cross-compile-tool 0.1.3

A generic fast cross-compilation tool using Docker and Sysroots

cross-compile-tool

A blazing fast, generic cross-compilation utility for C++ and ROS 2. It uses Docker to generate an ARM64 sysroot and standard native tools (GCC/Ninja) for compilation.

Prerequisites

• Docker: For building the sysroot & dev environments.
• Cross Compiler: sudo apt install g++-aarch64-linux-gnu (Only required for Host builds).

Installation

# Recommended: Install in a virtual environment
pip install .

Usage

The tool uses subcommands: init, status, prep (or sysroot), build, clean, build-dev, and run-dev.

1. Initialize (New Project)

Create a template apt_packages.txt for your dependencies.

cct init

2. Status check

Check the current environment and sysroot staleness.

cct status

3. Build (The Daily Driver)

Compiles your code. It automatically prepares the sysroot if it's missing.

# Basic usage (compiles current directory)
cct build

# Clean build
cct build --clean

# ROS 2 Specific: Build only selected packages
cct build --packages-select my_pkg1 my_pkg2

Common Options:

• --packages-select: Build specific packages only (colcon only).
• --packages-up-to: Build specified packages and their dependencies (colcon only).
• --packages-ignore: Skip specific packages during the build.
• --clean: Wipe build directory before compiling.
• --build-tool [colcon|cmake]: Force a specific tool (default: auto).

4. Dev Environment (Docker)

If you don't want to install cross-compilers on your host, or want a reproducible CI environment:

Step 1: Build the environment

# Uses default tag: cross-compile-dev
cct build-dev

Step 2: Enter the environment

# Automatically handles volume mounts
cct run-dev

Inside the container, you are at /ws and can run cct build immediately.

5. Prep (Environment Management)

Explicitly manage the Docker-based sysroot. Note: Prep must be performed on the Host system.

Common Commands (Run on Host):

# Rebuild the sysroot (forced sync from Docker)
cct prep --rebuild

# Build sysroot using a specific packages file
cct prep --packages-file my_deps.txt

# Specify a different base image (e.g., for a different ROS distro)
cct prep --rebuild --base-image ros:humble-ros-base

6. Clean (Artifact Management)

Wipe build and install directories.

# Clean build/install only
cct clean

# Wipe everything (including sysroot)
cct clean --all

Features:

• Environment Awareness: Identifies if it's running on Host or in Docker and prevents invalid operations.
• Smart Defaults: Set CCT_BASE_IMAGE or CCT_SYSROOT environment variables to skip long flags.
• Verbose Mode: Use -v to see detailed Command/Rsync output.
• Optional Python: Automatically detects and configures Python headers/libraries in the sysroot.

Configuration

Create an apt_packages.txt in your project root to specify dependencies:

libfmt-dev
ros-humble-ros-base
python3-numpy