Boot Image Build System for MacroGroup Modules

This repository contains scripts for creating boot images used with debug boards based on MacroGroup DiaSom modules.

Build System Components

(Component versions may vary per board)

• barebox 2026.06+ (bootloader)
• buildroot 2026.05+ (root filesystem generator)
• linux 6.19+ (Linux kernel)

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Building Images

For DS-IMX8M-EVB:

git clone https://github.com/MacroGroup/bsp.git
cd bsp
./ds-imx8m-evb.sh

SD-card image created after successful build in the output/ds-imx8m-evb/images directory.

For DS-RK3568-EVB or DS-RK3588-BTB-EVB:

git clone https://github.com/MacroGroup/bsp.git
cd bsp

First build - specify your board type:

# For DS-RK3568-EVB board:
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3568-evb

# For DS-RK3588-BTB-EVB board:
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3588-btb-evb

Subsequent builds (with existing configuration):

./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3568-evb  # Use the same board name as before

SD-card image created after successful build in the output/ds-rk35xx-evb/images directory.

Board Configuration

The build system uses a board.cfg file to track board-specific configurations and can contain:

• BOARD_NAME - Your board name (required for persistent configuration)
• BRANCH - Buildroot branch name (optional, defaults to "macro")

Configuration Rules

1. No board.cfg exists:

• With -b option: Creates board.cfg with specified board name and branch

# Creates config: BOARD_NAME=my_board, BRANCH=macro (default)
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b my_board

# Creates config: BOARD_NAME=my_board, BRANCH=custom
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b my_board -r custom

• Without -b option: Uses default settings (no config created)

# Uses default branch "macro", no board configuration
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh

# Uses custom branch, no board configuration
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -r custom-branch

2. board.cfg exists:

• All specified parameters must match existing values in the config
• Unspecified parameters are taken from the config
• To change any value: Remove board.cfg manually and start fresh
• Partial configs allowed: Can contain only BOARD_NAME, only BRANCH, or both

Examples with existing config (BOARD_NAME=my_board, BRANCH=master):

# All match - OK
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b my_board -r master

# Board matches, branch from config - OK
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b my_board

# Branch matches, board from config - OK
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -r master

# Mismatch - ERROR
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b different_board  # Error: board name mismatch
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -r different_branch # Error: branch mismatch

Available options:

• -h, --help - Show help message
• -b, --board NAME - Set board\
• -r, --branch NAME - Set buildroot branch (default: "macro")
• -o, --offline - Run in offline mode (skip network operations)

Common Scenarios

Starting fresh (no existing config):

# Create config with board name and default branch
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3568-evb

# Create config with board name and specific branch
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3588-btb-evb -r master

# Build without saving config (uses default branch)
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh

Using existing configuration:

# Check what's in your config
cat output/ds-rk35xx-evb/board.cfg

# Build with existing config (specify matching parameters)
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b [board_from_config] -r [branch_from_config]

Changing configuration:

# Remove existing config
rm output/ds-rk35xx-evb/board.cfg

# Create new config
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b new-board -r new-branch

Offline Build Mode

When you have no internet access or want to avoid repeated downloads, you can use the --offline (or -o) flag.

What happens in offline mode:

• The script does not clone or update the buildroot repository.
• It does not run git fetch or git pull for the main repository.
• It validates that the local buildroot directory exists and is a Git repository.
• It checks that the requested branch is available locally (and switches to it if needed).
• If buildroot is missing or the branch does not exist locally, the script fails immediately.

Important prerequisites for offline mode:

1. Manual clone of buildroot – you must have the repository already checked out in the script’s directory (e.g., ./buildroot/).
2. Pre‑filled source cache – Buildroot downloads external sources into output/download/ during the build. For a truly offline build, you need to have all required source archives already present in output/download/. (You can prepare this cache by running a normal online build once, or by manually placing the archives.)

Example:

# Prepare the environment (online, once)
git clone https://github.com/MacroGroup/buildroot.git -b macro
# (Optional) run a full build to populate output/download/ cache

# Later, offline build:
./ds-rk35xx-evb.sh -b ds-rk3568-evb --offline

If the script attempts to download anything during the offline build, it will fail – make sure your output/download/ cache is complete.

Notes

• Ensure you have at least 50 GB of free disk space for the build.
• Build times vary significantly (30 minutes to several hours) depending on hardware specifications
• All output images are ready for direct writing to SD cards using tools like:
  • dd (command-line)
  • BalenaEtcher (graphical interface)
• Offline builds require manual preparation of the buildroot repository and the output/download/ source cache – the script itself does not download anything when --offline is used.