Raspberry Pi Cross-Compiler in a Docker Container

An easy-to-use all-in-one cross compiler for the Raspberry Pi.

This project is available as sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler on Docker Hub, and as sdt/docker-raspberry-pi-cross-compiler on GitHub.

Please raise any issues on the GitHub issue tracker as I don't get notified about Docker Hub comments.

Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Configuration
• Custom Images
• Examples

Features

• The gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-x64 toolchain from raspberrypi/tools
• Raspbian sysroot from sdhibit/docker-rpi-raspbian 🆕
• Easy installation of raspbian packages into the sysroot using the customised qemu arm emulator from resin-io-projects/armv7hf-debian-qemu 🆕
• Easy-to-use front end wrapper program rpxc.

Installation

This image is not intended to be run manually. Instead, there is a helper script which comes bundled with the image.

To install the helper script, run the image with no arguments, and redirect the output to a file.

eg.

docker run sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler > ~/bin/rpxc
chmod +x ~/bin/rpxc

Usage

rpxc [command] [args...]

Execute the given command-line inside the container.

If the command matches one of the rpxc built-in commands (see below), that will be executed locally, otherwise the command is executed inside the container.

rpxc -- [command] [args...]

To force a command to run inside the container (in case of a name clash with a built-in command), use -- before the command.

Built-in commands

install-debian

rpxc install-debian [--update] package packages...

Install native packages into the docker image. Changes are committed back to the sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler image.

install-raspbian

rpxc install-raspbian [--update] package packages...

Install raspbian packages from the raspbian repositories into the sysroot of thedocker image. Changes are committed back to the sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler image.

update-image

rpxc update-image

Pull the latest version of the docker image.

If a new docker image is available, any extra packages installed with install-debian or install-raspbian will be lost.

update-script

rpxc update-script

Update the installed rpxc script with the one bundled in the image.

update

rpxc update

Update both the docker image and the rpxc script.

Configuration

The following command-line options and environment variables are used. In all cases, the command-line option overrides the environment variable.

RPXC_CONFIG / --config <path-to-config-file>

This file is sourced if it exists.

Default: ~/.rpxc

RPXC_IMAGE / --image <docker-image-name>

The docker image to run.

Default: sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler

RPXC_ARGS / --args <docker-run-args>

Extra arguments to pass to the docker run command.

Custom Images

Using rpxc install-debian and rpxc install-raspbian are really only intended for getting a build environment together. Once you've figured out which debian and raspbian packages you need, it's better to create a custom downstream image that has all your tools and development packages built in.

Create a Dockerfile

FROM sdthirlwall/raspberry-pi-cross-compiler

# Install some native build-time tools
RUN install-debian scons

# Install raspbian development libraries
RUN install-raspbian libboost-dev-all

Name your image with an RPXC_IMAGE variable and build the image

export RPXC_IMAGE=my-custom-rpxc-image
docker build -t $RPXC_IMAGE .

With RPXC_IMAGE set, rpxc will automatically use your new image.

# These are typical cross-compilation flags to pass to configure.
# Note the use of single quotes in the shell command-line. We want the
# variables to be interpolated in the container, not in the host system.
rpxc sh -c 'CFLAGS=--sysroot=$SYSROOT ./configure --host=$HOST'
rpxc make

Another way to achieve this is to create a shell script.

#!/bin/sh
CFLAGS=--sysroot=$SYSROOT ./configure --host=$HOST
make

And call it as rpxc ./mymake.sh

Examples

See the examples directory for some real examples.