Getting started with OE-Classic
dKs138 Gra7noI59Unral92Bb7wf
Problems
Try to solve problems first by checking that you have done everything right, that nothing has changed from this description and that you have the latest code (see GitPhraseBook). Look also in the log file (referenced in any error message you will receive). If you still have problems, try checking PossibleFailures and common build errors. Above links are dead, you can try the Category:FAQ. If problems persist, ask on IRC or in the openembedded mailing list.
The Openembedded metadata is changing constantly. This implies several things:
- Once you have a "known good" version that works well on your system, keep it! To update, clone a new copy; don't overwrite that working version until it's known to be safe.
- To resolve build problems, "git pull" is your good friend. Many times, the issues will already be fixed in the current tree.
- Not all metadata updates cause the local caches to update correctly. Sometimes you'll need to remove the ".../tmp" work directory and rebuild from scratch.
- Similar issues apply to the package sources you download.
Portability issues
Make sure to set TARGET_OS to something other than linux in local.conf if your host isn't linux.
GNU extensions to tools are often required. Symlink GNU patch, make, and cp (from fileutils), chmod, sed, find, tar, awk into your OE development path.
FreeBSD 4 users: Perl 5.0 is too old. A more recent perl must be available as /usr/bin/perl. Unfortunately just having more recent perl in the path isn't good enough. Some scripts are hard-coded for /usr/bin/perl. You can test for which perl you're using by typing perl -v. see /usr/ports/UPDATING for instructions on updating perl. Don't forget to do a use.perl port as instructed in /usr/ports/UPDATING
FreeBSD users: Set BUILD_OS in local.conf to freebsdN where N is your major version number. At least the cross gcc wants this.
FreeBSD users: The build process of glibc uses a very long command line at some places. Increase ARG_MAX to at least 131072, by editing /usr/sys/sys/syslimits.h and recompile your kernel (and reboot).
Productivity notes
Use the interactive bitbake mode ("bitbake -i") to speed up work when debugging or developing .bb files. Remember to run "parse" at the prompt first. Go!
If you want to save some compile time or are interested in additional tweaks to local.conf take a look at the Advanced configuration page.