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Version: BSP 8.x.y (Next)

Host Machine Setup for Yocto

Introduction​

This article provides instructions on how to set up an environment to Build a Reference Image with Yocto, including the required host configuration and the installation of the bitbake-setup tool.

For an overview of Toradex BSP versions, Yocto layers, and Reference Images, refer to BSP Layers and Reference Images for Yocto Project - Overview.

This article complies with the Typographic Conventions for Toradex Documentation.

Prerequisites​

From BSP version 8 onward, Toradex uses the bitbake-setup tool to configure the host machine and manage the Yocto build environment. The build instructions in this article therefore use bitbake-setup.

info

The repo tool used with earlier BSP versions remains available as an alternative to bitbake-setup. This article documents the workflow using bitbake-setup.

BitBake requires a Linux host machine to build Yocto images. Before starting the build, ensure that the host:

Configure the Git credentials and the locale settings after installing the required dependencies:

$ git config --global user.name "John Doe"
$ git config --global user.email johndoe@example.com
$ sudo locale-gen en_US.UTF-8
$ sudo update-locale LANG=en_US.UTF-8 LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
Building on Virtual Machines, Containers and Cloud Builds

To build a Toradex Reference Image on a Virtual Machine, Container, or a public cloud provider, consider the following points:

  • Virtual Machines (VM): Toradex does not recommends using a VM for building Yocto images, as it may lead to performance issues and longer build times.
  • Containers: containers have a negligible performance penalty. Use bind-mounts or volumes to keep persistent data and reduce build time.
  • Cloud Builds: cloud infrastructure providers have powerful machines that significantly reduce the build time for a Yocto Project build. Similar to containers, it is necessary to plan how to store the output of a build.

Set Up the Build Environment​

The bitbake-setup tool acts as a top-level utility to set up the build environment for Yocto, performing the following tasks:

  • Parse a JSON configuration file that describes what layers and which snippets of configuration to use
  • Clone the layers at the versions specified in the configuration file
  • Create and set up a directory ready for building what is specified in configuration files
  • Behave according to global or per-project settings
  • Synchronize with upstream configuration changes

Install the Setup Tool​

To install the bitbake-setup tool in a Python virtual environment, run the following commands:

$ python3 -m venv --clear ./bitbake-setup-venv
$ source ./bitbake-setup-venv/bin/activate
$ pip install bitbake-setup
tip

Run the following command to update the bitbake-setup tool:

$ pip install --upgrade bitbake-setup

Next Steps​

After setting up the build environment, continue with the Build a Reference Image with Yocto documentation.

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