1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-2.0-UK
2
3*******************
4System Requirements
5*******************
6
7Welcome to the Yocto Project Reference Manual! This manual provides
8reference information for the current release of the Yocto Project, and
9is most effectively used after you have an understanding of the basics
10of the Yocto Project. The manual is neither meant to be read as a
11starting point to the Yocto Project, nor read from start to finish.
12Rather, use this manual to find variable definitions, class
13descriptions, and so forth as needed during the course of using the
14Yocto Project.
15
16For introductory information on the Yocto Project, see the
17:yocto_home:`Yocto Project Website <>` and the
18":ref:`overview-manual/development-environment:the yocto project development environment`"
19chapter in the Yocto Project Overview and Concepts Manual.
20
21If you want to use the Yocto Project to quickly build an image without
22having to understand concepts, work through the
23:doc:`/brief-yoctoprojectqs/index` document. You can find "how-to"
24information in the :doc:`/dev-manual/index`. You can find Yocto Project overview
25and conceptual information in the :doc:`/overview-manual/index`.
26
27.. note::
28
29   For more information about the Yocto Project Documentation set, see
30   the :ref:`ref-manual/resources:links and related documentation` section.
31
32.. _detailed-supported-distros:
33
34Supported Linux Distributions
35=============================
36
37Currently, the Yocto Project is supported on the following
38distributions:
39
40-  Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS)
41
42-  Ubuntu 18.04 (LTS)
43
44-  Ubuntu 20.04
45
46-  Fedora 30
47
48-  Fedora 31
49
50-  Fedora 32
51
52-  CentOS 7.x
53
54-  CentOS 8.x
55
56-  Debian GNU/Linux 8.x (Jessie)
57
58-  Debian GNU/Linux 9.x (Stretch)
59
60-  Debian GNU/Linux 10.x (Buster)
61
62-  openSUSE Leap 15.1
63
64
65.. note::
66
67   -  While the Yocto Project Team attempts to ensure all Yocto Project
68      releases are one hundred percent compatible with each officially
69      supported Linux distribution, instances might exist where you
70      encounter a problem while using the Yocto Project on a specific
71      distribution.
72
73   -  Yocto Project releases are tested against the stable Linux
74      distributions in the above list. The Yocto Project should work
75      on other distributions but validation is not performed against
76      them.
77
78   -  In particular, the Yocto Project does not support and currently
79      has no plans to support rolling-releases or development
80      distributions due to their constantly changing nature. We welcome
81      patches and bug reports, but keep in mind that our priority is on
82      the supported platforms listed below.
83
84   -  You may use Windows Subsystem For Linux v2 to set up a build host
85      using Windows 10, but validation is not performed against build
86      hosts using WSLv2.
87
88   -  The Yocto Project is not compatible with WSLv1, it is
89      compatible but not officially supported nor validated with
90      WSLv2, if you still decide to use WSL please upgrade to WSLv2.
91
92   -  If you encounter problems, please go to :yocto_bugs:`Yocto Project
93      Bugzilla <>` and submit a bug. We are
94      interested in hearing about your experience. For information on
95      how to submit a bug, see the Yocto Project
96      :yocto_wiki:`Bugzilla wiki page </Bugzilla_Configuration_and_Bug_Tracking>`
97      and the ":ref:`dev-manual/common-tasks:submitting a defect against the yocto project`"
98      section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.
99
100
101Required Packages for the Build Host
102====================================
103
104The list of packages you need on the host development system can be
105large when covering all build scenarios using the Yocto Project. This
106section describes required packages according to Linux distribution and
107function.
108
109.. _ubuntu-packages:
110
111Ubuntu and Debian
112-----------------
113
114The following list shows the required packages by function given a
115supported Ubuntu or Debian Linux distribution:
116
117.. note::
118
119   -  If your build system has the ``oss4-dev`` package installed, you
120      might experience QEMU build failures due to the package installing
121      its own custom ``/usr/include/linux/soundcard.h`` on the Debian
122      system. If you run into this situation, either of the following
123      solutions exist::
124
125         $ sudo apt-get build-dep qemu
126         $ sudo apt-get remove oss4-dev
127
128   -  For Debian-8, ``python3-git`` and ``pylint3`` are no longer
129      available via ``apt-get``.
130      ::
131
132         $ sudo pip3 install GitPython pylint==1.9.5
133
134-  *Essentials:* Packages needed to build an image on a headless system::
135
136      $ sudo apt-get install &UBUNTU_HOST_PACKAGES_ESSENTIAL;
137
138-  *Documentation:* Packages needed if you are going to build out the
139   Yocto Project documentation manuals::
140
141      $ sudo apt-get install make python3-pip
142      &PIP3_HOST_PACKAGES_DOC;
143
144   .. note::
145
146      It is currently not possible to build out documentation from Debian 8
147      (Jessie) because of outdated ``pip3`` and ``python3``. ``python3-sphinx``
148      is too outdated.
149
150Fedora Packages
151---------------
152
153The following list shows the required packages by function given a
154supported Fedora Linux distribution:
155
156-  *Essentials:* Packages needed to build an image for a headless
157   system::
158
159      $ sudo dnf install &FEDORA_HOST_PACKAGES_ESSENTIAL;
160
161-  *Documentation:* Packages needed if you are going to build out the
162   Yocto Project documentation manuals::
163
164      $ sudo dnf install make python3-pip which
165      &PIP3_HOST_PACKAGES_DOC;
166
167openSUSE Packages
168-----------------
169
170The following list shows the required packages by function given a
171supported openSUSE Linux distribution:
172
173-  *Essentials:* Packages needed to build an image for a headless
174   system::
175
176      $ sudo zypper install &OPENSUSE_HOST_PACKAGES_ESSENTIAL;
177
178-  *Documentation:* Packages needed if you are going to build out the
179   Yocto Project documentation manuals::
180
181      $ sudo zypper install make python3-pip which
182      &PIP3_HOST_PACKAGES_DOC;
183
184
185CentOS-7 Packages
186-----------------
187
188The following list shows the required packages by function given a
189supported CentOS-7 Linux distribution:
190
191-  *Essentials:* Packages needed to build an image for a headless
192   system::
193
194      $ sudo yum install &CENTOS7_HOST_PACKAGES_ESSENTIAL;
195
196   .. note::
197
198      -  Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (i.e. ``epel-release``) is
199         a collection of packages from Fedora built on RHEL/CentOS for
200         easy installation of packages not included in enterprise Linux
201         by default. You need to install these packages separately.
202
203      -  The ``makecache`` command consumes additional Metadata from
204         ``epel-release``.
205
206-  *Documentation:* Packages needed if you are going to build out the
207   Yocto Project documentation manuals::
208
209      $ sudo yum install make python3-pip which
210      &PIP3_HOST_PACKAGES_DOC;
211
212CentOS-8 Packages
213-----------------
214
215The following list shows the required packages by function given a
216supported CentOS-8 Linux distribution:
217
218-  *Essentials:* Packages needed to build an image for a headless
219   system::
220
221      $ sudo dnf install &CENTOS8_HOST_PACKAGES_ESSENTIAL;
222
223   .. note::
224
225      -  Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (i.e. ``epel-release``) is
226         a collection of packages from Fedora built on RHEL/CentOS for
227         easy installation of packages not included in enterprise Linux
228         by default. You need to install these packages separately.
229
230      -  The ``PowerTools`` repo provides additional packages such as
231         ``rpcgen`` and ``texinfo``.
232
233      -  The ``makecache`` command consumes additional Metadata from
234         ``epel-release``.
235
236-  *Documentation:* Packages needed if you are going to build out the
237   Yocto Project documentation manuals::
238
239      $ sudo dnf install make python3-pip which
240      &PIP3_HOST_PACKAGES_DOC;
241
242Required Git, tar, Python and gcc Versions
243==========================================
244
245In order to use the build system, your host development system must meet
246the following version requirements for Git, tar, and Python:
247
248-  Git &MIN_GIT_VERSION; or greater
249
250-  tar &MIN_TAR_VERSION; or greater
251
252-  Python &MIN_PYTHON_VERSION; or greater
253
254If your host development system does not meet all these requirements,
255you can resolve this by installing a ``buildtools`` tarball that
256contains these tools. You can get the tarball one of two ways: download
257a pre-built tarball or use BitBake to build the tarball.
258
259In addition, your host development system must meet the following
260version requirement for gcc:
261
262-  gcc &MIN_GCC_VERSION; or greater
263
264If your host development system does not meet this requirement, you can
265resolve this by installing a ``buildtools-extended`` tarball that
266contains additional tools, the equivalent of the Debian/Ubuntu ``build-essential``
267package.
268
269In the sections that follow, three different methods will be described for
270installing the ``buildtools`` or ``buildtools-extended`` toolset.
271
272Installing a Pre-Built ``buildtools`` Tarball with ``install-buildtools`` script
273--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
274
275The ``install-buildtools`` script is the easiest of the three methods by
276which you can get these tools. It downloads a pre-built buildtools
277installer and automatically installs the tools for you:
278
2791. Execute the ``install-buildtools`` script. Here is an example::
280
281      $ cd poky
282      $ scripts/install-buildtools --without-extended-buildtools \
283        --base-url &YOCTO_DL_URL;/releases/yocto \
284        --release yocto-&DISTRO; \
285        --installer-version &DISTRO;
286
287   During execution, the buildtools tarball will be downloaded, the
288   checksum of the download will be verified, the installer will be run
289   for you, and some basic checks will be run to make sure the
290   installation is functional.
291
292   To avoid the need of ``sudo`` privileges, the ``install-buildtools``
293   script will by default tell the installer to install in::
294
295      /path/to/poky/buildtools
296
297   If your host development system needs the additional tools provided
298   in the ``buildtools-extended`` tarball, you can instead execute the
299   ``install-buildtools`` script with the default parameters::
300
301      $ cd poky
302      $ scripts/install-buildtools
303
3042. Source the tools environment setup script by using a command like the
305   following::
306
307      $ source /path/to/poky/buildtools/environment-setup-x86_64-pokysdk-linux
308
309   Of course, you need to supply your installation directory and be sure to
310   use the right file (i.e. i586 or x86_64).
311
312   After you have sourced the setup script, the tools are added to
313   ``PATH`` and any other environment variables required to run the
314   tools are initialized. The results are working versions versions of
315   Git, tar, Python and ``chrpath``. And in the case of the
316   ``buildtools-extended`` tarball, additional working versions of tools
317   including ``gcc``, ``make`` and the other tools included in
318   ``packagegroup-core-buildessential``.
319
320Downloading a Pre-Built ``buildtools`` Tarball
321----------------------------------------------
322
323If you would prefer not to use the ``install-buildtools`` script, you can instead
324download and run a pre-built buildtools installer yourself with the following
325steps:
326
3271. Locate and download the ``*.sh`` at &YOCTO_RELEASE_DL_URL;/buildtools/
328
3292. Execute the installation script. Here is an example for the
330   traditional installer::
331
332      $ sh ~/Downloads/x86_64-buildtools-nativesdk-standalone-&DISTRO;.sh
333
334   Here is an example for the extended installer::
335
336      $ sh ~/Downloads/x86_64-buildtools-extended-nativesdk-standalone-&DISTRO;.sh
337
338   During execution, a prompt appears that allows you to choose the
339   installation directory. For example, you could choose the following:
340   ``/home/your-username/buildtools``
341
3423. Source the tools environment setup script by using a command like the
343   following::
344
345      $ source /home/your_username/buildtools/environment-setup-i586-poky-linux
346
347   Of
348   course, you need to supply your installation directory and be sure to
349   use the right file (i.e. i585 or x86-64).
350
351   After you have sourced the setup script, the tools are added to
352   ``PATH`` and any other environment variables required to run the
353   tools are initialized. The results are working versions versions of
354   Git, tar, Python and ``chrpath``. And in the case of the
355   ``buildtools-extended`` tarball, additional working versions of tools
356   including ``gcc``, ``make`` and the other tools included in
357   ``packagegroup-core-buildessential``.
358
359Building Your Own ``buildtools`` Tarball
360----------------------------------------
361
362Building and running your own buildtools installer applies only when you
363have a build host that can already run BitBake. In this case, you use
364that machine to build the ``.sh`` file and then take steps to transfer
365and run it on a machine that does not meet the minimal Git, tar, and
366Python (or gcc) requirements.
367
368Here are the steps to take to build and run your own buildtools
369installer:
370
3711. On the machine that is able to run BitBake, be sure you have set up
372   your build environment with the setup script
373   (:ref:`structure-core-script`).
374
3752. Run the BitBake command to build the tarball::
376
377      $ bitbake buildtools-tarball
378
379   or run the BitBake command to build the extended tarball::
380
381      $ bitbake buildtools-extended-tarball
382
383   .. note::
384
385      The :term:`SDKMACHINE` variable in your ``local.conf`` file determines
386      whether you build tools for a 32-bit or 64-bit system.
387
388   Once the build completes, you can find the ``.sh`` file that installs
389   the tools in the ``tmp/deploy/sdk`` subdirectory of the
390   :term:`Build Directory`. The installer file has the string
391   "buildtools" (or "buildtools-extended") in the name.
392
3933. Transfer the ``.sh`` file from the build host to the machine that
394   does not meet the Git, tar, or Python (or gcc) requirements.
395
3964. On the machine that does not meet the requirements, run the ``.sh``
397   file to install the tools. Here is an example for the traditional
398   installer::
399
400      $ sh ~/Downloads/x86_64-buildtools-nativesdk-standalone-&DISTRO;.sh
401
402   Here is an example for the extended installer::
403
404      $ sh ~/Downloads/x86_64-buildtools-extended-nativesdk-standalone-&DISTRO;.sh
405
406   During execution, a prompt appears that allows you to choose the
407   installation directory. For example, you could choose the following:
408   ``/home/your_username/buildtools``
409
4105. Source the tools environment setup script by using a command like the
411   following::
412
413      $ source /home/your_username/buildtools/environment-setup-x86_64-poky-linux
414
415   Of course, you need to supply your installation directory and be sure to
416   use the right file (i.e. i586 or x86_64).
417
418   After you have sourced the setup script, the tools are added to
419   ``PATH`` and any other environment variables required to run the
420   tools are initialized. The results are working versions versions of
421   Git, tar, Python and ``chrpath``. And in the case of the
422   ``buildtools-extended`` tarball, additional working versions of tools
423   including ``gcc``, ``make`` and the other tools included in
424   ``packagegroup-core-buildessential``.
425