tuxbuild 0.9.0

The fun Linux kernel builder

The fun Linux kernel builder

Tuxbuild is a cloud-native highly concurrent Linux kernel build service.

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Status: Early Access

Tuxbuild is currently under active development, but we want to hear from you! If you are interested in joining the waiting list, or have questions, feedback, or feature requests, please email us at [e-mail].

Install and Configure

Install using pip

Tuxbuild requires Python version 3.6 or greater, and is available using pip.

To install tuxbuild on your system globally:

sudo pip3 install -U tuxbuild

To install tuxbuild to your home directory at ~/.local/bin:

pip3 install -U --user tuxbuild

To upgrade tuxbuild to the latest version, run the same command you ran to install it.

Install using docker

Tuxbuild is also available as a docker container at tuxbuild/tuxbuild.

For example, to run tuxbuild via docker:

docker run tuxbuild/tuxbuild tuxbuild build --help

Setup Config

The Authentication token needs to be stored in ~/.config/tuxbuild/config.ini. The minimal format of the ini file is given below:

$ cat ~/.config/tuxbuild/config.ini
[default]
token=vXXXXXXXYYYYYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZg

Alternatively, the TUXBUILD_TOKEN environment variable may be provided.

If you do not have a tuxbuild token, please reach out to us at [e-mail].

Examples

tuxbuild build

Submit a build request using the tuxbuild command line interface. This will wait for the build to complete before returning by default.

tuxbuild build --git-repo 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git' --git-ref master --target-arch arm64 --kconfig defconfig --toolchain gcc-9

tuxbuild build-set

Create a tuxbuild config file with a basic set of build combinations defined.

cat <<EOF > basic.yaml
sets:
  - name: basic
    builds:
      - {target_arch: arm,    toolchain: gcc-9,    kconfig: multi_v7_defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arm,    toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: multi_v7_defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arm,    toolchain: clang-10, kconfig: multi_v7_defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arm64,  toolchain: gcc-9,    kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arm64,  toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arm64,  toolchain: clang-10, kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: i386,   toolchain: gcc-9,    kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: i386,   toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: x86_64, toolchain: gcc-9,    kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: x86_64, toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: x86_64, toolchain: clang-10, kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: arc,    toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: hsdk_defconfig}
      - {target_arch: riscv,  toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: defconfig}
      - {target_arch: mips,   toolchain: gcc-10,   kconfig: ci20_defconfig}
EOF
# Build the build set defined in the config file named 'basic.yaml'
tuxbuild build-set --git-repo 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git' --git-ref master --tux-config basic.yaml --set-name basic

All the parameters can be specified in the build-set itself and invoke tuxbuild "tuxbuild build-set --tux-config <basic>.yaml --set-name <set-name>"

Curated Build Sets

Build sets can also be built with a URL to a build set definition. TuxBuild includes a curated example set of builds as a starting point at examples/buildsets.yaml.

To build the tinyconfigs set from examples/buildsets.yaml, run the following.

tuxbuild build-set --git-repo 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git' --git-ref master --tux-config https://gitlab.com/Linaro/tuxbuild/-/raw/master/examples/buildsets.yaml --set-name tinyconfigs

Architecture and Toolchain Matrix

The following combinations of architecture and toolchain are supported.

	arc	arm	arm64	i386	mips	parisc	powerpc	riscv	s390	sh	sparc	x86_64
clang-10	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
clang-11	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
clang-nightly	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
gcc-10	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
gcc-8	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
gcc-9	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes

Argument Reference

target_arch

target_arch supports arc, arm, arm64, hppa, i386, mips, powerpc, riscv, s390, sh, sparc, x86_64.

toolchain

toolchain supports gcc-8, gcc-9, gcc-10, clang-8, clang-10, clang-11.

kconfig

The kconfig argument is a string or a list of strings that are used to define what kernel config to use.

The first argument must be a defconfig argumnet that ends in "config", such as "defconfig" or "allmodconfig".

Subsequent arguments may be specified to enable/disable individual config options, an config fragment that exists in tree at kernel/configs/, or a url to an externally hosted config fragment.

All config options and fragments specified will be merged in the order that they are specified.

kconfig Examples

Simple defconfig build:

• tuxbuild --kconfig defconfig ...
• yaml (string): kconfig: defconfig
• yaml (list): kconfig: [defconfig]

Enable or disable individual options:

• tuxbuild --kconfig defconfig --kconfig "CONFIG_COMPILE_TEST=y" --kconfig "CONFIG_PROFILE_ALL_BRANCHES=n"
• yaml: kconfig: [defconfig, "CONFIG_COMPILE_TEST=y", "CONFIG_PROFILE_ALL_BRANCHES=n"]

Using external fragment files:

• tuxbuild --kconfig defconfig --kconfig "https://gist.githubusercontent.com/danrue/9e1e4d90149daadd5199256cc18a0499/raw/752138764ec039e4593185bfff888250a3d7692f/gistfile1.txt"
• yaml: kconfig: [defconfig, "https://gist.githubusercontent.com/danrue/9e1e4d90149daadd5199256cc18a0499/raw/752138764ec039e4593185bfff888250a3d7692f/gistfile1.txt"]

Using in-tree fragment files. The file referenced needs to exist in kernel/configs/:

• tuxbuild --kconfig defconfig --kconfig "kvm_guest.config"
• yaml: kconfig: [defconfig, "kvm_guest.config"]

All of these options can be combined. They will be merged in the order they are specified:

• tuxbuild --kconfig allnoconfig --kconfig "kvm_guest.config" --kconfig "https://gist.githubusercontent.com/danrue/9e1e4d90149daadd5199256cc18a0499/raw/752138764ec039e4593185bfff888250a3d7692f/gistfile1.txt" --kconfig CONFIG_COMPILE_TEST=y --kconfig "CONFIG_PROFILE_ALL_BRANCHES=n"
• yaml:

kconfig:
  - allnoconfig
  - kvm_guest.configs
  - https://gist.githubusercontent.com/danrue/9e1e4d90149daadd5199256cc18a0499/raw/752138764ec039e4593185bfff888250a3d7692f/gistfile1.txt
  - CONFIG_COMPILE_TEST=y
  - CONFIG_PROFILE_ALL_BRANCHES=n

json-out

The --json-out \<filename.json\> command-line option accepts a filesystem path, where it will write a status file in json format at the end of a build or a build-set. The file will contain, for example:

{
    "build_key": "_YNU6WjSnKv_Akdajrnhyw",
    "build_status": "pass",
    "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/_YNU6WjSnKv_Akdajrnhyw/",
    "errors_count": 0,
    "git_describe": "v5.6-rc6-9-gac309e7744be",
    "git_sha": "ac309e7744bee222df6de0122facaf2d9706fa70",
    "git_short_log": "ac309e7744be (\"Merge branch 'for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/hid/hid\")",
    "status_message": "build completed",
    "tuxbuild_status": "complete",
    "warnings_count": 0
}

The --json-out result of a build set will contain a list of entries.

kconfig_allconfig

The kconfig_allconfig argument is a string that is used to pass a filename to be used with allyesconfig/allmodconfig/allnoconfig/randconfig kconfig parameter.

The parameter can not be used with any other defconfig.

The argument is passed as an environment variable to the make command as "KCONFIG_ALLCONFIG=<argument>".

example:

• tuxbuild --kconfig allmodconfig --kconfig-allconfig "arch/arm64/configs/defconfig"

quiet mode

Passing -q/--quiet to build or build-set will cause tuxbuild to produce minimal output. In particular:

• Only the final build artifacts URLs will be printed to stdout.
• No progress information will be printed while waiting for the builds to finish.
• Warnings and errors, including build failures, will be printed to stderr.

$ tuxbuild build --quiet --git-repo 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git' --git-ref master --target-arch arm64 --kconfig defconfig --toolchain gcc-9
https://builds.tuxbuild.com/_YNU6WjSnKv_Akdajrnhyw/

This is handy for use in automation/CI scripts.

environment

The environment argument accepts a key value pair that is used to pass the environment variables that will be set during the build.

Passing -e/--enviroment to build or build-set will set the environment variables during build time. There could be multiple environment variables passed via this argument.

There is a minimal set of environment variables that are supported as of now, and the list may expand in future. Arbitrary environment variables cannot be supplied, except for the ones listed below:

• KCONFIG_ALLCONFIG

Example:

tuxbuild build --git-repo https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git --git-ref master --target-arch arm --toolchain clang-10 --kconfig
tinyconfig --environment KCONFIG_ALLCONFIG=arch/arm64/configs/defconfig

Specifying which tree to build

For both build and build-set, you can specify the tree to build in the following ways:

• --git-repo=REPO and --git-ref=REF.
• --git-repo=REPO and --git-SHA=SHA.
• --git-head.

REPO needs to be a publically-accessible git repository URL. REF needs to be a ref name, i.e. the name of a valid branch or tag in REPO. SHA needs to be the SHA1 identifier of a git commit that exists in REPO.

--git-head can be used to build the tip of the git repository in the current directory, in which case tuxbuild will do the follwing:

• determine the remote to be used from the tuxbuild.remote git configuration variable, or origin if that variable is not set.
• transform the remote URL into a public URL, if not already one.
• push HEAD to that remote as refs/tuxbuild/$SHA.
• trigger the builds using its publically-accessible URL + the commit SHA for HEAD.

Using the API

The API examples below assume an environmental variable named TUXBUILD_TOKEN exists and contains a valid token. The following is not a valid token, but it is an example of what it looks like. If you do not have a valid token, please reach out to us at [e-mail].

export TUXBUILD_TOKEN="gFkCz8wRHEA4BILyY4CtDfokKT5jPq1x413oGXvq3487ZAsZg9e_LJc4VUFrlahFRvp5kaKsnxZdnP7YdF4D-w"

Additionally, tuxbuild's default API endpoint is at https://api.tuxbuild.com/v1

Submit build with curl

The /build API endpoint takes the same arguments as the tuxbuild cli, formatted as a list of json objects.

$ curl -X POST --header "Authorization: $TUXBUILD_TOKEN" \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json"  \
    --data '[{"git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git", "git_ref": "master", "target_arch": "arm64", "kconfig": "defconfig", "toolchain": "gcc-9" }]' \
    https://api.tuxbuild.com/v1/build
[{"git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git", "git_ref": "master", "target_arch": "arm64", "toolchain": "gcc-9", "kconfig": ["defconfig"], "kconfig_allconfig": null, "client_token: "", "build_key": "PfHHehT4WzqbGCWFLOZ-Cg", "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/PfHHehT4WzqbGCWFLOZ-Cg/"}]

The result of the POST is a json data structure describing the build. Printed with jq, it looks like the following:

[
  {
    "git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git",
    "git_ref": "master",
    "target_arch": "arm64",
    "toolchain": "gcc-9",
    "kconfig": [
      "defconfig"
    ],
    "kconfig_allconfig": null,
    "client_token": "",
    "build_key": "4rolWYpvqW70LYGx9TIRcA",
    "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/4rolWYpvqW70LYGx9TIRcA/"
  }
]

Use /status to monitor the status of the build.

Submit build set with curl

Using the same build endpoint, multiple builds can be requested. For example, build mainline with arm64 and arm.

$ curl -X POST --header "Authorization: $TUXBUILD_TOKEN" \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json"  \
    --data '[{"git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git", "git_ref": "master", "target_arch": "arm64", "kconfig": "defconfig", "toolchain": "gcc-9" }, {"git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git", "git_ref": "master", "target_arch": "arm", "kconfig": "defconfig", "toolchain": "gcc-9" }]' \
    https://api.tuxbuild.com/v1/build

Once again, it will return a json list.

[
  {
    "git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git",
    "git_ref": "master",
    "target_arch": "arm64",
    "toolchain": "gcc-9",
    "kconfig": [
      "defconfig"
    ],
    "kconfig_allconfig": null,
    "client_token": "",
    "build_key": "H8ITBrgWFjJ_NiriZFteEw",
    "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/H8ITBrgWFjJ_NiriZFteEw/"
  },
  {
    "git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git",
    "git_ref": "master",
    "target_arch": "arm",
    "toolchain": "gcc-9",
    "kconfig": [
      "defconfig"
    ],
    "kconfig_allconfig": null,
    "client_token": "",
    "build_key": "yn1vuBZZF0nE2F-Vap7y-A",
    "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/yn1vuBZZF0nE2F-Vap7y-A/"
  }
]

Use /status to monitor the status of the builds.

Check build status with curl

The status API endpoint will return the current status of a given build_key.

curl -s --header "Authorization: $TUXBUILD_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" https://api.tuxbuild.com/v1/status/4rolWYpvqW70LYGx9TIRcA

It will return a json object such as the following:

{
  "build_key": "4rolWYpvqW70LYGx9TIRcA",
  "tuxbuild_status": "building",
  "client_token": "",
  "build_status": "building",
  "git_sha": "d3dca69085e94e52a1d61a34b8e5f73a9f3d7eed",
  "git_describe": "v5.6-rc5-270-gd3dca69085e9",
  "git_short_log": "d3dca69085e9 (\"Merge branch 'i2c/for-current' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/wsa/linux\")",
  "warnings_count": null,
  "errors_count": null,
  "download_url": "https://builds.tuxbuild.com/4rolWYpvqW70LYGx9TIRcA/",
  "status_message": " "
}

For a full desciription of the status fields, see the Build Status section.

Build Status

The status API call and status.json file provide the following fields.

build_key

(string) The generated build key for the given build.

build_status

(string) A single word describing the current status of the build, which changes as the build proceeds and ends up with one of the terminal statuses.

queued - A build is queued until a server and source code are available to perform the build.

building - A build is building while the build is actually being performed.

pass - A build completed without errors.

fail - A build has completed with one or more errors.

error - Something went wrong. See status_message for a description of the error.

graph TD
  A[queued] --> B(building)
  B --> C(pass)
  B --> D(fail)
  B --> E(error)

client_token

(string) user-defined string (characters [a-z0-9-]) which is echoed back as a status field. The tuxbuild client uses this to uniquely identify which build is which in a build-set.

download_url

(string) URL to the build artifact location.

errors_count

(integer) Count of errors in build. A build with a count > 0 is considered a failed build.

git_describe

(string) The result of running git describe.

git_sha

(string) The full 40-character sha of the build.

git_short_log

(string) A short string describing the git sha.

status_message

(string) In the event that tuxbuild_status is "error", status_message will contain an error description. In the event of a completed build, status message will contain 'build completed'.

tuxbuild_status

(string) A single word describing the tuxbuild/infrastructure status of the build, irrespective of the actual contents and results of the build.

queued - A build is queued until a server and source code are available to perform the build.

building - A build is building while the build is actually being performed.

complete - There is nothing left to do.

error - Something went wrong. See status_message for a description of the error.

graph TD
  A[queued] --> B(building)
  B --> C(complete)
  B --> E(error)

warnings_count

(integer) Count of warnings in build.

Python client API

The tuxbuild client can also be used from Python programs. The authentication token needs to be in place in ~/.config/tuxbuild/config.ini, or via the $TUXBUILD_TOKEN environment variable.

Single builds

import tuxbuild

params = {
    "git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git",
    "git_ref": "master",
    "target_arch": "arm64",
    "toolchain": "gcc-9",
    "kconfig": [
      "defconfig"
    ],
}

# fire and forget
build = tuxbuild.Build(**params)
build.build()

# submit a build and wait for it to finish, quietly
build = tuxbuild.Build(**params)
build.build()
state = build.wait()
print(f"{state.icon} #{build}: #{state.message}")

# submit build and watch its progress
build = tuxbuild.Build(**params)
build.build()
for state in build.watch():
  print(f"{state.icon} #{build}: #{state.message}")

Build sets

Build sets have a very similar api as individual builds, except that 1) the majority of the parameters comes from the build set configured in ~/.config/tuxbuild/builds.yaml and 2) wait() will return a list of build states. watch() works similarly but you get updates for all the builds as soon as they change state.

params = {
    "git_repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git",
    "git_ref": "master",
}
set_name = "my-build-set"

# fire and forget
build_set = tuxbuild.BuildSet(set_name, **params)
build_set.build()

# submit a build set, quietly wait for all of them to finish, then print their
# results
build_set = tuxbuild.BuildSet(set_name, **params)
build_set.build()
results = build_set.wait():
for state in results:
  print(f"{state.icon} #{state.build}: #{state.message}")

# submit build set and watch progress by printing each status update as it
# arrives
build_set = tuxbuild.BuildSet(set_name, **params)
build_set.build()
for state in build_set.watch():
  print(f"{state.icon} #{state.build}: #{state.message}")

Projects and Developers using tuxbuild

• LKFT - Linaro's Linux Kernel Functional Testing uses tuxbuild with gitlab-ci to continuously build upstream Linux kernels. The kernels are then functionally tested on a variety of hardware using LAVA.
• Lee Jones uses a GitLab CI pipeline to validate his 3.18 kernel maintainership. The gitlab pipeline, tuxbuild config, and README.md documenting its setup are defined in the kernel-pipeline repository.

Support

If you have any questions or concerns, please email them to [e-mail]. Please include the build ID with any build-specific questions.