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Andrew Geissler4873add2020-11-02 18:44:49 -06001.. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-2.0-UK
Andrew Geisslerc9f78652020-09-18 14:11:35 -05002
3************
4Introduction
5************
6
7Toaster is a web interface to the Yocto Project's
8:term:`OpenEmbedded Build System`. The interface
9enables you to configure and run your builds. Information about builds
10is collected and stored in a database. You can use Toaster to configure
11and start builds on multiple remote build servers.
12
13.. _intro-features:
14
15Toaster Features
16================
17
18Toaster allows you to configure and run builds, and it provides
19extensive information about the build process.
20
21- *Configure and Run Builds:* You can use the Toaster web interface to
22 configure and start your builds. Builds started using the Toaster web
23 interface are organized into projects. When you create a project, you
24 are asked to select a release, or version of the build system you
25 want to use for the project builds. As shipped, Toaster supports
26 Yocto Project releases 1.8 and beyond. With the Toaster web
27 interface, you can:
28
29 - Browse layers listed in the various
30 :ref:`layer sources <toaster-manual/toaster-manual-reference:layer source>`
31 that are available in your project (e.g. the OpenEmbedded Layer Index at
32 http://layers.openembedded.org/layerindex/).
33
34 - Browse images, recipes, and machines provided by those layers.
35
36 - Import your own layers for building.
37
38 - Add and remove layers from your configuration.
39
40 - Set configuration variables.
41
42 - Select a target or multiple targets to build.
43
44 - Start your builds.
45
46 Toaster also allows you to configure and run your builds from the
47 command line, and switch between the command line and the web
48 interface at any time. Builds started from the command line appear
49 within a special Toaster project called "Command line builds".
50
51- *Information About the Build Process:* Toaster also records extensive
52 information about your builds. Toaster collects data for builds you
53 start from the web interface and from the command line as long as
54 Toaster is running.
55
56 .. note::
57
58 You must start Toaster before the build or it will not collect
59 build data.
60
61 With Toaster you can:
62
63 - See what was built (recipes and packages) and what packages were
64 installed into your final image.
65
66 - Browse the directory structure of your image.
67
68 - See the value of all variables in your build configuration, and
69 which files set each value.
70
71 - Examine error, warning, and trace messages to aid in debugging.
72
73 - See information about the BitBake tasks executed and reused during
74 your build, including those that used shared state.
75
76 - See dependency relationships between recipes, packages, and tasks.
77
78 - See performance information such as build time, task time, CPU
79 usage, and disk I/O.
80
81For an overview of Toaster shipped with the Yocto Project &DISTRO;
82Release, see the "`Toaster - Yocto Project
832.2 <https://youtu.be/BlXdOYLgPxA>`__" video.
84
85.. _toaster-installation-options:
86
87Installation Options
88====================
89
90You can set Toaster up to run as a local instance or as a shared hosted
91service.
92
93When Toaster is set up as a local instance, all the components reside on
94a single build host. Fundamentally, a local instance of Toaster is
95suited for a single user developing on a single build host.
96
97.. image:: figures/simple-configuration.png
98 :align: center
99
100Toaster as a hosted service is suited for multiple users developing
101across several build hosts. When Toaster is set up as a hosted service,
102its components can be spread across several machines:
103
104.. image:: figures/hosted-service.png
105 :align: center