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@@ -3,67 +3,73 @@
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== Using Buildroot
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+*Important*: you can and should *build everything as a normal user*. There
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+is no need to be root to configure and use Buildroot. By running all
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+commands as a regular user, you protect your system against packages
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+behaving badly during compilation and installation.
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+
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+The first step when using Buildroot is to create a configuration.
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Buildroot has a nice configuration tool similar to the one you can
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find in the http://www.kernel.org/[Linux kernel] or in
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-http://www.busybox.net/[BusyBox]. Note that you can *and should build
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-everything as a normal user*. There is no need to be root to configure
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-and use Buildroot. The first step is to run the configuration
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-assistant:
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+http://www.busybox.net/[BusyBox].
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+
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+From the buildroot directory, run
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--------------------
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$ make menuconfig
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--------------------
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-or
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+for the original curses-based configurator, or
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--------------------
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$ make nconfig
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--------------------
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-to run the old or new curses-based configurator, or
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+for the new curses-based configurator, or
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--------------------
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$ make xconfig
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--------------------
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-or
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+for the Qt-based configurator, or
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--------------------
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$ make gconfig
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--------------------
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-to run the Qt or GTK-based configurators.
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+for the GTK-based configurator.
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All of these "make" commands will need to build a configuration
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utility (including the interface), so you may need to install
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"development" packages for relevant libraries used by the
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-configuration utilities. Check xref:requirement[] to know what
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-Buildroot needs, and specifically the xref:requirement-optional[optional requirements]
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+configuration utilities. Refer to xref:requirement[] for more details,
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+specifically the xref:requirement-optional[optional requirements]
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to get the dependencies of your favorite interface.
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For each menu entry in the configuration tool, you can find associated
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help that describes the purpose of the entry.
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Once everything is configured, the configuration tool generates a
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-+.config+ file that contains the description of your
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-configuration. It will be used by the Makefiles to do what's needed.
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++.config+ file that contains the entire configuration. This file will be
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+read by the top-level Makefile.
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-Let's go:
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+To start the build process, simply run:
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--------------------
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$ make
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--------------------
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-You *should never* use +make -jN+ with Buildroot: it does not support
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-'top-level parallel make'. Instead, use the +BR2_JLEVEL+ option to
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-tell Buildroot to run each package compilation with +make -jN+.
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+You *should never* use +make -jN+ with Buildroot: top-level parallel
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+make is currently not supported. Instead, use the +BR2_JLEVEL+ option
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+to tell Buildroot to run the compilation of each individual package
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+with +make -jN+.
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The `make` command will generally perform the following steps:
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* download source files (as required);
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-* configure, build and install the cross-compiling toolchain using the
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- appropriate toolchain backend, or simply import an external toolchain;
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-* build/install selected target packages;
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+* configure, build and install the cross-compilation toolchain, or
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+ simply import an external toolchain;
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+* configure, build and install selected target packages;
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* build a kernel image, if selected;
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* build a bootloader image, if selected;
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* create a root filesystem in selected formats.
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@@ -72,15 +78,16 @@ Buildroot output is stored in a single directory, +output/+.
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This directory contains several subdirectories:
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* +images/+ where all the images (kernel image, bootloader and root
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- filesystem images) are stored.
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+ filesystem images) are stored. These are the files you need to put
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+ on your target system.
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-* +build/+ where all the components are built
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- (this includes tools needed to run Buildroot on
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- the host and packages compiled for the target). The +build/+
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- directory contains one subdirectory for each of these components.
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+* +build/+ where all the components are built (this includes tools
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+ needed by Buildroot on the host and packages compiled for the
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+ target). This directory contains one subdirectory for each of these
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+ components.
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* +staging/+ which contains a hierarchy similar to a root filesystem
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- hierarchy. This directory contains the installation of the
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+ hierarchy. This directory contains the headers and libraries of the
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cross-compilation toolchain and all the userspace packages selected
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for the target. However, this directory is 'not' intended to be
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the root filesystem for the target: it contains a lot of development
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@@ -109,7 +116,7 @@ This directory contains several subdirectories:
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These commands, +make menuconfig|nconfig|gconfig|xconfig+ and +make+, are the
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basic ones that allow to easily and quickly generate images fitting
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-your needs, with all the supports and applications you enabled.
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+your needs, with all the features and applications you enabled.
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More details about the "make" command usage are given in
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xref:make-tips[].
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