Installation

Install the latest release from PyPI:

pip install binary-manager

The pylibfdt dependency is built from source, so this needs swig, a C compiler and the Python development headers (on Debian and Ubuntu: apt install swig build-essential python3-dev).

The binman command is then on your path.

Quick start

Build the images described in a devicetree, taking the input files from the current directory:

binman build -d image.dts -I .

When run in a U-Boot build directory, or with one as an input directory, binman treats the devicetree as U-Boot’s own, updating it with the image layout. To package U-Boot’s binaries which have been copied elsewhere, select the u-boot project:

binman --project u-boot build -u -d u-boot.dtb -I .

List the contents of an existing image:

binman ls -i image.bin

Binman runs external tools for some entry types. To install any which are missing:

binman tool -f missing

Fetch a firmware blob, here TF-A’s BL31 for an Allwinner A64 board, building it from source:

binman blob -f arm,trusted-firmware-a --version 2.12 --arch aarch64 \
    --plat sun50i_a64

See binman -H for the complete manual, or the documentation linked below.

Documentation

Full documentation is hosted on Read the Docs:

https://binman.readthedocs.io/

There is a short introduction, with a demo, at https://deinde.dev/binman/

Development

Run the test suite from a checkout:

pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install -e .[test]
binman tool -f missing
binman test

The tests build some small x86 ELF programs, so they need make and a gcc which can produce 32-bit x86 code (gcc-multilib), or set CROSS_COMPILE to a suitable cross-compiler. They also need a recent mkimage from U-Boot, since the expected output tracks its development; pass --toolpath to point binman at a U-Boot tools/ build directory. binman test -T checks that the tests cover all of the code.

The dtoc library is vendored from the U-Boot tree and u_boot_pylib is installed from PyPI as u-boot-pylib, so no surrounding U-Boot source is required.