3 This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
10 --- 3.1 Goal definitions
11 --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
12 --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
13 --- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
14 --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
15 --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
16 --- 3.7 Compilation flags
17 --- 3.8 Command line dependency
18 --- 3.9 Dependency tracking
19 --- 3.10 Special Rules
20 --- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
22 === 4 Host Program support
23 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
24 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
25 --- 4.3 Defining shared libraries
26 --- 4.4 Using C++ for host programs
27 --- 4.5 Controlling compiler options for host programs
28 --- 4.6 When host programs are actually built
29 --- 4.7 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
31 === 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
33 === 6 Architecture Makefiles
34 --- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
35 --- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
36 --- 6.3 List directories to visit when descending
37 --- 6.4 Architecture-specific boot images
38 --- 6.5 Building non-kbuild targets
39 --- 6.6 Commands useful for building a boot image
40 --- 6.7 Custom kbuild commands
41 --- 6.8 Preprocessing linker scripts
43 === 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
47 --- 7.4 unifdef-y (deprecated)
49 === 8 Kbuild Variables
50 === 9 Makefile language
56 The Makefiles have five parts:
58 Makefile the top Makefile.
59 .config the kernel configuration file.
60 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile the arch Makefile.
61 scripts/Makefile.* common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
62 kbuild Makefiles there are about 500 of these.
64 The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
65 configuration process.
67 The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
68 (the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
69 It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
70 the kernel source tree.
71 The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
72 configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
73 with the name arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
74 architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
76 Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
77 passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
78 .config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
79 any built-in or modular targets.
81 scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
82 are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
87 People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
89 *Users* are people who build kernels. These people type commands such as
90 "make menuconfig" or "make". They usually do not read or edit
91 any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
93 *Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
94 drivers, file systems, and network protocols. These people need to
95 maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
96 working on. In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
97 knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
98 public interface for kbuild.
100 *Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
101 as sparc or ia64. Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
102 as well as kbuild Makefiles.
104 *Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
105 These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
107 This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
110 === 3 The kbuild files
112 Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
113 kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
115 The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
116 be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
119 Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro, further chapters provide
120 more details, with real examples.
122 --- 3.1 Goal definitions
124 Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
125 These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
126 options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
128 The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
133 This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
134 foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
136 If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
137 Therefore the following pattern is often used:
140 obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
142 $(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
143 If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
146 --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
148 The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
149 in the $(obj-y) lists. These lists depend on the kernel
152 Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files. It then calls
153 "$(LD) -r" to merge these files into one built-in.o file.
154 built-in.o is later linked into vmlinux by the parent Makefile.
156 The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant. Duplicates in
157 the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
158 built-in.o and succeeding instances will be ignored.
160 Link order is significant, because certain functions
161 (module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
162 order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
163 order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
164 controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
167 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
168 # Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
169 # Each configuration option enables a list of files.
170 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN) += isdn.o
171 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
173 --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
175 $(obj-m) specify object files which are built as loadable
178 A module may be built from one source file or several source
179 files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
180 simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
183 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
184 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
186 Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
188 If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
189 that you want to build a module in the same way as above.
191 Kbuild needs to know which the parts that you want to build your
192 module from, so you have to tell it by setting an
193 $(<module_name>-objs) variable.
196 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
197 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN) += isdn.o
198 isdn-objs := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
200 In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
201 compile the objects listed in $(isdn-objs) and then run
202 "$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
204 Kbuild recognises objects used for composite objects by the suffix
205 -objs, and the suffix -y. This allows the Makefiles to use
206 the value of a CONFIG_ symbol to determine if an object is part
207 of a composite object.
211 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
212 ext2-y := balloc.o bitmap.o
213 ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o
215 In this example, xattr.o is only part of the composite object
216 ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) evaluates to 'y'.
218 Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
219 the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
220 kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
221 parts and then link this into built-in.o, as you would expect.
223 --- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
225 No special notation is required in the makefiles for
226 modules exporting symbols.
228 --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
230 Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
231 combined in a built-in.o for that specific directory.
232 There is also the possibility to list objects that will
233 be included in a library, lib.a.
234 All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
235 library for that directory.
236 Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
237 lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
238 be accessible anyway.
239 For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
241 Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
242 and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
243 may contain both a built-in.o and a lib.a file.
246 #arch/i386/lib/Makefile
247 lib-y := checksum.o delay.o
249 This will create a library lib.a based on checksum.o and delay.o.
250 For kbuild to actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built,
251 the directory shall be listed in libs-y.
252 See also "6.3 List directories to visit when descending".
254 Use of lib-y is normally restricted to lib/ and arch/*/lib.
256 --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
258 A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
259 directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
260 Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
261 invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
264 To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
265 ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
266 tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
270 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
272 If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
273 the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
274 down in the ext2 directory.
275 Kbuild only uses this information to decide that it needs to visit
276 the directory, it is the Makefile in the subdirectory that
277 specifies what is modules and what is built-in.
279 It is good practice to use a CONFIG_ variable when assigning directory
280 names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
281 corresponding CONFIG_ option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
283 --- 3.7 Compilation flags
285 ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
286 The three flags listed above applies only to the kbuild makefile
287 where they are assigned. They are used for all the normal
288 cc, as and ld invocation happenign during a recursive build.
289 Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
290 EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
291 They are yet supported but their use are deprecated.
293 ccflags-y specifies options for compiling C files with $(CC).
296 # drivers/sound/emu10k1/Makefile
297 ccflags-y += -I$(obj)
298 ccflags-$(DEBUG) += -DEMU10K1_DEBUG
301 This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
302 variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
305 asflags-y is a similar string for per-directory options
306 when compiling assembly language source.
309 #arch/x86_64/kernel/Makefile
310 asflags-y := -traditional
313 ldflags-y is a string for per-directory options to $(LD).
316 #arch/m68k/fpsp040/Makefile
319 subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
320 The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and as-falgs-y.
321 The difference is that the subdir- variants has effect for the kbuild
322 file where tey are present and all subdirectories.
323 Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
324 the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
327 subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
331 CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
334 $(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC). The $@
335 part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
338 # drivers/scsi/Makefile
339 CFLAGS_aha152x.o = -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
340 CFLAGS_gdth.o = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
342 CFLAGS_seagate.o = -DARBITRATE -DPARITY -DSEAGATE_USE_ASM
344 These three lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o,
345 gdth.o, and seagate.o
347 $(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
351 # arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
352 AFLAGS_head-armv.o := -DTEXTADDR=$(TEXTADDR) -traditional
353 AFLAGS_head-armo.o := -DTEXTADDR=$(TEXTADDR) -traditional
355 --- 3.9 Dependency tracking
357 Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
358 1) All prerequisite files (both *.c and *.h)
359 2) CONFIG_ options used in all prerequisite files
360 3) Command-line used to compile target
362 Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
365 --- 3.10 Special Rules
367 Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
368 not provide the required support. A typical example is
369 header files generated during the build process.
370 Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
371 need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
373 Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
374 Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
375 located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
376 path to prerequisite files and target files.
378 Two variables are used when defining special rules:
381 $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
382 where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
383 referring to files located in the src tree.
386 $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
387 where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
388 referring to generated files.
391 #drivers/scsi/Makefile
392 $(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
393 $(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
395 This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
397 The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
398 to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
399 to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
403 echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
404 but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
405 except for warnings/errors.
406 To support this kbuild define $(kecho) which will echo out the
407 text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
410 #arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
411 $(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
412 $(call if_changed,uimage)
413 @$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
416 --- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
418 The kernel may be built with several different versions of
419 $(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
420 kbuild provide basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
421 $(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
425 as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
426 assembler (*.S) files -- supports the given option. An optional
427 second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
431 cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
433 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
434 -Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
435 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
436 if first argument is not supported.
439 ld-option is used to check if $(CC) when used to link object files
440 supports the given option. An optional second option may be
441 specified if first option are not supported.
444 #arch/i386/kernel/Makefile
445 vsyscall-flags += $(call ld-option, -Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv)
447 In the above example, vsyscall-flags will be assigned the option
448 -Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv if it is supported by $(CC).
449 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
450 if first argument is not supported.
453 as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
454 and then outputs either option1 or option2
455 C escapes are supported in the test instruction
456 Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for $(AS) options
459 cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and not
460 supported to use an optional second option.
464 cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
466 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
467 -march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
468 The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
469 cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
470 Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
473 cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
474 and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
478 biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
479 aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
480 cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
482 In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
483 option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
484 and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
486 Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
489 gcc versions >= 3.0 changed the type of options used to specify
490 alignment of functions, loops etc. $(cc-option-align), when used
491 as prefix to the align options, will select the right prefix:
493 cc-option-align = -malign
495 cc-option-align = -falign
498 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cc-option-align)-functions=4
500 In the above example, the option -falign-functions=4 is used for
501 gcc >= 3.00. For gcc < 3.00, -malign-functions=4 is used.
502 Note: cc-option-align uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
505 cc-version returns a numerical version of the $(CC) compiler version.
506 The format is <major><minor> where both are two digits. So for example
507 gcc 3.41 would return 0341.
508 cc-version is useful when a specific $(CC) version is faulty in one
509 area, for example -mregparm=3 was broken in some gcc versions
510 even though the option was accepted by gcc.
514 cflags-y += $(shell \
515 if [ $(call cc-version) -ge 0300 ] ; then \
516 echo "-mregparm=3"; fi ;)
518 In the above example, -mregparm=3 is only used for gcc version greater
519 than or equal to gcc 3.0.
522 cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals last argument if
523 version expression is true.
526 #fs/reiserfs/Makefile
527 ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
529 In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
530 $(CC) version is less than 4.2.
531 cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
532 -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
533 The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
534 be an expanded variable or a macro.
537 cc-fullversion is useful when the exact version of gcc is needed.
538 One typical use-case is when a specific GCC version is broken.
539 cc-fullversion points out a more specific version than cc-version does.
542 #arch/powerpc/Makefile
543 $(Q)if test "$(call cc-fullversion)" = "040200" ; then \
544 echo -n '*** GCC-4.2.0 cannot compile the 64-bit powerpc ' ; \
548 In this example for a specific GCC version the build will error out explaining
549 to the user why it stops.
552 cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
553 one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
554 prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
555 then nothing is returned.
556 Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
557 call of cc-cross-prefix.
558 This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
559 to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
560 values to select between.
561 It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
562 build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
563 is already set then leave it with the old value.
567 ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
568 ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
569 CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
573 === 4 Host Program support
575 Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
577 Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
579 The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
580 done utilising the variable hostprogs-y.
582 The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
583 This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
584 or utilise the variable $(always).
585 Both possibilities are described in the following.
587 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
589 In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
590 computer where the build is running.
591 The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
592 built on the build host.
595 hostprogs-y := bin2hex
597 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
598 c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
601 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
603 Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
604 The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
605 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
606 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
610 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
611 hostprogs-y := lxdialog
612 lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
614 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
615 files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
616 and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
617 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
618 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
620 --- 4.3 Defining shared libraries
622 Objects with extension .so are considered shared libraries, and
623 will be compiled as position independent objects.
624 Kbuild provides support for shared libraries, but the usage
626 In the following example the libkconfig.so shared library is used
627 to link the executable conf.
630 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
632 conf-objs := conf.o libkconfig.so
633 libkconfig-objs := expr.o type.o
635 Shared libraries always require a corresponding -objs line, and
636 in the example above the shared library libkconfig is composed by
637 the two objects expr.o and type.o.
638 expr.o and type.o will be built as position independent code and
639 linked as a shared library libkconfig.so. C++ is not supported for
642 --- 4.4 Using C++ for host programs
644 kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
645 introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
649 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
651 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
653 In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
654 qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
656 If qconf is composed by a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
657 additional line can be used to identify this.
660 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
662 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
663 qconf-objs := check.o
665 --- 4.5 Controlling compiler options for host programs
667 When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
668 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
669 the options specified in $(HOSTCFLAGS).
670 To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
671 in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
674 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
675 HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
677 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
681 #arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
682 HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
684 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
687 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
688 HOSTLOADLIBES_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
690 When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
693 --- 4.6 When host programs are actually built
695 Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
697 This is possible in two ways:
699 (1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a special rule.
702 #drivers/pci/Makefile
703 hostprogs-y := gen-devlist
704 $(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
705 ( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
707 The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
708 $(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
709 the host programs in special rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
712 When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
713 shall be built when a makefile is entered, the $(always)
714 variable shall be used.
717 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
718 hostprogs-y := lxdialog
719 always := $(hostprogs-y)
721 This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
724 --- 4.7 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
726 A typical pattern in a Kbuild file looks like this:
730 hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms
732 Kbuild knows about both 'y' for built-in and 'm' for module.
733 So if a config symbol evaluate to 'm', kbuild will still build
734 the binary. In other words, Kbuild handles hostprogs-m exactly
735 like hostprogs-y. But only hostprogs-y is recommended to be used
736 when no CONFIG symbols are involved.
738 === 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
740 "make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
741 is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
742 Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs-y), $(hostprogs-m), $(always),
743 $(extra-y) and $(targets). They are all deleted during "make clean".
744 Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus some additional files
745 generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel src tree when
746 "make clean" is executed.
748 Additional files can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of $(clean-files).
751 #drivers/pci/Makefile
752 clean-files := devlist.h classlist.h
754 When executing "make clean", the two files "devlist.h classlist.h" will
755 be deleted. Kbuild will assume files to be in same relative directory as the
756 Makefile except if an absolute path is specified (path starting with '/').
758 To delete a directory hierarchy use:
761 #scripts/package/Makefile
762 clean-dirs := $(objtree)/debian/
764 This will delete the directory debian, including all subdirectories.
765 Kbuild will assume the directories to be in the same relative path as the
766 Makefile if no absolute path is specified (path does not start with '/').
768 Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
769 but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
770 is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
773 #arch/i386/boot/Makefile
774 subdir- := compressed/
776 The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
777 directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
779 To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that builds the
780 final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
785 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/i386/boot
787 When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/i386/boot,
788 and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/i386/boot/ may use
789 the subdir- trick to descend further down.
791 Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
792 included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
793 is not operational at that point.
795 Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
796 be visited during "make clean".
798 === 6 Architecture Makefiles
800 The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
801 before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
802 The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
803 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
804 for said architecture.
805 To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
808 When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
809 1) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
810 2) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
811 3) Symlink include/asm to include/asm-$(ARCH)
812 4) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
813 - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
814 5) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
815 init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
816 - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
817 6) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
818 located at the root of the obj tree.
819 The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
820 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
821 7) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
822 and builds the final bootimage.
823 - This includes building boot records
824 - Preparing initrd images and the like
827 --- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
829 LDFLAGS Generic $(LD) options
831 Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
832 Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
836 LDFLAGS := -m elf_s390
837 Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
838 the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
840 LDFLAGS_MODULE Options for $(LD) when linking modules
842 LDFLAGS_MODULE is used to set specific flags for $(LD) when
843 linking the .ko files used for modules.
844 Default is "-r", for relocatable output.
846 LDFLAGS_vmlinux Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
848 LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
849 the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
850 LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
854 LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
856 OBJCOPYFLAGS objcopy flags
858 When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
859 the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
860 $(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
865 OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
867 #arch/s390/boot/Makefile
868 $(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
869 $(call if_changed,objcopy)
871 In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
872 vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
874 KBUILD_AFLAGS $(AS) assembler flags
876 Default value - see top level Makefile
877 Append or modify as required per architecture.
880 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
881 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
883 KBUILD_CFLAGS $(CC) compiler flags
885 Default value - see top level Makefile
886 Append or modify as required per architecture.
888 Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
892 cflags-$(CONFIG_M386) += -march=i386
893 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
895 Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
896 probe supported options:
901 cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII) += $(call cc-option,\
902 -march=pentium2,-march=i686)
904 # Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
905 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
909 The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
910 to 'y' when selected.
912 CFLAGS_KERNEL $(CC) options specific for built-in
914 $(CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
915 resident kernel code.
917 CFLAGS_MODULE $(CC) options specific for modules
919 $(CFLAGS_MODULE) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile code
920 for loadable kernel modules.
923 --- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
925 The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
926 built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
927 This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
931 archprepare: maketools
933 In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
934 before descending down in the subdirectories.
935 See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
936 generating offset header files.
939 --- 6.3 List directories to visit when descending
941 An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
942 which specify how to build the vmlinux file. Note that there is no
943 corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
944 machinery is all architecture-independent.
947 head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
949 $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
950 $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
951 The rest list directories where a built-in.o object file can be
954 $(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
955 Then the rest follows in this order:
956 $(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
958 The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
959 and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific directories.
962 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
963 core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
964 libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
965 drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE) += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
968 --- 6.4 Architecture-specific boot images
970 An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
971 it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
972 somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
973 The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
975 It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
976 directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
978 Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
979 target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
980 call make manually to build a target in boot/.
982 The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
983 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
984 into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
988 boot := arch/i386/boot
990 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
992 "$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
993 make in a subdirectory.
995 There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
996 but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
997 To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1002 echo '* bzImage - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1005 When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1006 will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1008 An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1009 In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1010 Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1017 When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1019 --- 6.5 Building non-kbuild targets
1023 extra-y specify additional targets created in the current
1024 directory, in addition to any targets specified by obj-*.
1026 Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1027 1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1028 - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1029 2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1032 #arch/i386/kernel/Makefile
1033 extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1035 In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1036 shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.o.
1039 --- 6.6 Commands useful for building a boot image
1041 Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1046 if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1049 target: source(s) FORCE
1050 $(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip)
1052 When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1053 need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1054 invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1055 to the executable have changed.
1056 Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1057 otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1059 Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1060 if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1061 defined in 6.7 "Custom kbuild commands".
1063 Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1064 Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1065 significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1067 target: source(s) FORCE
1068 #WRONG!# $(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip)
1071 Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1074 Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1075 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1076 OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1079 Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1082 #arch/i386/boot/Makefile
1083 LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1084 LDFLAGS_setup := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1086 targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1087 $(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1088 $(call if_changed,ld)
1090 In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1091 options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1092 LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1093 $(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1094 the targets and will:
1095 1) check for commandline changes
1096 2) delete target during make clean
1098 The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1099 free us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1100 Note: It is a common mistake to forget the "target :=" assignment,
1101 resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1105 --- 6.7 Custom kbuild commands
1107 When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1108 of a command is normally displayed.
1109 To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1110 two variables to be set:
1111 quiet_cmd_<command> - what shall be echoed
1112 cmd_<command> - the command to execute
1116 quiet_cmd_image = BUILD $@
1117 cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1118 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1121 $(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1122 $(call if_changed,image)
1123 @echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1125 When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line
1127 BUILD arch/i386/boot/bzImage
1129 will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1132 --- 6.8 Preprocessing linker scripts
1134 When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1135 arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1136 The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1137 located in the same directory.
1138 kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule *lds.S -> *lds.
1141 #arch/i386/kernel/Makefile
1142 always := vmlinux.lds
1145 export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1147 The assignment to $(always) is used to tell kbuild to build the
1149 The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1150 specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1152 When building the *.lds target, kbuild uses the variables:
1153 KBUILD_CPPFLAGS : Set in top-level Makefile
1154 cppflags-y : May be set in the kbuild makefile
1155 CPPFLAGS_$(@F) : Target specific flags.
1156 Note that the full filename is used in this
1159 The kbuild infrastructure for *lds file are used in several
1160 architecture-specific files.
1162 === 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1164 The kernel include a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1165 Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers requires a
1166 minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1167 The pre-processing does:
1168 - drop kernel specific annotations
1169 - drop include of compiler.h
1170 - drop all sections that is kernel internat (guarded by ifdef __KERNEL__)
1172 Each relevant directory contain a file name "Kbuild" which specify the
1173 headers to be exported.
1174 See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1178 header-y specify header files to be exported.
1181 #include/linux/Kbuild
1183 header-y += aio_abi.h
1185 The convention is to list one file per line and
1186 preferably in alphabetic order.
1188 header-y also specify which subdirectories to visit.
1189 A subdirectory is identified by a trailing '/' which
1190 can be seen in the example above for the usb subdirectory.
1192 Subdirectories are visited before their parent directories.
1196 objhdr-y specifies generated files to be exported.
1197 Generated files are special as they need to be looked
1198 up in another directory when doing 'make O=...' builds.
1201 #include/linux/Kbuild
1202 objhdr-y += version.h
1204 --- 7.3 destination-y
1206 When an architecture have a set of exported headers that needs to be
1207 exported to a different directory destination-y is used.
1208 destination-y specify the destination directory for all exported
1209 headers in the file where it is present.
1212 #arch/xtensa/platforms/s6105/include/platform/Kbuild
1213 destination-y := include/linux
1215 In the example above all exported headers in the Kbuild file
1216 will be located in the directory "include/linux" when exported.
1219 --- 7.4 unifdef-y (deprecated)
1221 unifdef-y is deprecated. A direct replacement is header-y.
1224 === 8 Kbuild Variables
1226 The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1228 VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1230 These variables define the current kernel version. A few arch
1231 Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1232 $(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1234 $(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1235 three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0". These three
1236 values are always numeric.
1238 $(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1239 or additional patches. It is usually some non-numeric string
1240 such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1244 $(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1245 for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1246 version strings. Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1250 This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1251 "arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1252 determine which files to compile.
1254 By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1255 host system architecture. For a cross build, a user may
1256 override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line:
1263 This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1264 the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1265 Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1267 INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1269 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1270 installation. This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1271 may be passed in by the user if desired.
1273 $(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1274 The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1275 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE). The user may
1276 override this value on the command line if desired.
1280 If this variable is specified, will cause modules to be stripped
1281 after they are installed. If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1282 default option --strip-debug will be used. Otherwise,
1283 INSTALL_MOD_STRIP will used as the option(s) to the strip command.
1286 === 9 Makefile language
1288 The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make. The Makefiles
1289 use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1292 GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions. The kernel
1293 Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1296 GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=". ":=" performs
1297 immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1298 into the left-hand side. "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1299 right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1300 time the left-hand side is used.
1302 There are some cases where "=" is appropriate. Usually, though, ":="
1303 is the right choice.
1307 Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1308 Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1309 Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1310 Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1314 - Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1315 - Generating offset header files.
1316 - Add more variables to section 7?