| .. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-2.0-UK |
| |
| *** |
| FAQ |
| *** |
| |
| **Q:** How does Poky differ from :oe_home:`OpenEmbedded <>`? |
| |
| **A:** The term ``Poky`` refers to the specific reference build |
| system that the Yocto Project provides. Poky is based on |
| :term:`OpenEmbedded-Core (OE-Core)` and :term:`BitBake`. Thus, the |
| generic term used here for the build system is the "OpenEmbedded build |
| system." Development in the Yocto Project using Poky is closely tied to |
| OpenEmbedded, with changes always being merged to OE-Core or BitBake |
| first before being pulled back into Poky. This practice benefits both |
| projects immediately. |
| |
| **Q:** My development system does not meet the required Git, tar, and |
| Python versions. In particular, I do not have Python &MIN_PYTHON_VERSION; or greater. |
| Can I still use the Yocto Project? |
| |
| **A:** You can get the required tools on your host development system a |
| couple different ways (i.e. building a tarball or downloading a |
| tarball). See the |
| ":ref:`ref-manual/system-requirements:required git, tar, python and gcc versions`" |
| section for steps on how to update your build tools. |
| |
| **Q:** How can you claim Poky / OpenEmbedded-Core is stable? |
| |
| **A:** There are three areas that help with stability; |
| |
| - The Yocto Project team keeps :term:`OpenEmbedded-Core (OE-Core)` small and |
| focused, containing around 830 recipes as opposed to the thousands |
| available in other OpenEmbedded community layers. Keeping it small |
| makes it easy to test and maintain. |
| |
| - The Yocto Project team runs manual and automated tests using a small, |
| fixed set of reference hardware as well as emulated targets. |
| |
| - The Yocto Project uses an autobuilder, which provides continuous |
| build and integration tests. |
| |
| **Q:** How do I get support for my board added to the Yocto Project? |
| |
| **A:** Support for an additional board is added by creating a Board |
| Support Package (BSP) layer for it. For more information on how to |
| create a BSP layer, see the |
| ":ref:`dev-manual/common-tasks:understanding and creating layers`" |
| section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual and the |
| :doc:`/bsp-guide/index`. |
| |
| Usually, if the board is not completely exotic, adding support in the |
| Yocto Project is fairly straightforward. |
| |
| **Q:** Are there any products built using the OpenEmbedded build system? |
| |
| **A:** The software running on the `Vernier |
| LabQuest <https://vernier.com/labquest/>`__ is built using the |
| OpenEmbedded build system. See the `Vernier |
| LabQuest <https://www.vernier.com/products/interfaces/labq/>`__ website |
| for more information. There are a number of pre-production devices using |
| the OpenEmbedded build system and the Yocto Project team announces them |
| as soon as they are released. |
| |
| **Q:** What does the OpenEmbedded build system produce as output? |
| |
| **A:** Because you can use the same set of recipes to create output of |
| various formats, the output of an OpenEmbedded build depends on how you |
| start it. Usually, the output is a flashable image ready for the target |
| device. |
| |
| **Q:** How do I add my package to the Yocto Project? |
| |
| **A:** To add a package, you need to create a BitBake recipe. For |
| information on how to create a BitBake recipe, see the |
| ":ref:`dev-manual/common-tasks:writing a new recipe`" |
| section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual. |
| |
| **Q:** Do I have to reflash my entire board with a new Yocto Project |
| image when recompiling a package? |
| |
| **A:** The OpenEmbedded build system can build packages in various |
| formats such as IPK for OPKG, Debian package (``.deb``), or RPM. You can |
| then upgrade the packages using the package tools on the device, much |
| like on a desktop distribution such as Ubuntu or Fedora. However, |
| package management on the target is entirely optional. |
| |
| **Q:** I see the error |
| '``chmod: XXXXX new permissions are r-xrwxrwx, not r-xr-xr-x``'. What is |
| wrong? |
| |
| **A:** You are probably running the build on an NTFS filesystem. Use |
| ``ext2``, ``ext3``, or ``ext4`` instead. |
| |
| **Q:** I see lots of 404 responses for files when the OpenEmbedded build |
| system is trying to download sources. Is something wrong? |
| |
| **A:** Nothing is wrong. The OpenEmbedded build system checks any |
| configured source mirrors before downloading from the upstream sources. |
| The build system does this searching for both source archives and |
| pre-checked out versions of SCM-managed software. These checks help in |
| large installations because it can reduce load on the SCM servers |
| themselves. The address above is one of the default mirrors configured |
| into the build system. Consequently, if an upstream source disappears, |
| the team can place sources there so builds continue to work. |
| |
| **Q:** I have machine-specific data in a package for one machine only |
| but the package is being marked as machine-specific in all cases, how do |
| I prevent this? |
| |
| **A:** Set :term:`SRC_URI_OVERRIDES_PACKAGE_ARCH` = "0" in the ``.bb`` file |
| but make sure the package is manually marked as machine-specific for the |
| case that needs it. The code that handles |
| :term:`SRC_URI_OVERRIDES_PACKAGE_ARCH` is in the |
| ``meta/classes/base.bbclass`` file. |
| |
| **Q:** I'm behind a firewall and need to use a proxy server. How do I do |
| that? |
| |
| **A:** Most source fetching by the OpenEmbedded build system is done by |
| ``wget`` and you therefore need to specify the proxy settings in a |
| ``.wgetrc`` file, which can be in your home directory if you are a |
| single user or can be in ``/usr/local/etc/wgetrc`` as a global user |
| file. |
| |
| Following is the applicable code for setting various proxy types in the |
| ``.wgetrc`` file. By default, these settings are disabled with comments. |
| To use them, remove the comments:: |
| |
| # You can set the default proxies for Wget to use for http, https, and ftp. |
| # They will override the value in the environment. |
| #https_proxy = http://proxy.yoyodyne.com:18023/ |
| #http_proxy = http://proxy.yoyodyne.com:18023/ |
| #ftp_proxy = http://proxy.yoyodyne.com:18023/ |
| |
| # If you do not want to use proxy at all, set this to off. |
| #use_proxy = on |
| |
| The Yocto Project also includes a |
| ``meta-poky/conf/site.conf.sample`` file that shows how to configure CVS |
| and Git proxy servers if needed. For more information on setting up |
| various proxy types and configuring proxy servers, see the |
| ":yocto_wiki:`Working Behind a Network Proxy </Working_Behind_a_Network_Proxy>`" |
| Wiki page. |
| |
| **Q:** What's the difference between target and target\ ``-native``? |
| |
| **A:** The ``*-native`` targets are designed to run on the system being |
| used for the build. These are usually tools that are needed to assist |
| the build in some way such as ``quilt-native``, which is used to apply |
| patches. The non-native version is the one that runs on the target |
| device. |
| |
| **Q:** I'm seeing random build failures. Help?! |
| |
| **A:** If the same build is failing in totally different and random |
| ways, the most likely explanation is: |
| |
| - The hardware you are running the build on has some problem. |
| |
| - You are running the build under virtualization, in which case the |
| virtualization probably has bugs. |
| |
| The OpenEmbedded build system processes a massive amount of data that |
| causes lots of network, disk and CPU activity and is sensitive to even |
| single-bit failures in any of these areas. True random failures have |
| always been traced back to hardware or virtualization issues. |
| |
| **Q:** When I try to build a native recipe, the build fails with |
| ``iconv.h`` problems. |
| |
| **A:** If you get an error message that indicates GNU ``libiconv`` is |
| not in use but ``iconv.h`` has been included from ``libiconv``, you need |
| to check to see if you have a previously installed version of the header |
| file in ``/usr/local/include``. |
| :: |
| |
| #error GNU libiconv not in use but included iconv.h is from libiconv |
| |
| If you find a previously installed |
| file, you should either uninstall it or temporarily rename it and try |
| the build again. |
| |
| This issue is just a single manifestation of "system leakage" issues |
| caused when the OpenEmbedded build system finds and uses previously |
| installed files during a native build. This type of issue might not be |
| limited to ``iconv.h``. Be sure that leakage cannot occur from |
| ``/usr/local/include`` and ``/opt`` locations. |
| |
| **Q:** What do we need to ship for license compliance? |
| |
| **A:** This is a difficult question and you need to consult your lawyer |
| for the answer for your specific case. It is worth bearing in mind that |
| for GPL compliance, there needs to be enough information shipped to |
| allow someone else to rebuild and produce the same end result you are |
| shipping. This means sharing the source code, any patches applied to it, |
| and also any configuration information about how that package was |
| configured and built. |
| |
| You can find more information on licensing in the |
| ":ref:`overview-manual/development-environment:licensing`" |
| section in the Yocto |
| Project Overview and Concepts Manual and also in the |
| ":ref:`dev-manual/common-tasks:maintaining open source license compliance during your product's lifecycle`" |
| section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual. |
| |
| **Q:** How do I disable the cursor on my touchscreen device? |
| |
| **A:** You need to create a form factor file as described in the |
| ":ref:`bsp-guide/bsp:miscellaneous bsp-specific recipe files`" section in |
| the Yocto Project Board Support Packages (BSP) Developer's Guide. Set |
| the ``HAVE_TOUCHSCREEN`` variable equal to one as follows:: |
| |
| HAVE_TOUCHSCREEN=1 |
| |
| **Q:** How do I make sure connected network interfaces are brought up by |
| default? |
| |
| **A:** The default interfaces file provided by the netbase recipe does |
| not automatically bring up network interfaces. Therefore, you will need |
| to add a BSP-specific netbase that includes an interfaces file. See the |
| ":ref:`bsp-guide/bsp:miscellaneous bsp-specific recipe files`" section in |
| the Yocto Project Board Support Packages (BSP) Developer's Guide for |
| information on creating these types of miscellaneous recipe files. |
| |
| For example, add the following files to your layer:: |
| |
| meta-MACHINE/recipes-bsp/netbase/netbase/MACHINE/interfaces |
| meta-MACHINE/recipes-bsp/netbase/netbase_5.0.bbappend |
| |
| **Q:** How do I create images with more free space? |
| |
| **A:** By default, the OpenEmbedded build system creates images that are |
| 1.3 times the size of the populated root filesystem. To affect the image |
| size, you need to set various configurations: |
| |
| - *Image Size:* The OpenEmbedded build system uses the |
| :term:`IMAGE_ROOTFS_SIZE` variable to define |
| the size of the image in Kbytes. The build system determines the size |
| by taking into account the initial root filesystem size before any |
| modifications such as requested size for the image and any requested |
| additional free disk space to be added to the image. |
| |
| - *Overhead:* Use the |
| :term:`IMAGE_OVERHEAD_FACTOR` variable |
| to define the multiplier that the build system applies to the initial |
| image size, which is 1.3 by default. |
| |
| - *Additional Free Space:* Use the |
| :term:`IMAGE_ROOTFS_EXTRA_SPACE` |
| variable to add additional free space to the image. The build system |
| adds this space to the image after it determines its |
| :term:`IMAGE_ROOTFS_SIZE`. |
| |
| **Q:** Why don't you support directories with spaces in the pathnames? |
| |
| **A:** The Yocto Project team has tried to do this before but too many |
| of the tools the OpenEmbedded build system depends on, such as |
| ``autoconf``, break when they find spaces in pathnames. Until that |
| situation changes, the team will not support spaces in pathnames. |
| |
| **Q:** How do I use an external toolchain? |
| |
| **A:** The toolchain configuration is very flexible and customizable. It |
| is primarily controlled with the :term:`TCMODE` variable. This variable |
| controls which ``tcmode-*.inc`` file to include from the |
| ``meta/conf/distro/include`` directory within the :term:`Source Directory`. |
| |
| The default value of :term:`TCMODE` is "default", which tells the |
| OpenEmbedded build system to use its internally built toolchain (i.e. |
| ``tcmode-default.inc``). However, other patterns are accepted. In |
| particular, "external-\*" refers to external toolchains. One example is |
| the Sourcery G++ Toolchain. The support for this toolchain resides in |
| the separate ``meta-sourcery`` layer at |
| https://github.com/MentorEmbedded/meta-sourcery/. |
| |
| In addition to the toolchain configuration, you also need a |
| corresponding toolchain recipe file. This recipe file needs to package |
| up any pre-built objects in the toolchain such as ``libgcc``, |
| ``libstdcc++``, any locales, and ``libc``. |
| |
| **Q:** How does the OpenEmbedded build system obtain source code and |
| will it work behind my firewall or proxy server? |
| |
| **A:** The way the build system obtains source code is highly |
| configurable. You can setup the build system to get source code in most |
| environments if HTTP transport is available. |
| |
| When the build system searches for source code, it first tries the local |
| download directory. If that location fails, Poky tries |
| :term:`PREMIRRORS`, the upstream source, and then |
| :term:`MIRRORS` in that order. |
| |
| Assuming your distribution is "poky", the OpenEmbedded build system uses |
| the Yocto Project source ``PREMIRRORS`` by default for SCM-based |
| sources, upstreams for normal tarballs, and then falls back to a number |
| of other mirrors including the Yocto Project source mirror if those |
| fail. |
| |
| As an example, you could add a specific server for the build system to |
| attempt before any others by adding something like the following to the |
| ``local.conf`` configuration file:: |
| |
| PREMIRRORS_prepend = "\ |
| git://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n \ |
| ftp://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n \ |
| http://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n \ |
| https://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n" |
| |
| These changes cause the build system to intercept Git, FTP, HTTP, and |
| HTTPS requests and direct them to the ``http://`` sources mirror. You |
| can use ``file://`` URLs to point to local directories or network shares |
| as well. |
| |
| Here are other options:: |
| |
| BB_NO_NETWORK = "1" |
| |
| This statement tells BitBake to issue an error |
| instead of trying to access the Internet. This technique is useful if |
| you want to ensure code builds only from local sources. |
| |
| Here is another technique:: |
| |
| BB_FETCH_PREMIRRORONLY = "1" |
| |
| This statement |
| limits the build system to pulling source from the :term:`PREMIRRORS` only. |
| Again, this technique is useful for reproducing builds. |
| |
| Here is another technique:: |
| |
| BB_GENERATE_MIRROR_TARBALLS = "1" |
| |
| This |
| statement tells the build system to generate mirror tarballs. This |
| technique is useful if you want to create a mirror server. If not, |
| however, the technique can simply waste time during the build. |
| |
| Finally, consider an example where you are behind an HTTP-only firewall. |
| You could make the following changes to the ``local.conf`` configuration |
| file as long as the :term:`PREMIRRORS` server is current:: |
| |
| PREMIRRORS_prepend = "\ |
| ftp://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n \ |
| http://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n \ |
| https://.*/.* http://www.yoctoproject.org/sources/ \n" |
| BB_FETCH_PREMIRRORONLY = "1" |
| |
| These changes would cause the build system to successfully fetch source |
| over HTTP and any network accesses to anything other than the |
| :term:`PREMIRRORS` would fail. |
| |
| The build system also honors the standard shell environment variables |
| ``http_proxy``, ``ftp_proxy``, ``https_proxy``, and ``all_proxy`` to |
| redirect requests through proxy servers. |
| |
| .. note:: |
| |
| You can find more information on the |
| ":yocto_wiki:`Working Behind a Network Proxy </Working_Behind_a_Network_Proxy>`" |
| Wiki page. |
| |
| **Q:** Can I get rid of build output so I can start over? |
| |
| **A:** Yes - you can easily do this. When you use BitBake to build an |
| image, all the build output goes into the directory created when you run |
| the build environment setup script (i.e. |
| :ref:`structure-core-script`). By default, this :term:`Build Directory` |
| is named ``build`` but can be named |
| anything you want. |
| |
| Within the Build Directory, is the ``tmp`` directory. To remove all the |
| build output yet preserve any source code or downloaded files from |
| previous builds, simply remove the ``tmp`` directory. |
| |
| **Q:** Why do ``${bindir}`` and ``${libdir}`` have strange values for |
| ``-native`` recipes? |
| |
| **A:** Executables and libraries might need to be used from a directory |
| other than the directory into which they were initially installed. |
| Complicating this situation is the fact that sometimes these executables |
| and libraries are compiled with the expectation of being run from that |
| initial installation target directory. If this is the case, moving them |
| causes problems. |
| |
| This scenario is a fundamental problem for package maintainers of |
| mainstream Linux distributions as well as for the OpenEmbedded build |
| system. As such, a well-established solution exists. Makefiles, |
| Autotools configuration scripts, and other build systems are expected to |
| respect environment variables such as ``bindir``, ``libdir``, and |
| ``sysconfdir`` that indicate where executables, libraries, and data |
| reside when a program is actually run. They are also expected to respect |
| a ``DESTDIR`` environment variable, which is prepended to all the other |
| variables when the build system actually installs the files. It is |
| understood that the program does not actually run from within |
| ``DESTDIR``. |
| |
| When the OpenEmbedded build system uses a recipe to build a |
| target-architecture program (i.e. one that is intended for inclusion on |
| the image being built), that program eventually runs from the root file |
| system of that image. Thus, the build system provides a value of |
| "/usr/bin" for ``bindir``, a value of "/usr/lib" for ``libdir``, and so |
| forth. |
| |
| Meanwhile, ``DESTDIR`` is a path within the :term:`Build Directory`. |
| However, when the recipe builds a |
| native program (i.e. one that is intended to run on the build machine), |
| that program is never installed directly to the build machine's root |
| file system. Consequently, the build system uses paths within the Build |
| Directory for ``DESTDIR``, ``bindir`` and related variables. To better |
| understand this, consider the following two paths where the first is |
| relatively normal and the second is not: |
| |
| .. note:: |
| |
| Due to these lengthy examples, the paths are artificially broken |
| across lines for readability. |
| |
| :: |
| |
| /home/maxtothemax/poky-bootchart2/build/tmp/work/i586-poky-linux/zlib/ |
| 1.2.8-r0/sysroot-destdir/usr/bin |
| |
| /home/maxtothemax/poky-bootchart2/build/tmp/work/x86_64-linux/ |
| zlib-native/1.2.8-r0/sysroot-destdir/home/maxtothemax/poky-bootchart2/ |
| build/tmp/sysroots/x86_64-linux/usr/bin |
| |
| Even if the paths look unusual, |
| they both are correct - the first for a target and the second for a |
| native recipe. These paths are a consequence of the ``DESTDIR`` |
| mechanism and while they appear strange, they are correct and in |
| practice very effective. |
| |
| **Q:** The files provided by my ``*-native`` recipe do not appear to be |
| available to other recipes. Files are missing from the native sysroot, |
| my recipe is installing to the wrong place, or I am getting permissions |
| errors during the do_install task in my recipe! What is wrong? |
| |
| **A:** This situation results when a build system does not recognize the |
| environment variables supplied to it by :term:`BitBake`. The |
| incident that prompted this FAQ entry involved a Makefile that used an |
| environment variable named ``BINDIR`` instead of the more standard |
| variable ``bindir``. The makefile's hardcoded default value of |
| "/usr/bin" worked most of the time, but not for the recipe's ``-native`` |
| variant. For another example, permissions errors might be caused by a |
| Makefile that ignores ``DESTDIR`` or uses a different name for that |
| environment variable. Check the build system to see if these kinds |
| of issues exist. |
| |
| **Q:** I'm adding a binary in a recipe but it's different in the image, what is |
| changing it? |
| |
| **A:** The first most obvious change is the system stripping debug symbols from |
| it. Setting :term:`INHIBIT_PACKAGE_STRIP` to stop debug symbols being stripped and/or |
| :term:`INHIBIT_PACKAGE_DEBUG_SPLIT` to stop debug symbols being split into a separate |
| file will ensure the binary is unchanged. The other less obvious thing that can |
| happen is prelinking of the image. This is set by default in local.conf via |
| :term:`USER_CLASSES` which can contain 'image-prelink'. If you remove that, the |
| image will not be prelinked meaning the binaries would be unchanged. |