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Hello Uday,
Thank you for your detailed questions! I’ll guide you step-by-step on how to add and integrate a custom device tree for a Verdin AM62-based custom carrier with Yocto, making it load automatically at boot—no manual fw_setenv needed on each deployment.
Below you’ll find a ready-to-use example for each step and each file relevant for your meta-layer (e.g., meta-myboard).
1. Create Your Custom Meta Layer
First, create a dedicated meta-layer if you don’t have one already (here called meta-myboard):
cd <your-yocto-project-dir>/build/
bitbake-layers create-layer ../layers/meta-myboard
Initialize as a Git repo if developing Torizon OS:
cd ../layers/meta-myboard
git init
git commit -m "Initial Commit" -m "Add meta-myboard from template"
(Reference)
2. Add Your DTS to the Meta Layer
Inside your layer, create the folder for kernel recipes:
cd ../layers/meta-myboard
mkdir -p recipes-kernel/linux/linux-toradex/
Copy your custom DTS file (e.g., mycarrier-verdin-am62.dts) into this directory.
3. bbappend: Append the Custom DTS to linux-toradex
Create recipes-kernel/linux/linux-toradex%.bbappend with this content:
FILESEXTRAPATHS:prepend := "${THISDIR}/linux-toradex:"
# Do NOT use the in-tree defconfig
unset KBUILD_DEFCONFIG
SRC_URI += " \
file://mycarrier-verdin-am62.dts \
"
do_configure:append() {
cp ${WORKDIR}/mycarrier-verdin-am62.dts ${S}/arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/
}
This code ensures your custom DTS is available for the build. For the Verdin AM62, the device trees are in arch/arm64/boot/dts/ti/.
(Full reference & step-by-step)
4. Extend Machine Configuration to Add Your DTB
Create or edit a .conf file (e.g., verdin-am62-mycarrier.conf) in conf/machine/ of your meta layer.
Instruct Yocto to build your DTB:
KERNEL_DEVICETREE:append = " ti/mycarrier-verdin-am62.dtb"
You can also include any existing .conf extension, for example by putting in your layer.conf:
include conf/machine/verdin-am62-mycarrier.conf
(Reference)
5. auto-load Custom DTB on Boot (No manual fw_setenv)
If you set KERNEL_DEVICETREE in your machine configuration, Yocto will set the default DTB in the generated U-Boot env during image creation. You won’t have to run fw_setenv manually unless switching DTBs post-deployment.
6. Example Directory Structure of meta-myboard
Your custom meta-layer might look like this:
meta-myboard/
├── conf/
│ ├── layer.conf
│ └── machine/
│ └── verdin-am62-mycarrier.conf
└── recipes-kernel/
└── linux/
└── linux-toradex%.bbappend
└── mycarrier-verdin-am62.dts
7. Verdin AM62-specific Device Tree Example
See this example for inspiration:
What to add to the dts file to get remoteproc working for the M4 core on TI AM62x
Once you have built your image (bitbake <image-name>), your DTB will be included and set to boot by default matching your meta-layer settings.
Summary Checklist
- Create
meta-myboard layer
- Add custom DTS to
recipes-kernel/linux/linux-toradex/
- Use a
.bbappend as shown above to add your DTS to the build
- Extend the machine conf for
KERNEL_DEVICETREE
- Build your image; your custom DTB will load by default
If you follow these steps and templates, your Verdin AM62 board will pick up your custom DTB automatically.
Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant
