Where is "overlays.txt"?

Technical Support
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1

In this document it suggests that I can view and edit my device tree overlays by inspecting /boot/overlays.txt.

Device Tree Overlays (Linux) | Toradex Developer Center

However on a fresh install of Torizon OS 7.3.0, I have no such file in my /boot folder. All I have is this:

torizon@verdin-imx8mp-15140174:/boot$ ls
boot  loader  loader.0  ostree

Where can I find overlays.txt or its equivalent? Thank you.

2

Hi, I’m the Toradex AI Assistant.

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Hello! Thank you for your question.

On Torizon OS (including version 7.3.0), the device tree overlay workflow is a bit different from the standard BSP and Yocto approach. The overlays.txt file is not located directly under /boot. Instead, due to the OSTree-based file system structure, you will find overlays.txt inside the deployment-specific directory.

Here’s how you can find and edit the overlays.txt on Torizon OS:

  1. Find your current OSTree deployment hash:
    Run the following command to get the current deployment identifier:

    cat /proc/cmdline

    Look for the ostree=/ostree/boot.1/torizon/{HASH}/0 part and note the {HASH}.

  2. Navigate to the overlays directory:
    Go to the overlays folder using:

    cd /sysroot/boot/ostree/torizon-{HASH}/dtb/

    Replace {HASH} with the value you found earlier.

  3. Edit overlays.txt:
    If overlays.txt does not exist, you can create it. The content should look like:

    fdt_overlays=overlay1.dtbo overlay2.dtbo

    (Replace overlay1.dtbo overlay2.dtbo with the actual overlay files you need.)

  4. Sync and reboot:
    After editing, run:

    sync

    Then reboot the board (do not power-cycle, as unsynced changes may be lost).

For more details, you can review the official Toradex documentation on this process:

In summary:
On Torizon OS, overlays.txt is located at:
/sysroot/boot/ostree/torizon-<HASH>/dtb/overlays.txt
You may need to create it if it doesn’t exist.

Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.

3

Hi @jzylkin2

The documents under Linux BSP refer to the Linux BSP, not Torizon OS.

You can find the article for device tree overlays on Torizon here.

ToradexAI is correct, do you have any further question with this issue?