Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
One of the most popular methods for building custom embedded Linux distributions is the Yocto Project. Yocto is a collaborative project under the Linux Foundation that uses the OpenEmbedded framework and the BitBake build engine. Poky, the reference system of the Yocto Project, follows a six-month release cycle and provides metadata organized into layers and recipes for building various packages and images. This tutorial outlines the exact steps to build an image with a very basic GNU/Linux distribution for the Raspberry Pi 5, including systemd support using Yocto LTS release Scarthgap. Follow the steps below:
* Download the source code:
git clone -b scarthgap git.yoctoproject.org/poky poky-rpi
cd poky-rpi
git clone -b scarthgap github.com/agherzan/meta-raspberrypi.git
* Initialize the build environment:
source oe-init-build-env
* Add BSP layer meta-raspberrypi to conf/bblayers.conf:
bitbake-layers add-layer ../meta-raspberrypi
* Append the following 3 lines to the end of conf/local.conf:
MACHINE = "raspberrypi5"
INIT_MANAGER = "systemd"
LICENSE_FLAGS_ACCEPTED = "synaptics-killswitch"
* Build a basic image for Raspberry Pi 5:
bitbake core-image-base
🔗 Related Videos
===
Episode 2: SSH for Remote Network Access
youtu.be/ltckiBV9FXg?si=DJwsKLDhHkDIqCIn
Episode 3: The Yocto Project on Raspberry Pi 5 Episode 3: Running Docker Containers
youtu.be/kQnOidK_U3M?si=5KiS1FK87OwfdQ0m
Episode 4: The Yocto Project on Raspberry Pi 5 Episode 4: U-Boot Bootloader
youtu.be/9tohomiv1Ug?si=kylUv0uT_BFmXt5g
Episode 5: Modifying U-Boot Environment in Linux with fw_setenv
youtu.be/SB5NvIF1IEU?si=0So6Gfv9hQR7gQgY
Episode 6: Runtime Package Management with apt and deb Packages
youtu.be/6i5UtF7fiaA?si=8DuUHUxywVEEtdyN
Episode 7: Create a New Layer, a New Recipe (.bb) and .bbappend
youtu.be/W5J1W_Cy14Y?si=ftu5WpeGqel8BZhf
📚 Useful Links
===
yoctoproject.org
docs.yoctoproject.org
openembedded.org/wiki/Main_Page
anavi.org/article/298
One of the most popular methods for building custom embedded Linux distributions is the Yocto Project. Yocto is a collaborative project under the Linux Foundation that uses the OpenEmbedded framework and the BitBake build engine. Poky, the reference system of the Yocto Project, follows a six-month release cycle and provides metadata organized into layers and recipes for building various packages and images. This tutorial outlines the exact steps to build an image with a very basic GNU/Linux distribution for the Raspberry Pi 5, including systemd support using Yocto LTS release Scarthgap. Follow the steps below:
* Download the source code:
git clone -b scarthgap git.yoctoproject.org/poky poky-rpi
cd poky-rpi
git clone -b scarthgap github.com/agherzan/meta-raspberrypi.git
* Initialize the build environment:
source oe-init-build-env
* Add BSP layer meta-raspberrypi to conf/bblayers.conf:
bitbake-layers add-layer ../meta-raspberrypi
* Append the following 3 lines to the end of conf/local.conf:
MACHINE = "raspberrypi5"
INIT_MANAGER = "systemd"
LICENSE_FLAGS_ACCEPTED = "synaptics-killswitch"
* Build a basic image for Raspberry Pi 5:
bitbake core-image-base
🔗 Related Videos
===
Episode 2: SSH for Remote Network Access
youtu.be/ltckiBV9FXg?si=DJwsKLDhHkDIqCIn
Episode 3: The Yocto Project on Raspberry Pi 5 Episode 3: Running Docker Containers
youtu.be/kQnOidK_U3M?si=5KiS1FK87OwfdQ0m
Episode 4: The Yocto Project on Raspberry Pi 5 Episode 4: U-Boot Bootloader
youtu.be/9tohomiv1Ug?si=kylUv0uT_BFmXt5g
Episode 5: Modifying U-Boot Environment in Linux with fw_setenv
youtu.be/SB5NvIF1IEU?si=0So6Gfv9hQR7gQgY
Episode 6: Runtime Package Management with apt and deb Packages
youtu.be/6i5UtF7fiaA?si=8DuUHUxywVEEtdyN
Episode 7: Create a New Layer, a New Recipe (.bb) and .bbappend
youtu.be/W5J1W_Cy14Y?si=ftu5WpeGqel8BZhf
📚 Useful Links
===
yoctoproject.org
docs.yoctoproject.org
openembedded.org/wiki/Main_Page
anavi.org/article/298
