yocto project reference manual version of the yocto project reference manual is for the 2.4.1...

Yocto Project Reference Manual

Yocto Project Reference Manual

Scott Rifenbark

Scotty's Documentation Services, INC

Copyright 2010-2018 Linux Foundation

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales as published by Creative Commons.

Manual Notes

This version of the Yocto Project Reference Manual is for the 2.4.2 release of the Yocto Project. To be sure you have the latest version of the manual for this release, go to the Yocto Project documentation page and select the manual from that site. Manuals from the site are more up-to-date than manuals derived from the Yocto Project released TAR files.

If you located this manual through a web search, the version of the manual might not be the one you want (e.g. the search might have returned a manual much older than the Yocto Project version with which you are working). You can see all Yocto Project major releases by visiting the Releases page. If you need a version of this manual for a different Yocto Project release, visit the Yocto Project documentation page and select the manual set by using the "ACTIVE RELEASES DOCUMENTATION" or "DOCUMENTS ARCHIVE" pull-down menus.

To report any inaccuracies or problems with this manual, send an email to the Yocto Project discussion group at [email protected] or log into the freenode #yocto channel.

Revision HistoryRevision 4.0+git24 November 2010Released with the Yocto Project 0.9 ReleaseRevision 1.06 April 2011Released with the Yocto Project 1.0 Release.Revision 1.0.123 May 2011Released with the Yocto Project 1.0.1 Release.Revision 1.16 October 2011Released with the Yocto Project 1.1 Release.Revision 1.2April 2012Released with the Yocto Project 1.2 Release.Revision 1.3October 2012Released with the Yocto Project 1.3 Release.Revision 1.4April 2013Released with the Yocto Project 1.4 Release.Revision 1.5October 2013Released with the Yocto Project 1.5 Release.Revision 1.5.1January 2014Released with the Yocto Project 1.5.1 Release.Revision 1.6April 2014Released with the Yocto Project 1.6 Release.Revision 1.7October 2014Released with the Yocto Project 1.7 Release.Revision 1.8April 2015Released with the Yocto Project 1.8 Release.Revision 2.0October 2015Released with the Yocto Project 2.0 Release.Revision 2.1April 2016Released with the Yocto Project 2.1 Release.Revision 2.2October 2016Released with the Yocto Project 2.2 Release.Revision 2.3May 2017Released with the Yocto Project 2.3 Release.Revision 2.4October 2017Released with the Yocto Project 2.4 Release.Revision 2.4.1January 2018Released with the Yocto Project 2.4.1 Release.Revision 2.4.2March 2018Released with the Yocto Project 2.4.2 Release.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction1.1. Welcome1.2. Introducing the Yocto Project Development Environment1.3. System Requirements1.3.1. Supported Linux Distributions1.3.2. Required Packages for the Host Development System1.3.3. Required Git, tar, and Python Versions

1.4. Obtaining the Yocto Project1.5. Development Checkouts1.6. Yocto Project Terms

2. Using the Yocto Project2.1. Running a Build2.1.1. Build Overview2.1.2. Building an Image Using GPL Components

2.2. Installing and Using the Result2.3. Debugging Tools and Techniques2.3.1. Viewing Logs from Failed Tasks2.3.2. Viewing Variable Values2.3.3. Viewing Package Information with oe-pkgdata-util2.3.4. Viewing Dependencies Between Recipes and Tasks2.3.5. Viewing Task Variable Dependencies2.3.6. Running Specific Tasks2.3.7. General BitBake Problems2.3.8. Development Host System Issues2.3.9. Building with No Dependencies2.3.10. Recipe Logging Mechanisms2.3.11. Other Tips

2.4. Quick EMUlator (QEMU)2.4.1. QEMU Availability2.4.2. QEMU Performance2.4.3. QEMU Command-Line Syntax2.4.4. runqemu Command-Line Options

2.5. Maintaining Build Output Quality2.5.1. Enabling and Disabling Build History2.5.2. Understanding What the Build History Contains

2.6. Speeding Up the Build

3. The Yocto Project Development Environment3.1. Open Source Philosophy3.2. Workflows3.3. Git3.3.1. Repositories, Tags, and Branches3.3.2. Basic Commands

3.4. Yocto Project Source Repositories3.5. Licensing3.6. Recipe Syntax3.7. Development Concepts3.7.1. User Configuration3.7.2. Metadata, Machine Configuration, and Policy Configuration3.7.3. Sources3.7.4. Package Feeds3.7.5. BitBake3.7.6. Images3.7.7. Application Development SDK

4. Technical Details4.1. Yocto Project Components4.1.1. BitBake4.1.2. Metadata (Recipes)4.1.3. Metadata (Virtual Providers)4.1.4. Classes4.1.5. Configuration

4.2. Cross-Development Toolchain Generation4.3. Shared State Cache4.3.1. Overall Architecture4.3.2. Checksums (Signatures)4.3.3. Shared State4.3.4. Tips and Tricks

4.4. Automatically Added Runtime Dependencies4.5. Fakeroot and Pseudo4.6. Wic Plug-Ins Interface4.7. x324.7.1. Support4.7.2. Completing x324.7.3. Using x32 Right Now

4.8. Wayland4.8.1. Support4.8.2. Enabling Wayland in an Image4.8.3. Running Weston

4.9. Licenses4.9.1. Tracking License Changes4.9.2. Enabling Commercially Licensed Recipes

5. Yocto Project Releases and the Stable Release Process5.1. Major and Minor Release Cadence5.2. Major Release Codenames5.3. Stable Release Process5.4. Testing and Quality Assurance

6. Migrating to a Newer Yocto Project Release6.1. General Migration Considerations6.2. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.3 Release6.2.1. Local Configuration6.2.2. Recipes6.2.3. Linux Kernel Naming

6.3. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.4 Release6.3.1. BitBake6.3.2. Build Behavior6.3.3. Proxies and Fetching Source6.3.4. Custom Interfaces File (netbase change)6.3.5. Remote Debugging6.3.6. Variables6.3.7. Target Package Management with RPM6.3.8. Recipes Moved6.3.9. Removals and Renames

6.4. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.5 Release6.4.1. Host Dependency Changes6.4.2. atom-pc Board Support Package (BSP)6.4.3. BitBake6.4.4. QA Warnings6.4.5. Directory Layout Changes6.4.6. Shortened Git SRCREV Values6.4.7. IMAGE_FEATURES6.4.8. /run6.4.9. Removal of Package Manager Database Within Image Recipes6.4.10. Images Now Rebuild Only on Changes Instead of Every Time6.4.11. Task Recipes6.4.12. BusyBox6.4.13. Automated Image Testing6.4.14. Build History6.4.15. udev6.4.16. Removed and Renamed Recipes6.4.17. Other Changes

6.5. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.6 Release6.5.1. archiver Class6.5.2. Packaging Changes6.5.3. BitBake6.5.4. Changes to Variables6.5.5. Package Test (ptest)6.5.6. Build Changes6.5.7. qemu-native6.5.8. core-image-basic6.5.9. Licensing6.5.10. CFLAGS Options6.5.11. Custom Image Output Types6.5.12. Tasks6.5.13. update-alternative Provider6.5.14. virtclass Overrides6.5.15. Removed and Renamed Recipes6.5.16. Removed Classes6.5.17. Reference Board Support Packages (BSPs)

6.6. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.7 Release6.6.1. Changes to Setting QEMU PACKAGECONFIG Options in local.conf6.6.2. Minimum Git version6.6.3. Autotools Class Changes6.6.4. Binary Configuration Scripts Disabled6.6.5. eglibc 2.19 Replaced with glibc 2.206.6.6. Kernel Module Autoloading6.6.7. QA Check Changes6.6.8. Removed Recipes6.6.9. Miscellaneous Changes

6.7. Moving to the Yocto Project 1.8 Release6.7.1. Removed Recipes6.7.2. BlueZ 4.x / 5.x Selection6.7.3. Kernel Build Changes6.7.4. SSL 3.0 is Now Disabled in OpenSSL6.7.5. Default Sysroot Poisoning6.7.6. Rebuild Improvements6.7.7. QA Check and Validation Changes6.7.8. Miscellaneous Changes

6.8. Moving to the Yocto Project 2.0 Release6.8.1. GCC 56.8.2. Gstreamer 0.10 Removed6.8.3. Removed Recipes6.8.4. BitBake datastore improvements6.8.5. Shell Message Function Changes6.8.6. Extra Development/Debug Package Cleanup6.8.7. Recipe Maintenance Tracking Data Moved to OE-Core6.8.8. Automatic Stale Sysroot File Cleanup6.8.9. linux-yocto Kernel Metadata Repository Now Split from Source6.8.10. Additional QA checks6.8.11. Miscellaneous Changes

6.9. Moving to the Yocto Project 2.1 Release6.9.1. Variable Expansion in Python Functions6.9.2. Overrides Must Now be Lower-Case6.9.3. Expand Parameter to getVar() and getVarFlag() is Now Mandatory6.9.4. Makefile Environment Changes6.9.5. libexecdir Reverted to ${prefix}/libexec6.9.6. ac_cv_sizeof_off_t is No Longer Cached in Site Files6.9.7. Image Generation is Now Split Out from Filesystem Generation6.9.8. Removed Recipes6.9.9. Class Changes6.9.10. Build System User Interface Changes6.9.11. ADT Removed6.9.12. Poky Reference Distribution Changes6.9.13. Packaging Changes6.9.14. Tuning File Changes6.9.15. Supporting GObject Introspection6.9.16. Miscellaneous Changes

6.10. Moving to the Yocto Project 2.2 Release6.10.1. Minimum Kernel Version6.10.2. Staging Directories in Sysroot Has Been Simplified6.10.3. Removal of Old Images and Other Files in tmp/deploy Now Enabled6.10.4. Python Changes6.10.5. uClibc Replaced by musl6.10.6. ${B} No Longer Default Working Directory for Tasks6.10.7. runqemu Ported to Python6.10.8. Default Linker Hash Style Changed6.10.9. KERNEL_IMAGE_BASE_NAME no Longer Uses KERNEL_IMAGETYPE6.10.10. BitBake Changes6.10.11. Swabber has Been Removed6.10.12. Removed Recipes6.10.13. Removed Classes6.10.14. Minor Packaging Changes6.10.15. Miscellaneous Changes

6.11. Moving to the Yocto Project 2.3 Release6.11.1. Recipe-specific Sysroots6.11.2. PATH Variable6.11.3. Changes to Scripts6.11.4. Changes to Functions6.11.5. BitBake Changes6.11.6. Absolute Symbolic Links6.11.7. GPLv2 Versions of GPLv3 Recipes Moved6.11.8. Package Management Changes6.11.9. Removed Recipes6.11.10. Wic Changes6.11.11. QA Changes6.11.12. Miscellaneous Changes

6.12. Moving to the Yocto Project 2.4 Release6.12.1. Memory Resident Mode6.12.2. Packaging Changes6.12.3. Removed Recipes6.12.4. Kernel Device Tree Move6.12.5. Package QA Changes6.12.6. README File Changes6.12.7. Miscellaneous Changes

7. Source Directory Structure7.1. Top-Level Core Components7.1.1. bitbake/7.1.2. build/7.1.3. documentation/7.1.4. meta/7.1.5. meta-poky/7.1.6. meta-yocto-bsp/7.1.7. meta-selftest/7.1.8. meta-skeleton/7.1.9. scripts/7.1.10. oe-init-build-env7.1.11. LICENSE, README, and README.hardware

7.2. The Build Directory - build/7.2.1. build/buildhistory7.2.2. build/conf/local.conf7.2.3. build/conf/bblayers.conf7.2.4. build/conf/sanity_info7.2.5. build/downloads/7.2.6. build/sstate-cache/7.2.7. build/tmp/7.2.8. build/tmp/buildstats/7.2.9. build/tmp/cache/7.2.10. build/tmp/deploy/7.2.11. build/tmp/deploy/deb/7.2.12. build/tmp/deploy/rpm/7.2.13. build/tmp/deploy/ipk/7.2.14. build/tmp/deploy/licenses/7.2.15. build/tmp/deploy/images/7.2.16. build/tmp/deploy/sdk/7.2.17. build/tmp/sstate-control/7.2.18. build/tmp/sysroots-components/7.2.19. build/tmp/sysroots/7.2.20. build/tmp/stamps/7.2.21. build/tmp/log/7.2.22. build/tmp/work/7.2.23. build/tmp/work/tunearch/recipename/version/7.2.24. build/tmp/work-shared/

7.3. The Metadata - meta/7.3.1. meta/classes/7.3.2. meta/conf/7.3.3. meta/conf/machine/7.3.4. meta/conf/distro/7.3.5. meta/conf/machine-sdk/7.3.6. meta/files/7.3.7. meta/lib/7.3.8. meta/recipes-bsp/7.3.9. meta/recipes-connectivity/7.3.10. meta/recipes-core/7.3.11. meta/recipes-devtools/7.3.12. meta/recipes-extended/7.3.13. meta/recipes-gnome/7.3.14. meta/recipes-graphics/7.3.15. meta/recipes-kernel/7.3.16. meta/recipes-lsb4/7.3.17. meta/recipes-multimedia/7.3.18. meta/recipes-rt/7.3.19. meta/recipes-sato/7.3.20. meta/recipes-support/7.3.21. meta/site/7.3.22. meta/recipes.txt

8. Classes8.1. allarch.bbclass8.2. archiver.bbclass8.3. autotools*.bbclass8.4. base.bbclass8.5. bash-completion.bbclass8.6. bin_package.bbclass8.7. binconfig.bbclass8.8. binconfig-disabled.bbclass8.9. blacklist.bbclass8.10. bluetooth.bbclass8.11. bugzilla.bbclass8.12. buildhistory.bbclass8.13. buildstats.bbclass8.14. buildstats-summary.bbclass8.15. ccache.bbclass8.16. chrpath.bbclass8.17. clutter.bbclass8.18. cmake.bbclass8.19. cml1.bbclass8.20. compress_doc.bbclass8.21. copyleft_compliance.bbclass8.22. copyleft_filter.bbclass8.23. core-image.bbclass8.24. cpan*.bbclass8.25. cross.bbclass8.26. cross-canadian.bbclass8.27. crosssdk.bbclass8.28. debian.bbclass8.29. deploy.bbclass8.30. devshell.bbclass8.31. distro_features_check.bbclass8.32. distrodata.bbclass8.33. distutils*.bbclass8.34. distutils3*.bbclass8.35. externalsrc.bbclass8.36. extrausers.bbclass8.37. fontcache.bbclass8.38. fs-uuid.bbclass8.39. gconf.bbclass8.40. gettext.bbclass8.41. gnome.bbclass8.42. gnomebase.bbclass8.43. gobject-introspection.bbclass8.44. grub-efi.bbclass8.45. gsettings.bbclass8.46. gtk-doc.bbclass8.47. gtk-icon-cache.bbclass8.48. gtk-immodules-cache.bbclass8.49. gzipnative.bbclass8.50. icecc.bbclass8.51. image.bbclass8.52. image-buildinfo.bbclass8.53. image_types.bbclass8.54. image-live.bbclass8.55. image-mklibs.bbclass8.56. image-prelink.bbclass8.57. insane.bbclass8.58. insserv.bbclass8.59. kernel.bbclass8.60. kernel-arch.bbclass8.61. kernel-fitimage.bbclass8.62. kernel-grub.bbclass8.63. kernel-module-split.bbclass8.64. kernel-uboot.bbclass8.65. kernel-uimage.bbclass8.66. kernel-yocto.bbclass8.67. kernelsrc.bbclass8.68. lib_package.bbclass8.69. libc*.bbclass8.70. license.bbclass8.71. linux-kernel-base.bbclass8.72. linuxloader.bbclass8.73. logging.bbclass8.74. meta.bbclass8.75. metadata_scm.bbclass8.76. migrate_localcount.bbclass8.77. mime.bbclass8.78. mirrors.bbclass8.79. module.bbclass8.80. module-base.bbclass8.81. multilib*.bbclass8.82. native.bbclass8.83. nativesdk.bbclass8.84. nopackages.bbclass8.85. npm.bbclass8.86. oelint.bbclass8.87. own-mirrors.bbclass8.88. package.bbclass8.89. package_deb.bbclass8.90. package_ipk.bbclass8.91. package_rpm.bbclass8.92. package_tar.bbclass8.93. packagedata.bbclass8.94. packagegroup.bbclass8.95. patch.bbclass8.96. perlnative.bbclass8.97. pixbufcache.bbclass8.98. pkgconfig.bbclass8.99. populate_sdk.bbclass8.100. populate_sdk_*.bbclass8.101. prexport.bbclass8.102. primport.bbclass8.103. prserv.bbclass8.104. ptest.bbclass8.105. ptest-gnome.bbclass8.106. python-dir.bbclass8.107. python3native.bbclass8.108. pythonnative.bbclass8.109. qemu.bbclass8.110. recipe_sanity.bbclass8.111. relocatable.bbclass8.112. remove-libtool.bbclass8.113. report-error.bbclass8.114. rm_work.bbclass8.115. rootfs*.bbclass8.116. sanity.bbclass8.117. scons.bbclass8.118. sdl.bbclass8.119. setuptools.bbclass8.120. setuptools3.bbclass8.121. sign_rpm.bbclass8.122. sip.bbclass8.123. siteconfig.bbclass8.124. siteinfo.bbclass8.125. spdx.bbclass8.126. sstate.bbclass8.127. staging.bbclass8.128. syslinux.bbclass8.129. systemd.bbclass8.130. systemd-boot.bbclass8.131. terminal.bbclass8.132. testimage*.bbclass8.133. testsdk.bbclass8.134. texinfo.bbclass8.135. tinderclient.bbclass8.136. toaster.bbclass8.137. toolchain-scripts.bbclass8.138. typecheck.bbclass8.139. uboot-config.bbclass8.140. uninative.bbclass8.141. update-alternatives.bbclass8.142. update-rc.d.bbclass8.143. useradd*.bbclass8.144. utility-tasks.bbclass8.145. utils.bbclass8.146. vala.bbclass8.147. waf.bbclass

9. Tasks9.1. Normal Recipe Build Tasks9.1.1. do_build9.1.2. do_compile9.1.3. do_compile_ptest_base9.1.4. do_configure9.1.5. do_configure_ptest_base9.1.6. do_deploy9.1.7. do_distrodata9.1.8. do_fetch9.1.9. do_image9.1.10. do_image_complete9.1.11. do_install9.1.12. do_install_ptest_base9.1.13. do_package9.1.14. do_package_qa9.1.15. do_package_write_deb9.1.16. do_package_write_ipk9.1.17. do_package_write_rpm9.1.18. do_package_write_tar9.1.19. do_packagedata9.1.20. do_patch9.1.21. do_populate_lic9.1.22. do_populate_sdk9.1.23. do_populate_sysroot9.1.24. do_prepare_recipe_sysroot9.1.25. do_rm_work9.1.26. do_rm_work_all9.1.27. do_unpack

9.2. Manually Called Tasks9.2.1. do_checkpkg9.2.2. do_checkuri9.2.3. do_checkuriall9.2.4. do_clean9.2.5. do_cleanall9.2.6. do_cleansstate9.2.7. do_devpyshell9.2.8. do_devshell9.2.9. do_fetchall9.2.10. do_listtasks9.2.11. do_package_index

9.3. Image-Related Tasks9.3.1. do_bootimg9.3.2. do_bundle_initramfs9.3.3. do_rootfs9.3.4. do_testimage9.3.5. do_testimage_auto

9.4. Kernel-Related Tasks9.4.1. do_compile_kernelmodules9.4.2. do_diffconfig9.4.3. do_kernel_checkout9.4.4. do_kernel_configcheck9.4.5. do_kernel_configme9.4.6. do_kernel_menuconfig9.4.7. do_kernel_metadata9.4.8. do_menuconfig9.4.9. do_savedefconfig9.4.10. do_shared_workdir9.4.11. do_sizecheck9.4.12. do_strip9.4.13. do_validate_branches

9.5. Miscellaneous Tasks9.5.1. do_spdx

10. devtool Quick Reference10.1. Getting Help10.2. The Workspace Layer Structure10.3. Adding a New Recipe to the Workspace Layer10.4. Extracting the Source for an Existing Recipe10.5. Synchronizing a Recipe's Extracted Source Tree10.6. Modifying an Existing Recipe10.7. Edit an Existing Recipe10.8. Updating a Recipe10.9. Upgrading a Recipe10.10. Resetting a Recipe10.11. Building Your Recipe10.12. Building Your Image10.13. Deploying Your Software on the Target Machine10.14. Removing Your Software from the Target Machine10.15. Creating the Workspace Layer in an Alternative Location10.16. Get the Status of the Recipes in Your Workspace10.17. Search for Available Target Recipes

11. OpenEmbedded Kickstart (.wks) Reference11.1. Introduction11.2. Command: part or partition11.3. Command: bootloader

12. QA Error and Warning Messages12.1. Introduction12.2. Errors and Warnings12.3. Configuring and Disabling QA Checks

13. Images14. Features14.1. Machine Features14.2. Distro Features14.3. Image Features14.4. Feature Backfilling

15. Variables GlossaryGlossary

16. Variable Context16.1. Configuration16.1.1. Distribution (Distro)16.1.2. Machine16.1.3. Local

16.2. Recipes16.2.1. Required16.2.2. Dependencies16.2.3. Paths16.2.4. Extra Build Information

17. FAQ18. Contributions and Additional Information18.1. Introduction18.2. Contributions18.3. Yocto Project Bugzilla18.4. Mailing lists18.5. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)18.6. Links and Related Documentation

Chapter1.Introduction

Table of Contents

1.1. Welcome1.2. Introducing the Yocto Project Development Environment1.3. System Requirements1.3.1. Supported Linux Distributions1.3.2. Required Packages for the Host Development System1.3.3. Required Git, tar, and Python Versions

1.4. Obtaining the Yocto Project1.5. Development Checkouts1.6. Yocto Project Terms

1.1.Welcome

Welcome to the Yocto Project Reference Manual. This manual provides reference information for the current release of the Yocto Project. This manual is best used after you have an understanding of the basics of the Yocto Project. The manual is neither meant to be read as a starting point to the Yocto Project nor read from start to finish. Use this manual to find concepts, variable definitions, class descriptions, and so forth as needed during the course of using the Yocto Project.

For introductory information on the Yocto Project, see the Yocto Project Website and the "Introducing the Yocto Project Development Environment" section.

If you want to use the Yocto Project to test run building an image without having to understand concepts, work through the Yocto Project Quick Start. You can find "how-to" information in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

Tip

For more information about the Yocto Project Documentation set, see the "Links and Related Documentation" section.

1.2.Introducing the Yocto Project Development Environment

The Yocto Project is an open-source collaboration project whose focus is for developers of embedded Linux systems. Among other things, the Yocto Project uses an OpenEmbedded build system. The build system, which is based on the OpenEmbedded (OE) project and uses the BitBake tool, constructs complete Linux images for architectures based on ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, x86 and x86-64.

Note

Historically, the OpenEmbedded build system, which is the combination of BitBake and OE components, formed a reference build host that was known as "Poky" (Pah-kee). The term "Poky", as used throughout the Yocto Project Documentation set, can have different meanings.

The Yocto Project provides various ancillary tools for the embedded developer and also features the Sato reference User Interface, which is optimized for stylus-driven, low-resolution screens.

Here are some highlights for the Yocto Project:

Provides a recent Linux kernel along with a set of system commands and libraries suitable for the embedded environment.

Makes available system components such as X11, GTK+, Qt, Clutter, and SDL (among others) so you can create a rich user experience on devices that have display hardware. For devices that do not have a display or where you wish to use alternative UI frameworks, these components need not be installed.

Creates a focused and stable core compatible with the OpenEmbedded project with which you can easily and reliably build and develop.

Fully supports a wide range of hardware and device emulation through the Quick EMUlator (QEMU).

Provides a layer mechanism that allows you to easily extend the system, make customizations, and keep them organized.

You can use the Yocto Project to generate images for many kinds of devices. As mentioned earlier, the Yocto Project supports creation of reference images that you can boot within and emulate using QEMU. The standard example machines target QEMU full-system emulation for 32-bit and 64-bit variants of x86, ARM, MIPS, and PowerPC architectures. Beyond emulation, you can use the layer mechanism to extend support to just about any platform that Linux can run on and that a toolchain can target.

Another Yocto Project feature is the Sato reference User Interface. This optional UI that is based on GTK+ is intended for devices with restricted screen sizes and is included as part of the OpenEmbedded Core layer so that developers can test parts of the software stack.

While the Yocto Project does not provide a strict testing framework, it does provide or generate for you artifacts that let you perform target-level and emulated testing and debugging. Additionally, if you are an Eclipse IDE user, you can install an Eclipse Yocto Plug-in to allow you to develop within that familiar environment.

By default, using the Yocto Project to build an image creates a Poky distribution. However, you can create your own distribution by providing key Metadata. A good example is Angstrom, which has had a distribution based on the Yocto Project since its inception. Other examples include commercial distributions like Wind River Linux, Mentor Embedded Linux, ENEA Linux and others. See the "Creating Your Own Distribution" section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual for more information.

1.3.System Requirements

For general Yocto Project system requirements, see the "Setting Up to Use the Yocto Project" section in the Yocto Project Quick Start. The remainder of this section provides details on system requirements not covered in the Yocto Project Quick Start.

1.3.1.Supported Linux Distributions

Currently, the Yocto Project is supported on the following distributions:

Note

Yocto Project releases are tested against the stable Linux distributions in the following list. The Yocto Project should work on other distributions but validation is not performed against them.

In particular, the Yocto Project does not support and currently has no plans to support rolling-releases or development distributions due to their constantly changing nature. We welcome patches and bug reports, but keep in mind that our priority is on the supported platforms listed below.

If you encounter problems, please go to Yocto Project Bugzilla and submit a bug. We are interested in hearing about your experience.

Ubuntu 14.10

Ubuntu 15.04

Ubuntu 15.10

Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS)

Fedora release 22

Fedora release 23

Fedora release 24

CentOS release 7.x

Debian GNU/Linux 8.x (Jessie)

Debian GNU/Linux 9.x (Stretch)

openSUSE 13.2

openSUSE 42.1

Note

While the Yocto Project Team attempts to ensure all Yocto Project releases are one hundred percent compatible with each officially supported Linux distribution, instances might exist where you encounter a problem while using the Yocto Project on a specific distribution.

1.3.2.Required Packages for the Host Development System

The list of packages you need on the host development system can be large when covering all build scenarios using the Yocto Project. This section provides required packages according to Linux distribution and function.

1.3.2.1.Ubuntu and Debian

The following list shows the required packages by function given a supported Ubuntu or Debian Linux distribution:

Note

If your build system has the oss4-dev package installed, you might experience QEMU build failures due to the package installing its own custom /usr/include/linux/soundcard.h on the Debian system. If you run into this situation, either of the following solutions exist: $ sudo apt-get build-dep qemu $ sudo apt-get remove oss4-dev

Essentials: Packages needed to build an image on a headless system:

$ sudo apt-get install gawk wget git-core diffstat unzip texinfo gcc-multilib \ build-essential chrpath socat cpio python python3 python3-pip python3-pexpect \ xz-utils debianutils iputils-ping

Graphical and Eclipse Plug-In Extras: Packages recommended if the host system has graphics support or if you are going to use the Eclipse IDE:

$ sudo apt-get install libsdl1.2-dev xterm

Documentation: Packages needed if you are going to build out the Yocto Project documentation manuals:

$ sudo apt-get install make xsltproc docbook-utils fop dblatex xmlto

OpenEmbedded Self-Test (oe-selftest): Packages needed if you are going to run oe-selftest:

$ sudo apt-get install python-git

1.3.2.2.Fedora Packages

The following list shows the required packages by function given a supported Fedora Linux distribution:

Essentials: Packages needed to build an image for a headless system:

$ sudo dnf install gawk make wget tar bzip2 gzip python3 unzip perl patch \ diffutils diffstat git cpp gcc gcc-c++ glibc-devel texinfo chrpath \ ccache perl-Data-Dumper perl-Text-ParseWords perl-Thread-Queue perl-bignum socat \ python3-pexpect findutils which file cpio python python3-pip xz


$ sudo dnf install SDL-devel xterm


$ sudo dnf install make docbook-style-dsssl docbook-style-xsl \ docbook-dtds docbook-utils fop libxslt dblatex xmlto


$ sudo dnf install python3-GitPython

1.3.2.3.openSUSE Packages

The following list shows the required packages by function given a supported openSUSE Linux distribution:


$ sudo zypper install python gcc gcc-c++ git chrpath make wget python-xml \ diffstat makeinfo python-curses patch socat python3 python3-curses tar python3-pip \ python3-pexpect xz which


$ sudo zypper install libSDL-devel xterm


$ sudo zypper install make dblatex xmlto


$ sudo zypper install python-GitPython

1.3.2.4.CentOS Packages

The following list shows the required packages by function given a supported CentOS Linux distribution:


$ sudo yum install -y epel-release $ sudo yum makecache $ sudo yum install gawk make wget tar bzip2 gzip python unzip perl patch \ diffutils diffstat git cpp gcc gcc-c++ glibc-devel texinfo chrpath socat \ perl-Data-Dumper perl-Text-ParseWords perl-Thread-Queue python34-pip xz \ which SDL-devel xterm

Notes

Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (i.e. epel-release) is a collection of packages from Fedora built on RHEL/CentOS for easy installation of packages not included in enterprise Linux by default. You need to install these packages separately.

The makecache command consumes additional Metadata from epel-release.


$ sudo yum install SDL-devel xterm


$ sudo yum install make docbook-style-dsssl docbook-style-xsl \ docbook-dtds docbook-utils fop libxslt dblatex xmlto


$ sudo yum install GitPython

1.3.3.Required Git, tar, and Python Versions

In order to use the build system, your host development system must meet the following version requirements for Git, tar, and Python:

Git 1.8.3.1 or greater

tar 1.27 or greater

Python 3.4.0 or greater

If your host development system does not meet all these requirements, you can resolve this by installing a buildtools tarball that contains these tools. You can get the tarball one of two ways: download a pre-built tarball or use BitBake to build the tarball.

1.3.3.1.Downloading a Pre-Built buildtools Tarball

Downloading and running a pre-built buildtools installer is the easiest of the two methods by which you can get these tools:

Locate and download the *.sh at http://downloads.yoctoproject.org/releases/yocto/yocto-2.4.2/buildtools/.

Execute the installation script. Here is an example:

$ sh poky-glibc-x86_64-buildtools-tarball-x86_64-buildtools-nativesdk-standalone-2.4.2.sh

During execution, a prompt appears that allows you to choose the installation directory. For example, you could choose the following:

/home/your-username/buildtools

Source the tools environment setup script by using a command like the following:

$ source /home/your_username/buildtools/environment-setup-i586-poky-linux

Of course, you need to supply your installation directory and be sure to use the right file (i.e. i585 or x86-64).

After you have sourced the setup script, the tools are added to PATH and any other environment variables required to run the tools are initialized. The results are working versions versions of Git, tar, Python and chrpath.

1.3.3.2.Building Your Own buildtools Tarball

Building and running your own buildtools installer applies only when you have a build host that can already run BitBake. In this case, you use that machine to build the .sh file and then take steps to transfer and run it on a machine that does not meet the minimal Git, tar, and Python requirements.

Here are the steps to take to build and run your own buildtools installer:

On the machine that is able to run BitBake, be sure you have set up your build environment with the setup script (oe-init-build-env).

Run the BitBake command to build the tarball:

$ bitbake buildtools-tarball

Note

The SDKMACHINE variable in your local.conf file determines whether you build tools for a 32-bit or 64-bit system.

Once the build completes, you can find the .sh file that installs the tools in the tmp/deploy/sdk subdirectory of the Build Directory. The installer file has the string "buildtools" in the name.

Transfer the .sh file from the build host to the machine that does not meet the Git, tar, or Python requirements.

On the machine that does not meet the requirements, run the .sh file to install the tools. Here is an example:

$ sh poky-glibc-x86_64-buildtools-tarball-x86_64-buildtools-nativesdk-standalone-2.4.2.sh

During execution, a prompt appears that allows you to choose the installation directory. For example, you could choose the following:

/home/your_username/buildtools

Source the tools environment setup script by using a command like the following:

$ source /home/your_username/buildtools/environment-setup-i586-poky-linux

Of course, you need to supply your installation directory and be sure to use the right file (i.e. i585 or x86-64).

After you have sourced the setup script, the tools are added to PATH and any other environment variables required to run the tools are initialized. The results are working versions versions of Git, tar, Python and chrpath.

1.4.Obtaining the Yocto Project

The Yocto Project development team makes the Yocto Project available through a number of methods:

Source Repositories: Working from a copy of the upstream poky repository is the preferred method for obtaining and using a Yocto Project release. You can view the Yocto Project Source Repositories at http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit.cgi. In particular, you can find the poky repository at http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/poky/.

Releases: Stable, tested releases are available as tarballs through http://downloads.yoctoproject.org/releases/yocto/.

Nightly Builds: These tarball releases are available at http://autobuilder.yoctoproject.org/pub/nightly/. These builds include Yocto Project releases, SDK installation scripts, and experimental builds.

Yocto Project Website: You can find tarball releases of the Yocto Project and supported BSPs at the Yocto Project website. Along with these downloads, you can find lots of other information at this site.

1.5.Development Checkouts

Development using the Yocto Project requires a local Source Directory. You can set up the Source Directory by cloning a copy of the upstream poky Git repository. For information on how to do this, see the "Working With Yocto Project Source Files" section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

1.6.Yocto Project Terms

Following is a list of terms and definitions users new to the Yocto Project development environment might find helpful. While some of these terms are universal, the list includes them just in case:

Append Files: Files that append build information to a recipe file. Append files are known as BitBake append files and .bbappend files. The OpenEmbedded build system expects every append file to have a corresponding recipe (.bb) file. Furthermore, the append file and corresponding recipe file must use the same root filename. The filenames can differ only in the file type suffix used (e.g. formfactor_0.0.bb and formfactor_0.0.bbappend).

Information in append files extends or overrides the information in the similarly-named recipe file. For an example of an append file in use, see the "Using .bbappend Files in Your Layer" section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

Note

Append files can also use wildcard patterns in their version numbers so they can be applied to more than one version of the underlying recipe file.

BitBake: The task executor and scheduler used by the OpenEmbedded build system to build images. For more information on BitBake, see the BitBake User Manual.

Board Support Package (BSP): A group of drivers, definitions, and other components that provide support for a specific hardware configuration. For more information on BSPs, see the Yocto Project Board Support Package (BSP) Developer's Guide.

Build Directory: This term refers to the area used by the OpenEmbedded build system for builds. The area is created when you source the setup environment script that is found in the Source Directory (i.e. oe-init-build-env). The TOPDIR variable points to the Build Directory.

You have a lot of flexibility when creating the Build Directory. Following are some examples that show how to create the directory. The examples assume your Source Directory is named poky:

Create the Build Directory inside your Source Directory and let the name of the Build Directory default to build:

$ cd $HOME/poky $ source oe-init-build-env

Create the Build Directory inside your home directory and specifically name it test-builds:

$ cd $HOME $ source poky/oe-init-build-env test-builds

Provide a directory path and specifically name the Build Directory. Any intermediate folders in the pathname must exist. This next example creates a Build Directory named YP-19.0.2 in your home directory within the existing directory mybuilds:

$cd $HOME $ source $HOME/poky/oe-init-build-env $HOME/mybuilds/YP-19.0.2

Note

By default, the Build Directory contains TMPDIR, which is a temporary directory the build system uses for its work. TMPDIR cannot be under NFS. Thus, by default, the Build Directory cannot be under NFS. However, if you need the Build Directory to be under NFS, you can set this up by setting TMPDIR in your local.conf file to use a local drive. Doing so effectively separates TMPDIR from TOPDIR, which is the Build Directory.

Build System: The system used to build images in a Yocto Project Development environment. The build system is sometimes referred to as the development host.

Classes: Files that provide for logic encapsulation and inheritance so that commonly used patterns can be defined once and then easily used in multiple recipes. For reference information on the Yocto Project classes, see the "Classes" chapter. Class files end with the .bbclass filename extension.

Configuration File: Configuration information in various .conf files provides global definitions of variables. The conf/local.conf configuration file in the Build Directory contains user-defined variables that affect every build. The meta-poky/conf/distro/poky.conf configuration file defines Yocto "distro" configuration variables used only when building with this policy. Machine configuration files, which are located throughout the Source Directory, define variables for specific hardware and are only used when building for that target (e.g. the machine/beaglebone.conf configuration file defines variables for the Texas Instruments ARM Cortex-A8 development board). Configuration files end with a .conf filename extension.

Cross-Development Toolchain: In general, a cross-development toolchain is a collection of software development tools and utilities that run on one architecture and allow you to develop software for a different, or targeted, architecture. These toolchains contain cross-compilers, linkers, and debuggers that are specific to the target architecture.

The Yocto Project supports two different cross-development toolchains:

A toolchain only used by and within BitBake when building an image for a target architecture.

A relocatable toolchain used outside of BitBake by developers when developing applications that will run on a targeted device.

Creation of these toolchains is simple and automated. For information on toolchain concepts as they apply to the Yocto Project, see the "Cross-Development Toolchain Generation" section. You can also find more information on using the relocatable toolchain in the Yocto Project Application Development and the Extensible Software Development Kit (eSDK) manual.

Image: An image is an artifact of the BitBake build process given a collection of recipes and related Metadata. Images are the binary output that run on specific hardware or QEMU and are used for specific use-cases. For a list of the supported image types that the Yocto Project provides, see the "Images" chapter.

Layer: A collection of recipes representing the core, a BSP, or an application stack. For a discussion specifically on BSP Layers, see the "BSP Layers" section in the Yocto Project Board Support Packages (BSP) Developer's Guide.

Metadata: The files that BitBake parses when building an image. In general, Metadata includes recipes, classes, and configuration files. In the context of the kernel ("kernel Metadata"), the term refers to the kernel config fragments and features contained in the yocto-kernel-cache Git repository.

OE-Core: A core set of Metadata originating with OpenEmbedded (OE) that is shared between OE and the Yocto Project. This Metadata is found in the meta directory of the Source Directory.

OpenEmbedded Build System: The build system specific to the Yocto Project. The OpenEmbedded build system is based on another project known as "Poky", which uses BitBake as the task executor. Throughout the Yocto Project documentation set, the OpenEmbedded build system is sometimes referred to simply as "the build system". If other build systems, such as a host or target build system are referenced, the documentation clearly states the difference.

Note

For some historical information about Poky, see the Poky term.

Package: In the context of the Yocto Project, this term refers to a recipe's packaged output produced by BitBake (i.e. a "baked recipe"). A package is generally the compiled binaries produced from the recipe's sources. You "bake" something by running it through BitBake.

It is worth noting that the term "package" can, in general, have subtle meanings. For example, the packages referred to in the "The Build Host Packages" section in the Yocto Project Quick Start are compiled binaries that, when installed, add functionality to your Linux distribution.

Another point worth noting is that historically within the Yocto Project, recipes were referred to as packages - thus, the existence of several BitBake variables that are seemingly mis-named, (e.g. PR, PV, and PE).

Package Groups: Arbitrary groups of software Recipes. You use package groups to hold recipes that, when built, usually accomplish a single task. For example, a package group could contain the recipes for a companys proprietary or value-add software. Or, the package group could contain the recipes that enable graphics. A package group is really just another recipe. Because package group files are recipes, they end with the .bb filename extension.

Poky: The term "poky", which is pronounced Pah-kee, can mean several things:

In its most general sense, poky is an open-source project that was initially developed by OpenedHand. OpenedHand developed poky off of the existing OpenEmbedded build system to create a commercially supportable build system for embedded Linux. After Intel Corporation acquired OpenedHand, the poky project became the basis for the Yocto Project's build system.

Within the Yocto Project Source Repositories, "poky" exists as a separate Git repository from which you can clone to yield a local Git repository that is a copy on your host system. Thus, "poky" can refer to the upstream or local copy of the files used for development within the Yocto Project.

Finally, "poky" can refer to the default DISTRO (i.e. distribution) created when you use the Yocto Project in conjunction with the poky repository to build an image.

Recipe: A set of instructions for building packages. A recipe describes where you get source code, which patches to apply, how to configure the source, how to compile it and so on. Recipes also describe dependencies for libraries or for other recipes. Recipes represent the logical unit of execution, the software to build, the images to build, and use the .bb file extension.

Reference Kit: A working example of a system, which includes a BSP as well as a build system and other components, that can work on specific hardware.

Source Directory: This term refers to the directory structure created as a result of creating a local copy of the poky Git repository git://git.yoctoproject.org/poky or expanding a released poky tarball.

Note

Creating a local copy of the poky Git repository is the recommended method for setting up your Source Directory.

Sometimes you might hear the term "poky directory" used to refer to this directory structure.

Note

The OpenEmbedded build system does not support file or directory names that contain spaces. Be sure that the Source Directory you use does not contain these types of names.

The Source Directory contains BitBake, Documentation, Metadata and other files that all support the Yocto Project. Consequently, you must have the Source Directory in place on your development system in order to do any development using the Yocto Project.

When you create a local copy of the Git repository, you can name the repository anything you like. Throughout much of the documentation, "poky" is used as the name of the top-level folder of the local copy of the poky Git repository. So, for example, cloning the poky Git repository results in a local Git repository whose top-level folder is also named "poky".

While it is not recommended that you use tarball expansion to set up the Source Directory, if you do, the top-level directory name of the Source Directory is derived from the Yocto Project release tarball. For example, downloading and unpacking poky-rocko-19.0.2.tar.bz2 results in a Source Directory whose root folder is named poky-rocko-19.0.2.

It is important to understand the differences between the Source Directory created by unpacking a released tarball as compared to cloning git://git.yoctoproject.org/poky. When you unpack a tarball, you have an exact copy of the files based on the time of release - a fixed release point. Any changes you make to your local files in the Source Directory are on top of the release and will remain local only. On the other hand, when you clone the poky Git repository, you have an active development repository with access to the upstream repository's branches and tags. In this case, any local changes you make to the local Source Directory can be later applied to active development branches of the upstream poky Git repository.

For more information on concepts related to Git repositories, branches, and tags, see the "Repositories, Tags, and Branches" section.

Task: A unit of execution for BitBake (e.g. do_compile, do_fetch, do_patch, and so forth).

Toaster: A web interface to the Yocto Project's OpenEmbedded Build System. The interface enables you to configure and run your builds. Information about builds is collected and stored in a database. For information on Toaster, see the Yocto Project Toaster Manual.

Upstream: A reference to source code or repositories that are not local to the development system but located in a master area that is controlled by the maintainer of the source code. For example, in order for a developer to work on a particular piece of code, they need to first get a copy of it from an "upstream" source.

Chapter2.Using the Yocto Project

Table of Contents

2.1. Running a Build2.1.1. Build Overview2.1.2. Building an Image Using GPL Components

2.2. Installing and Using the Result2.3. Debugging Tools and Techniques2.3.1. Viewing Logs from Failed Tasks2.3.2. Viewing Variable Values2.3.3. Viewing Package Information with oe-pkgdata-util2.3.4. Viewing Dependencies Between Recipes and Tasks2.3.5. Viewing Task Variable Dependencies2.3.6. Running Specific Tasks2.3.7. General BitBake Problems2.3.8. Development Host System Issues2.3.9. Building with No Dependencies2.3.10. Recipe Logging Mechanisms2.3.11. Other Tips

2.4. Quick EMUlator (QEMU)2.4.1. QEMU Availability2.4.2. QEMU Performance2.4.3. QEMU Command-Line Syntax2.4.4. runqemu Command-Line Options

2.5. Maintaining Build Output Quality2.5.1. Enabling and Disabling Build History2.5.2. Understanding What the Build History Contains

2.6. Speeding Up the Build

This chapter describes common usage for the Yocto Project. The information is introductory in nature as other manuals in the Yocto Project documentation set provide more details on how to use the Yocto Project.

2.1.Running a Build

This section provides a summary of the build process and provides information for less obvious aspects of the build process. For general information on how to build an image using the OpenEmbedded build system, see the "Building Images" section of the Yocto Project Quick Start.

2.1.1.Build Overview

In the development environment you will need to build an image whenever you change hardware support, add or change system libraries, or add or change services that have dependencies.

Building an Image

The first thing you need to do is set up the OpenEmbedded build environment by sourcing the environment setup script (i.e. oe-init-build-env). Here is an example:

$ source oe-init-build-env [build_dir]

The build_dir argument is optional and specifies the directory the OpenEmbedded build system uses for the build - the Build Directory. If you do not specify a Build Directory, it defaults to a directory named build in your current working directory. A common practice is to use a different Build Directory for different targets. For example, ~/build/x86 for a qemux86 target, and ~/build/arm for a qemuarm target.

Once the build environment is set up, you can build a target using:

$ bitbake target

Note

If you experience a build error due to resources temporarily being unavailable and it appears you should not be having this issue, it might be due to the combination of a 4.3+ Linux kernel and systemd version 228+ (i.e. see this link for information).

To work around this issue, you can try either of the following:

Try the build again.

Modify the "DefaultTasksMax" systemd parameter by uncommenting it and setting it to "infinity". You can find this parameter in the system.conf file located in /etc/systemd on most systems.

The target is the name of the recipe you want to build. Common targets are the images in meta/recipes-core/images, meta/recipes-sato/images, etc. all found in the Source Directory. Or, the target can be the name of a recipe for a specific piece of software such as BusyBox. For more details about the images the OpenEmbedded build system supports, see the "Images" chapter.

Note

Building an image without GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3), or similarly licensed, components is supported for only minimal and base images. See the "Images" chapter for more information.

2.1.2.Building an Image Using GPL Components

When building an image using GPL components, you need to maintain your original settings and not switch back and forth applying different versions of the GNU General Public License. If you rebuild using different versions of GPL, dependency errors might occur due to some components not being rebuilt.

2.2.Installing and Using the Result

Once an image has been built, it often needs to be installed. The images and kernels built by the OpenEmbedded build system are placed in the Build Directory in tmp/deploy/images. For information on how to run pre-built images such as qemux86 and qemuarm, see the Yocto Project Application Development and the Extensible Software Development Kit (eSDK) manual. For information about how to install these images, see the documentation for your particular board or machine.

2.3.Debugging Tools and Techniques

The exact method for debugging build failures depends on the nature of the problem and on the system's area from which the bug originates. Standard debugging practices such as comparison against the last known working version with examination of the changes and the re-application of steps to identify the one causing the problem are valid for the Yocto Project just as they are for any other system. Even though it is impossible to detail every possible potential failure, this section provides some general tips to aid in debugging.

A useful feature for debugging is the error reporting tool. Configuring the Yocto Project to use this tool causes the OpenEmbedded build system to produce error reporting commands as part of the console output. You can enter the commands after the build completes to log error information into a common database, that can help you figure out what might be going wrong. For information on how to enable and use this feature, see the "Using the Error Reporting Tool" section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

For discussions on debugging, see the "Debugging With the GNU Project Debugger (GDB) Remotely" section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual and the "Working within Eclipse" section in the Yocto Project Application Development and the Extensible Software Development Kit (eSDK) manual.

Note

The remainder of this section presents many examples of the bitbake command. You can learn about BitBake by reading the BitBake User Manual. 2.3.1.Viewing Logs from Failed Tasks

You can find the log for a task in the file ${WORKDIR}/temp/log.do_taskname. For example, the log for the do_compile task of the QEMU minimal image for the x86 machine (qemux86) might be in tmp/work/qemux86-poky-linux/core-image-minimal/1.0-r0/temp/log.do_compile. To see the commands BitBake ran to generate a log, look at the corresponding run.do_taskname file in the same directory.

log.do_taskname and run.do_taskname are actually symbolic links to log.do_taskname.pid and log.run_taskname.pid, where pid is the PID the task had when it ran. The symlinks always point to the files corresponding to the most recent run.

2.3.2.Viewing Variable Values

BitBake's -e option is used to display variable values after parsing. The following command displays the variable values after the configuration files (i.e. local.conf, bblayers.conf, bitbake.conf and so forth) have been parsed:

$ bitbake -e

The following command displays variable values after a specific recipe has been parsed. The variables include those from the configuration as well:

$ bitbake -e recipename

Note

Each recipe has its own private set of variables (datastore). Internally, after parsing the configuration, a copy of the resulting datastore is made prior to parsing each recipe. This copying implies that variables set in one recipe will not be visible to other recipes.

Likewise, each task within a recipe gets a private datastore based on the recipe datastore, which means that variables set within one task will not be visible to other tasks.

In the output of bitbake -e, each variable is preceded by a description of how the variable got its value, including temporary values that were later overriden. This description also includes variable flags (varflags) set on the variable. The output can be very helpful during debugging.

Variables that are exported to the environment are preceded by export in the output of bitbake -e. See the following example:

export CC="i586-poky-linux-gcc -m32 -march=i586 --sysroot=/home/ulf/poky/build/tmp/sysroots/qemux86"

In addition to variable values, the output of the bitbake -e and bitbake -erecipe commands includes the following information:

The output starts with a tree listing all configuration files and classes included globally, recursively listing the files they include or inherit in turn. Much of the behavior of the OpenEmbedded build system (including the behavior of the normal recipe build tasks) is implemented in the base class and the classes it inherits, rather than being built into BitBake itself.

After the variable values, all functions appear in the output. For shell functions, variables referenced within the function body are expanded. If a function has been modified using overrides or using override-style operators like _append and _prepend, then the final assembled function body appears in the output.

2.3.3.Viewing Package Information with oe-pkgdata-util

You can use the oe-pkgdata-util command-line utility to query PKGDATA_DIR and display various package-related information. When you use the utility, you must use it to view information on packages that have already been built.

Following are a few of the available oe-pkgdata-util subcommands.

Note

You can use the standard * and ? globbing wildcards as part of package names and paths.

oe-pkgdata-util list-pkgs [pattern]: Lists all packages that have been built, optionally limiting the match to packages that match pattern.

oe-pkgdata-util list-pkg-filespackage...: Lists the files and directories contained in the given packages.

Note

A different way to view the contents of a package is to look at the ${WORKDIR}/packages-split directory of the recipe that generates the package. This directory is created by the do_package task and has one subdirectory for each package the recipe generates, which contains the files stored in that package.

If you want to inspect the ${WORKDIR}/packages-split directory, make sure that rm_work is not enabled when you build the recipe.

oe-pkgdata-util find-pathpath...: Lists the names of the packages that contain the given paths. For example, the following tells us that /usr/share/man/man1/make.1 is contained in the make-doc package:

$ oe-pkgdata-util find-path /usr/share/man/man1/make.1 make-doc: /usr/share/man/man1/make.1

oe-pkgdata-util lookup-recipepackage...: Lists the name of the recipes that produce the given packages.

For more information on the oe-pkgdata-util command, use the help facility:

$ oe-pkgdata-util help $ oe-pkgdata-util subcommand --help

2.3.4.Viewing Dependencies Between Recipes and Tasks

Sometimes it can be hard to see why BitBake wants to build other recipes before the one you have specified. Dependency information can help you understand why a recipe is built.

To generate dependency information for a recipe, run the following command:

$ bitbake -g recipename

This command writes the following files in the current directory:

pn-buildlist: A list of recipes/targets involved in building recipename. "Involved" here means that at least one task from the recipe needs to run when building recipename from scratch. Targets that are in ASSUME_PROVIDED are not listed.

task-depends.dot: A graph showing dependencies between tasks.

The graphs are in DOT format and can be converted to images (e.g. using the dot tool from Graphviz).

Notes

DOT files use a plain text format. The graphs generated using the bitbake -g command are often so large as to be difficult to read without special pruning (e.g. with Bitbake's -I option) and processing. Despite the form and size of the graphs, the corresponding .dot files can still be possible to read and provide useful information.

As an example, the task-depends.dot file contains lines such as the following:

"libxslt.do_configure" -> "libxml2.do_populate_sysroot"

The above example line reveals that the do_configure task in libxslt depends on the do_populate_sysroot task in libxml2, which is a normal DEPENDS dependency between the two recipes.

For an example of how .dot files can be processed, see the scripts/contrib/graph-tool Python script, which finds and displays paths between graph nodes.

You can use a different method to view dependency information by using the following command:

$ bitbake -g -u taskexp recipename

This command displays a GUI window from which you can view build-time and runtime dependencies for the recipes involved in building recipename.

2.3.5.Viewing Task Variable Dependencies

As mentioned in the "Checksums (Signatures)" section of the BitBake User Manual, BitBake tries to automatically determine what variables a task depends on so that it can rerun the task if any values of the variables change. This determination is usually reliable. However, if you do things like construct variable names at runtime, then you might have to manually declare dependencies on those variables using vardeps as described in the "Variable Flags" section of the BitBake User Manual.

If you are unsure whether a variable dependency is being picked up automatically for a given task, you can list the variable dependencies BitBake has determined by doing the following:

Build the recipe containing the task:

$ bitbake recipename

Inside the STAMPS_DIR directory, find the signature data (sigdata) file that corresponds to the task. The sigdata files contain a pickled Python database of all the metadata that went into creating the input checksum for the task. As an example, for the do_fetch task of the db recipe, the sigdata file might be found in the following location:

${BUILDDIR}/tmp/stamps/i586-poky-linux/db/6.0.30-r1.do_fetch.sigdata.7c048c18222b16ff0bcee2000ef648b1

For tasks that are accelerated through the shared state (sstate) cache, an additional siginfo file is written into SSTATE_DIR along with the cached task output. The siginfo files contain exactly the same information as sigdata files.

Run bitbake-dumpsig on the sigdata or siginfo file. Here is an example:

$ bitbake-dumpsig ${BUILDDIR}/tmp/stamps/i586-poky-linux/db/6.0.30-r1.do_fetch.sigdata.7c048c18222b16ff0bcee2000ef648b1

In the output of the above command, you will find a line like the following, which lists all the (inferred) variable dependencies for the task. This list also includes indirect dependencies from variables depending on other variables, recursively.

Task dependencies: ['PV', 'SRCREV', 'SRC_URI', 'SRC_URI[md5sum]', 'SRC_URI[sha256sum]', 'base_do_fetch']

Note

Functions (e.g. base_do_fetch) also count as variable dependencies. These functions in turn depend on the variables they reference.

The output of bitbake-dumpsig also includes the value each variable had, a list of dependencies for each variable, and BB_HASHBASE_WHITELIST information.

There is also a bitbake-diffsigs command for comparing two siginfo or sigdata files. This command can be helpful when trying to figure out what changed between two versions of a task. If you call bitbake-diffsigs with just one file, the command behaves like bitbake-dumpsig.

You can also use BitBake to dump out the signature construction information without executing tasks by using either of the following BitBake command-line options:

dump-signatures=SIGNATURE_HANDLER -S SIGNATURE_HANDLER

Note

Two common values for SIGNATURE_HANDLER are "none" and "printdiff", which dump only the signature or compare the dumped signature with the cached one, respectively.

Using BitBake with either of these options causes BitBake to dump out sigdata files in the stamps directory for every task it would have executed instead of building the specified target package.

2.3.6.Running Specific Tasks

Any given recipe consists of a set of tasks. The standard BitBake behavior in most cases is: do_fetch, do_unpack, do_patch, do_configure, do_compile, do_install, do_package, do_package_write_*, and do_build. The default task is do_build and any tasks on which it depends build first. Some tasks, such as do_devshell, are not part of the default build chain. If you wish to run a task that is not part of the default build chain, you can use the -c option in BitBake. Here is an example:

$ bitbake matchbox-desktop -c devshell

The -c option respects task dependencies, which means that all other tasks (including tasks from other recipes) that the specified task depends on will be run before the task. Even when you manually specify a task to run with -c, BitBake will only run the task if it considers it "out of date". See the "Stamp Files and the Rerunning of Tasks" section for how BitBake determines whether a task is "out of date".

If you want to force an up-to-date task to be rerun (e.g. because you made manual modifications to the recipe's WORKDIR that you want to try out), then you can use the -f option.

Note

The reason -f is never required when running the do_devshell task is because the [nostamp] variable flag is already set for the task.

The following example shows one way you can use the -f option:

$ bitbake matchbox-desktop . . make some changes to the source code in the work directory . . $ bitbake matchbox-desktop -c compile -f $ bitbake matchbox-desktop

This sequence first builds and then recompiles matchbox-desktop. The last command reruns all tasks (basically the packaging tasks) after the compile. BitBake recognizes that the do_compile task was rerun and therefore understands that the other tasks also need to be run again.

Another, shorter way to rerun a task and all normal recipe build tasks that depend on it is to use the -C option.

Note

This option is upper-cased and is separate from the -c option, which is lower-cased.

Using this option invalidates the given task and then runs the do_build task, which is the default task if no task is given, and the tasks on which it depends. You could replace the final two commands in the previous example with the following single command:

$ bitbake matchbox-desktop -C compile

Internally, the -f and -C options work by tainting (modifying) the input checksum of the specified task. This tainting indirectly causes the task and its dependent tasks to be rerun through the normal task dependency mechanisms.

Note

BitBake explicitly keeps track of which tasks have been tainted in this fashion, and will print warnings such as the following for builds involving such tasks: WARNING: /home/ulf/poky/meta/recipes-sato/matchbox-desktop/matchbox-desktop_2.1.bb.do_compile is tainted from a forced run

The purpose of the warning is to let you know that the work directory and build output might not be in the clean state they would be in for a "normal" build, depending on what actions you took. To get rid of such warnings, you can remove the work directory and rebuild the recipe, as follows: $ bitbake matchbox-desktop -c clean $ bitbake matchbox-desktop

You can view a list of tasks in a given package by running the do_listtasks task as follows:

$ bitbake matchbox-desktop -c listtasks

The results appear as output to the console and are also in the file ${WORKDIR}/temp/log.do_listtasks.

2.3.7.General BitBake Problems

You can see debug output from BitBake by using the -D option. The debug output gives more information about what BitBake is doing and the reason behind it. Each -D option you use increases the logging level. The most common usage is -DDD.

The output from bitbake -DDD -v targetname can reveal why BitBake chose a certain version of a package or why BitBake picked a certain provider. This command could also help you in a situation where you think BitBake did something unexpected.

2.3.8.Development Host System Issues

Sometimes issues on the host development system can cause your build to fail. Following are known, host-specific problems. Be sure to always consult the Release Notes for a look at all release-related issues.

glibc-initial fails to build: If your development host system has the unpatched GNU Make 3.82, the do_install task fails for glibc-initial during the build.

Typically, every distribution that ships GNU Make 3.82 as the default already has the patched version. However, some distributions, such as Debian, have GNU Make 3.82 as an option, which is unpatched. You will see this error on these types of distributions. Switch to GNU Make 3.81 or patch your make to solve the problem.

2.3.9.Building with No Dependencies

To build a specific recipe (.bb file), you can use the following command form:

$ bitbake -b somepath/somerecipe.bb

This command form does not check for dependencies. Consequently, you should use it only when you know existing dependencies have been met.

Note

You can also specify fragments of the filename. In this case, BitBake checks for a unique match.

2.3.10.Recipe Logg

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