5 This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
11 === 3 The kbuild files
12 --- 3.1 Goal definitions
13 --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
14 --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
15 --- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
16 --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
17 --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
18 --- 3.7 Compilation flags
19 --- 3.8 Command line dependency
20 --- 3.9 Dependency tracking
21 --- 3.10 Special Rules
22 --- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
23 --- 3.12 $(LD) support functions
25 === 4 Host Program support
26 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
27 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
28 --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
29 --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
30 --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
31 --- 4.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
33 === 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
35 === 6 Architecture Makefiles
36 --- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
37 --- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders:
38 --- 6.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
39 --- 6.4 List directories to visit when descending
40 --- 6.5 Architecture-specific boot images
41 --- 6.6 Building non-kbuild targets
42 --- 6.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
43 --- 6.8 Custom kbuild commands
44 --- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
45 --- 6.10 Generic header files
46 --- 6.11 Post-link pass
48 === 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
49 --- 7.1 no-export-headers
54 === 8 Kbuild Variables
55 === 9 Makefile language
62 The Makefiles have five parts::
64 Makefile the top Makefile.
65 .config the kernel configuration file.
66 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile the arch Makefile.
67 scripts/Makefile.* common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
68 kbuild Makefiles there are about 500 of these.
70 The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
71 configuration process.
73 The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
74 (the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
75 It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
76 the kernel source tree.
77 The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
78 configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
79 with the name arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
80 architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
82 Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
83 passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
84 .config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
85 any built-in or modular targets.
87 scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
88 are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
94 People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
96 *Users* are people who build kernels. These people type commands such as
97 "make menuconfig" or "make". They usually do not read or edit
98 any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
100 *Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
101 drivers, file systems, and network protocols. These people need to
102 maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
103 working on. In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
104 knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
105 public interface for kbuild.
107 *Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
108 as sparc or ia64. Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
109 as well as kbuild Makefiles.
111 *Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
112 These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
114 This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
120 Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
121 kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
123 The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
124 be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
127 Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro, further chapters provide
128 more details, with real examples.
133 Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
134 These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
135 options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
137 The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
143 This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
144 foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
146 If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
147 Therefore the following pattern is often used:
151 obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
153 $(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
154 If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
157 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
158 ---------------------------------
160 The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
161 in the $(obj-y) lists. These lists depend on the kernel
164 Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files. It then calls
165 "$(AR) rcSTP" to merge these files into one built-in.a file.
166 This is a thin archive without a symbol table. It will be later
167 linked into vmlinux by scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
169 The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant. Duplicates in
170 the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
171 built-in.a and succeeding instances will be ignored.
173 Link order is significant, because certain functions
174 (module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
175 order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
176 order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
177 controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
181 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
182 # Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
183 # Each configuration option enables a list of files.
184 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
185 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
187 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
188 ---------------------------------
190 $(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
193 A module may be built from one source file or several source
194 files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
195 simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
199 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
200 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
202 Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
204 If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
205 that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
206 kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
207 module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
212 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
213 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
214 isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
216 In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
217 compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
218 "$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
220 Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
221 you can use the value of a `CONFIG_` symbol to optionally include an
222 object file as part of a composite object.
227 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
228 ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
229 namei.o super.o symlink.o
230 ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
233 In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
234 part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
237 Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
238 the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
239 kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
240 parts and then link this into built-in.a, as you would expect.
242 3.4 Objects which export symbols
243 --------------------------------
245 No special notation is required in the makefiles for
246 modules exporting symbols.
248 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
249 ------------------------------
251 Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
252 combined in a built-in.a for that specific directory.
253 There is also the possibility to list objects that will
254 be included in a library, lib.a.
255 All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
256 library for that directory.
257 Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
258 lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
259 be accessible anyway.
260 For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
262 Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
263 and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
264 may contain both a built-in.a and a lib.a file.
268 #arch/x86/lib/Makefile
271 This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
272 actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
273 shall be listed in libs-y.
275 See also "6.4 List directories to visit when descending".
277 Use of lib-y is normally restricted to `lib/` and `arch/*/lib`.
279 3.6 Descending down in directories
280 ----------------------------------
282 A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
283 directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
284 Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
285 invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
288 To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
289 ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
290 tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
295 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
297 If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
298 the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
299 down in the ext2 directory.
300 Kbuild only uses this information to decide that it needs to visit
301 the directory, it is the Makefile in the subdirectory that
302 specifies what is modular and what is built-in.
304 It is good practice to use a `CONFIG_` variable when assigning directory
305 names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
306 corresponding `CONFIG_` option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
308 3.7 Compilation flags
309 ---------------------
311 ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
312 These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
313 are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
314 invocations happening during a recursive build.
315 Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
316 EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
317 They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
319 ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
323 # drivers/acpi/acpica/Makefile
324 ccflags-y := -Os -D_LINUX -DBUILDING_ACPICA
325 ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG) += -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
327 This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
328 variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
331 asflags-y specifies assembler options.
335 #arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
338 ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
342 #arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
343 ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
345 subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
346 The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
347 The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
348 file where they are present and all subdirectories.
349 Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
350 the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
354 subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
357 CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
360 $(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC). The $@
361 part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
365 # drivers/scsi/Makefile
366 CFLAGS_aha152x.o = -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
367 CFLAGS_gdth.o = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
370 These two lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o and gdth.o.
372 $(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
377 # arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
378 AFLAGS_head.o := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
379 AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
380 AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
383 3.9 Dependency tracking
384 -----------------------
386 Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
388 1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
389 2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
390 3) Command-line used to compile target
392 Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
398 Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
399 not provide the required support. A typical example is
400 header files generated during the build process.
401 Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
402 need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
404 Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
405 Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
406 located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
407 path to prerequisite files and target files.
409 Two variables are used when defining special rules:
412 $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
413 where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
414 referring to files located in the src tree.
417 $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
418 where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
419 referring to generated files.
423 #drivers/scsi/Makefile
424 $(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
425 $(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
427 This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
430 The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
431 to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
432 to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
436 echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
437 but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
438 except for warnings/errors.
439 To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
440 text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
444 #arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
445 $(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
446 $(call if_changed,uimage)
447 @$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
450 3.11 $(CC) support functions
451 ----------------------------
453 The kernel may be built with several different versions of
454 $(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
455 kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
456 $(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
460 as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
461 assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
462 second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
467 cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
469 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
470 -Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
471 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
472 if first argument is not supported.
475 as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
476 and then outputs either option1 or option2
477 C escapes are supported in the test instruction
478 Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for assembler options
481 cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
482 not supported to use an optional second option.
487 cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
489 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
490 -march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
491 The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
492 cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
493 Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
496 cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
497 and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
502 biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
503 aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
504 cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
506 In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
507 option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
508 and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
510 Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
513 cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
514 the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
515 because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
516 warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
520 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
522 In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
523 KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
526 cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
527 if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
532 #fs/reiserfs/Makefile
533 ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
535 In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
536 $(CC) version is less than 4.2.
537 cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
538 -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
539 The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
540 be an expanded variable or a macro.
543 cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
544 one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
545 prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
546 then nothing is returned.
547 Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
548 call of cc-cross-prefix.
549 This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
550 to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
551 values to select between.
552 It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
553 build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
554 is already set then leave it with the old value.
559 ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
560 ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
561 CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
565 3.12 $(LD) support functions
566 ----------------------------
569 ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
570 ld-option takes two options as arguments.
571 The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
572 first option is not supported by $(LD).
577 LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
580 4 Host Program support
581 ======================
583 Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
585 Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
587 The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
588 done utilising the variable hostprogs-y.
590 The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
591 This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
592 or utilise the variable $(always).
593 Both possibilities are described in the following.
595 4.1 Simple Host Program
596 -----------------------
598 In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
599 computer where the build is running.
600 The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
601 built on the build host.
605 hostprogs-y := bin2hex
607 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
608 c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
611 4.2 Composite Host Programs
612 ---------------------------
614 Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
615 The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
616 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
617 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
622 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
623 hostprogs-y := lxdialog
624 lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
626 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
627 files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
628 and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
630 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
631 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
633 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
634 -------------------------------
636 kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
637 introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
642 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
644 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
646 In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
647 qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
649 If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
650 additional line can be used to identify this.
654 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
656 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
657 qconf-objs := check.o
659 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
660 --------------------------------------------------
662 When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
663 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
664 the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
665 To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
666 in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
670 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
671 HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
673 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
678 #arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
679 HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
681 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
685 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
686 HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
688 When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
691 4.5 When host programs are actually built
692 -----------------------------------------
694 Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
696 This is possible in two ways:
698 (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).
713 When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
714 shall be built when a makefile is entered, the $(always)
715 variable shall be used.
719 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
720 hostprogs-y := lxdialog
721 always := $(hostprogs-y)
723 This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
726 4.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
727 ---------------------------------
729 A typical pattern in a Kbuild file looks like this:
734 hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms
736 Kbuild knows about both 'y' for built-in and 'm' for module.
737 So if a config symbol evaluates to 'm', kbuild will still build
738 the binary. In other words, Kbuild handles hostprogs-m exactly
739 like hostprogs-y. But only hostprogs-y is recommended to be used
740 when no CONFIG symbols are involved.
742 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
743 =============================
745 "make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
746 is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
747 Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs-y), $(hostprogs-m), $(always),
748 $(extra-y) and $(targets). They are all deleted during "make clean".
749 Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus some additional files
750 generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel src tree when
751 "make clean" is executed.
753 Additional files or directories can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of
759 clean-files := crc32table.h
761 When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
762 Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
763 Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
765 To exclude certain files or directories from make clean, use the
766 $(no-clean-files) variable.
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.
774 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
775 subdir- := compressed/
777 The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
778 directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
780 To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
781 final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
787 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
789 When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
790 and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
791 the subdir- trick to descend further down.
793 Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
794 included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
795 is not operational at that point.
797 Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
798 be visited during "make clean".
800 6 Architecture Makefiles
801 ========================
803 The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
804 before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
805 The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
806 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
807 for said architecture.
808 To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
811 When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
813 1) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
814 2) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
815 3) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
816 - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
817 4) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
818 init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
819 - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
820 5) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
821 located at the root of the obj tree.
822 The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
823 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
824 6) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
825 and builds the final bootimage.
826 - This includes building boot records
827 - Preparing initrd images and the like
830 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
831 --------------------------------------------------------
834 Generic $(LD) options
836 Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
837 Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
842 LDFLAGS := -m elf_s390
844 Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
845 the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
848 Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
850 LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
851 the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
852 LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
857 LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
862 When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
863 the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
864 $(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
870 OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
872 #arch/s390/boot/Makefile
873 $(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
874 $(call if_changed,objcopy)
876 In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
877 vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
882 Default value - see top level Makefile
883 Append or modify as required per architecture.
887 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
888 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
893 Default value - see top level Makefile
894 Append or modify as required per architecture.
896 Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
900 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
901 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
902 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
903 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
905 Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
906 probe supported options::
911 cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII) += $(call cc-option,\
912 -march=pentium2,-march=i686)
914 # Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
915 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
919 The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
920 to 'y' when selected.
923 Assembler options specific for built-in
925 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
926 resident kernel code.
929 Assembler options specific for modules
931 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
932 are used for assembler.
934 From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
937 $(CC) options specific for built-in
939 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
940 resident kernel code.
943 Options for $(CC) when building modules
945 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
947 From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
949 KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
950 Options for $(LD) when linking modules
952 $(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
953 used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
955 From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
959 The linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level Makefile.
963 The module linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level
964 Makefile and additionally by the arch Makefile.
968 All object files for vmlinux. They are linked to vmlinux in the same
969 order as listed in KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS.
973 All .a "lib" files for vmlinux. KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS and
974 KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS together specify all the object files used to
977 6.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
978 ------------------------------------
980 The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
981 may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
983 It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
987 6.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
988 ------------------------------------
990 The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
991 built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
992 This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
997 archprepare: maketools
999 In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1000 before descending down in the subdirectories.
1001 See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
1002 generating offset header files.
1005 6.4 List directories to visit when descending
1006 ---------------------------------------------
1008 An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1009 which specify how to build the vmlinux file. Note that there is no
1010 corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1011 machinery is all architecture-independent.
1014 head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
1015 $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1017 $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1019 The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1022 $(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
1024 Then the rest follows in this order:
1026 $(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
1028 The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1029 and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1034 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
1035 core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
1036 libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
1037 drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE) += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
1040 6.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1041 -------------------------------------
1043 An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1044 it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1045 somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1046 The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1048 It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1049 directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
1051 Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1052 target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
1053 call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1055 The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1056 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1057 into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1062 boot := arch/x86/boot
1064 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1066 "$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1067 make in a subdirectory.
1069 There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1070 but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1071 To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1077 echo '* bzImage - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1080 When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1081 will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1083 An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1084 In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1085 Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1093 When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1095 6.6 Building non-kbuild targets
1096 -------------------------------
1099 extra-y specifies additional targets created in the current
1100 directory, in addition to any targets specified by `obj-*`.
1102 Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1104 1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1106 - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1108 2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1112 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1113 extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1115 In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1116 shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.a.
1118 6.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1119 ---------------------------------------------
1121 Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1125 if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1129 target: source(s) FORCE
1130 $(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1132 When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1133 need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1134 invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1135 to the executable have changed.
1136 Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1137 otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1139 Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1140 if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1141 defined in 6.8 "Custom kbuild commands".
1143 Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1144 Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1145 significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1148 target: source(s) FORCE
1150 **WRONG!** $(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1153 if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
1154 It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
1156 file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
1157 unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
1158 tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
1161 Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1165 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1166 LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1167 LDFLAGS_setup := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1169 targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1170 $(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1171 $(call if_changed,ld)
1173 In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1174 options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1175 LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1176 $(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1177 the targets and will:
1179 1) check for commandline changes
1180 2) delete target during make clean
1182 The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1183 frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1186 It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1187 resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1191 Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1192 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1193 OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1196 Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1200 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1201 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1202 $(call if_changed,gzip)
1205 Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1206 into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1207 in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1208 blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1210 To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1211 some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1213 A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1214 architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1219 DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1221 6.8 Custom kbuild commands
1222 --------------------------
1224 When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1225 of a command is normally displayed.
1226 To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1227 two variables to be set::
1229 quiet_cmd_<command> - what shall be echoed
1230 cmd_<command> - the command to execute
1235 quiet_cmd_image = BUILD $@
1236 cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1237 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1240 $(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1241 $(call if_changed,image)
1242 @echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1244 When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line:
1246 BUILD arch/x86/boot/bzImage
1248 will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1251 --- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1253 When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1254 arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1255 The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1256 located in the same directory.
1257 kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1261 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1262 always := vmlinux.lds
1265 export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1267 The assignment to $(always) is used to tell kbuild to build the
1269 The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1270 specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1272 When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1274 KBUILD_CPPFLAGS : Set in top-level Makefile
1275 cppflags-y : May be set in the kbuild makefile
1276 CPPFLAGS_$(@F) : Target-specific flags.
1277 Note that the full filename is used in this
1280 The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1281 architecture-specific files.
1283 6.10 Generic header files
1284 -------------------------
1286 The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1287 that may be shared between individual architectures.
1288 The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1289 to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1290 See "7.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1295 If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1296 will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1297 for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1300 This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1301 needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1302 kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1303 .tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1305 For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1306 the linked vmlinux file.
1308 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1309 ------------------------------------
1311 The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1312 Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1313 minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1314 The pre-processing does:
1316 - drop kernel-specific annotations
1317 - drop include of compiler.h
1318 - drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1320 All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1321 arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1324 A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1325 arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1326 See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1328 7.1 no-export-headers
1329 ---------------------
1331 no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1332 avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1333 not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1338 If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1339 include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1340 arch/$(ARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1344 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1345 generic-y += termios.h
1348 During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1349 file is generated in the directory::
1351 arch/$(ARCH)/include/generated/asm
1353 When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1354 the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1355 of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1359 The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1361 Example: termios.h::
1363 #include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1368 If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1369 wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1371 This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1376 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1377 generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1382 mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1383 to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1385 This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1386 in arch/$(ARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically generate
1387 a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1389 The convention is to list one subdir per line and
1390 preferably in alphabetic order.
1395 The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1397 VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1398 These variables define the current kernel version. A few arch
1399 Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1400 $(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1402 $(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1403 three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0". These three
1404 values are always numeric.
1406 $(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1407 or additional patches. It is usually some non-numeric string
1408 such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1411 $(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1412 for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1413 version strings. Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1416 This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1417 "arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1418 determine which files to compile.
1420 By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1421 host system architecture. For a cross build, a user may
1422 override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1428 This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1429 the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1430 Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1432 INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1433 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1434 installation. This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1435 may be passed in by the user if desired.
1437 $(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1438 The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1439 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE). The user may
1440 override this value on the command line if desired.
1443 If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1444 after they are installed. If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1445 default option --strip-debug will be used. Otherwise, the
1446 INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1453 The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make. The Makefiles
1454 use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1457 GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions. The kernel
1458 Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1461 GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=". ":=" performs
1462 immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1463 into the left-hand side. "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1464 right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1465 time the left-hand side is used.
1467 There are some cases where "=" is appropriate. Usually, though, ":="
1468 is the right choice.
1473 - Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1474 - Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1475 - Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1476 - Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1481 - Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1482 - Generating offset header files.
1483 - Add more variables to section 7?