community of contributors over the years.
Special Credits
Source Code Credits
Packages Credits
Theme Showcase
Clover is famous for its highly customizable GUI. Here are a few classic themes. You can find the full collection in the CloverThemes source repository.
Community & Support
Need help configuring your config.plist or ran into a bug? Join the community or check the resources below.
Latest Releases
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