Yocto Guide

Board Support Packages

We provide and maintain two projects that offer software for our modules using the Yocto Project. Below are the corresponding guides:

• NXP Yocto BSP Guide
• Mainline Yocto BSP Guide

The table below helps you choose the appropriate guide based on your module.

Note

If you’re new to Yocto, we recommend reading the respective section below before you continue choosing a guide.

Module	Kernel Version	Latest Release	Usage Guide	Supported Build Hosts
QS93 Series TX93 Series QS91 Series TX91 Series TX8M Series TX8P Series QS8M Series QSXM Series QSXP Series	linux-imx_6.6.52_2.2.2 NXP Kernel [6]	scarthgap KARO-2026-09-17 on GitHub	NXP Yocto BSP Guide	Scarthgap Reference Manual
QSMP Series TXMP Series	Linux 6.6.116 Mainline [3] + STM patches [4]	scarthgap KARO-2026-10-02 on GitHub	Mainline Yocto BSP Guide	Scarthgap Reference Manual
QSRZ Series TXRZ Series	Linux 6.1.141-cip43 Renesas Kernel [7] + Ka-Ro patches	scarthgap KARO-2026-09-17 on GitHub	Mainline Yocto BSP Guide	Scarthgap Reference Manual
TX6 Series TXUL Series	Linux 5.10.61 Mainline [3]	hardknott KARO-2022-07-14 on GitHub	Mainline Yocto BSP Guide	Hardknott Reference Manual

To customize or extend our BSP for your custom baseboard or additional functionalities, start by following our customization guide:

• Customization Guide

Development Environment Setup

Host Setup

The Yocto Project can be built on supported Linux distributions. To keep the host operating system independent of these requirements, a virtualized environment such as a virtual machine or container (e.g., Docker) can be used to provide a compatible build environment.

Linux distribution

If you aim to build Yocto natively on your host, then restrictions apply regarding which Linux distributions you can use, as defined by Yocto’s supported distributions.

Under Windows, use one of the following to work in a Linux environment:

• Linux Virtual Machine
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

With that, you should be able to set up a working Linux environment. Once complete, you can proceed to configure your Yocto build environment.

Build Environment Setup

To build Yocto, a specific environment is needed. This environment can be set up in different ways, depending on your preferences and the tools you want to use. Below we document several approaches to setting up a build environment for Yocto and developing with it:

• VS Code + DevContainer

Legacy Yocto

• Yocto Thud Guide
• Yocto Sumo Guide (NXP)
• Yocto Rocko Guide

These Yocto releases are still available but they are deprecated, please use the new ones listed above instead.

Module	Kernel Version	Yocto Release	Usage Guide	Supported Build Hosts
QS93 Series TX93 Series TX8M Series TX8P Series QS8M Series QSXM Series QSXP Series	linux-imx_6.1.36_2.1.0 NXP Kernel [6]	Mickledore	NXP Yocto BSP Guide	Mickledore Reference Manual
QS93 Series (i.MX 93 A0) TX93 Series (i.MX 93 A0)	linux-imx_6.1.1_1.0.0 NXP Kernel [6]	Langdale	NXP Yocto BSP Guide	Langdale Reference Manual
QSMP Series TXMP Series	Linux 6.1.28 Mainline [3] + STM patches [4]	Mickledore	Mainline Yocto BSP Guide	Mickledore Reference Manual
QSRZ Series TXRZ Series	Linux 5.10.184-cip36 Renesas Kernel [8] + Ka-Ro patches	Mickledore	Mainline Yocto BSP Guide	Mickledore Reference Manual
TX6 Series TXUL Series TX8M Series QS8M Series	linux-karo_4.14.98 NXP Kernel [5]	Sumo	Yocto Sumo Guide (NXP)	Sumo Reference Manual
TX6 Series TXUL Series	linux-karo_4.14.24 Mainline LTS [3]	Rocko	Yocto Rocko Guide	Rocko Reference Manual

If you’re new to Yocto

First, let’s explain some terms:

• BSP - Board Support Package:

  A Board Support Package is a collection of information that defines how to support a particular hardware device, set of devices, or hardware platform. It includes information about the hardware features present on the device, kernel configuration, and any additional hardware drivers required. It also lists any additional software components required beyond a generic Linux software stack for both essential and optional platform features. [1]

• BSP-Layer:

  See section 1.1 in the official Yocto documentation of the Scarthgap Release.

• Recipe:

  Recipes (.bb files) are fundamental components in the Yocto Project environment. Each software component built by the OpenEmbedded build system requires a recipe to define the component. [2]

On GitHub we provide different BSPs and layers. The following table gives you an overview:

Repository	Type	Description
karo-bsp	BSP	Ka-Ro’s Mainline Yocto BSP for boards.
meta-karo	Layer	Ka-Ro’s Mainline Yocto layer for our CoMs.
meta-karo-distro	Layer	Ka-Ro’s Mainline Yocto Distro layer.
karo-nxp-bsp	BSP	Ka-Ro-flavored NXP i.MX Yocto BSP.
meta-karo-nxp	Layer	Ka-Ro’s Yocto layer for NXP i.MX Processor-based boards.
meta-karo-nxp-distro	Layer	Ka-Ro’s NXP Yocto Distro layer deprecated (prior to mickledore release)

Glossary

[1]

Further information: Yocto Project - BSP Guide

[2]

From: Yocto Project - Dev Manual

[3] (1,2,3,4)

From: Kernel.org / git

[4] (1,2)

As given by STM’s Yocto - STM kernel recipe

[5]

As given by NXP’s 4.14 Yocto - NXP kernel recipe

[6] (1,2,3)

Forked from NXP’s linux-imx Kernel - https://github.com/nxp-imx/linux-imx/tree/lf-6.6.y

[7]

Renesas Kernel 6.1 CIP43 - https://github.com/renesas-rz/rz_linux-cip/tree/rz-6.1-cip43

[8]

Renesas Kernel 5.10 CIP36 - https://github.com/renesas-rz/rz_linux-cip/tree/rz-5.10-cip36