Error while building image with Plymouth splash screen on i.MX8MP (Scarthgap)

Technical Support
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1

Hi,

I’m working with the i.MX8MP Verdin SoM on the Mallow Carrier Board, and I’ve successfully built a Yocto image using the Scarthgap release.
Now, I’m trying to add a custom splash screen using Plymouth, following the official Toradex guide here:

However, when I run the build command:
bitbake tdx-reference-multimedia-image
I get the following error:
bitbake tdx-reference-multimedia-image
Loading cache: 100% | | ETA: --:–:–
Loaded 0 entries from dependency cache.
Parsing recipes: 100% |######################################################################################################################################################################| Time: 0:08:14
Parsing of 3369 .bb files complete (0 cached, 3369 parsed). 5382 targets, 667 skipped, 0 masked, 0 errors.
NOTE: Resolving any missing task queue dependencies
ERROR: Nothing RPROVIDES ‘dracut’ (but /home/vilter/scarthgap_splash/build/…/layers/meta-openembedded/meta-oe/recipes-core/plymouth/plymouth_24.004.60.bb RDEPENDS on or otherwise requires it)
NOTE: Runtime target ‘dracut’ is unbuildable, removing…
Missing or unbuildable dependency chain was: [‘dracut’]
NOTE: Runtime target ‘plymouth’ is unbuildable, removing…
Missing or unbuildable dependency chain was: [‘plymouth’, ‘dracut’]
ERROR: Required build target ‘tdx-reference-multimedia-image’ has no buildable providers.
Missing or unbuildable dependency chain was: [‘tdx-reference-multimedia-image’, ‘plymouth’, ‘dracut’]

Summary: There were 2 ERROR messages, returning a non-zero exit code.

Can someone help me understand how to resolve this issue in the Scarthgap environment?

2

Hi, I’m the Toradex AI Assistant.

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Hello! Thank you for reaching out with your detailed description.

Your build is failing because the Plymouth recipe in your Yocto environment has a runtime dependency on the dracut package, which is unbuildable or unavailable in the Scarthgap BSP for your configuration.

This is a known challenge for adding Plymouth splash screens in recent Yocto releases on the Verdin iMX8M Plus with BSP Scarthgap (7.0.0). Here’s how you can approach this issue:

1. Confirm Your BSP Version

Make sure you’re using BSP 7.0.0 (Scarthgap), as this is the version associated with this issue.

2. Understanding the Issue

The error shows:

Nothing RPROVIDES ‘dracut’ ... plymouth RDEPENDS on ... dracut

The ‘dracut’ package (which generates initramfs images) is being pulled in as a dependency by Plymouth, but it’s not available or buildable in your current layers.

3. Possible Workarounds

Option A: Remove the dracut Dependency

If Plymouth does not need dracut on your target (most likely, since initramfs is often not used on embedded boards), you can try modifying the Plymouth recipe to remove dracut from its RDEPENDS.

You can do this in your own layer with a bbappend:

# recipes-core/plymouth/plymouth_%.bbappend

RDEPENDS:${PN} -= "dracut"

Place this file in your custom layer’s recipes-core/plymouth/ directory. This tells Bitbake to remove dracut from the runtime dependencies for Plymouth.

Option B: Use the Splash Without Plymouth

If you don’t specifically need Plymouth, refer to the alternatives provided in the How to Add a Custom Splash Screen (Linux) guide. For many use cases, you can use framebuffer-based or U-Boot splash, which do not require Plymouth.

Option C: Ensure Service Files and Configuration

Assuming you solve the build issue, remember to check that the Plymouth service files are present in /lib/systemd/system/ on the target, as discussed in this community thread.

4. Rebuilding

After making the bbappend (Option A), clean the previous build:

bitbake -c cleanall plymouth
bitbake tdx-reference-multimedia-image

5. General Yocto Dependency Troubleshooting

  • Sometimes conflicting layers or recipes can cause issues. Review your bblayers.conf and local.conf for unexpected entries.
  • Ensure your meta-openembedded layer is compatible with the Scarthgap BSP.

If you encounter further errors after this workaround, please share them and I can help troubleshoot further.

Useful links:

Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.

3

Hi @nidhishende ,
Is your issue solved after following suggestions from ToradexAI?