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 $(LD) support functions
25 === 4 Host Program support
26 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
27 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
28 --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
29 --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
30 --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
32 === 5 Userspace Program support
33 --- 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
34 --- 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
35 --- 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
36 --- 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
38 === 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
40 === 7 Architecture Makefiles
41 --- 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
42 --- 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders:
43 --- 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
44 --- 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
45 --- 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
46 --- 7.6 Building non-kbuild targets
47 --- 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
48 --- 7.8 Custom kbuild commands
49 --- 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
50 --- 7.10 Generic header files
51 --- 7.11 Post-link pass
53 === 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
54 --- 8.1 no-export-headers
59 === 9 Kbuild Variables
60 === 10 Makefile language
67 The Makefiles have five parts::
69 Makefile the top Makefile.
70 .config the kernel configuration file.
71 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile the arch Makefile.
72 scripts/Makefile.* common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
73 kbuild Makefiles there are about 500 of these.
75 The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
76 configuration process.
78 The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
79 (the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
80 It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
81 the kernel source tree.
82 The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
83 configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
84 with the name arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
85 architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
87 Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
88 passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
89 .config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
90 any built-in or modular targets.
92 scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
93 are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
99 People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
101 *Users* are people who build kernels. These people type commands such as
102 "make menuconfig" or "make". They usually do not read or edit
103 any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
105 *Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
106 drivers, file systems, and network protocols. These people need to
107 maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
108 working on. In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
109 knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
110 public interface for kbuild.
112 *Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
113 as sparc or ia64. Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
114 as well as kbuild Makefiles.
116 *Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
117 These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
119 This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
125 Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
126 kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
128 The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
129 be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
132 Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro, further chapters provide
133 more details, with real examples.
138 Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
139 These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
140 options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
142 The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
148 This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
149 foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
151 If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
152 Therefore the following pattern is often used:
156 obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
158 $(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
159 If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
162 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
163 ---------------------------------
165 The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
166 in the $(obj-y) lists. These lists depend on the kernel
169 Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files. It then calls
170 "$(AR) rcSTP" to merge these files into one built-in.a file.
171 This is a thin archive without a symbol table. It will be later
172 linked into vmlinux by scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
174 The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant. Duplicates in
175 the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
176 built-in.a and succeeding instances will be ignored.
178 Link order is significant, because certain functions
179 (module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
180 order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
181 order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
182 controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
186 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
187 # Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
188 # Each configuration option enables a list of files.
189 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
190 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
192 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
193 ---------------------------------
195 $(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
198 A module may be built from one source file or several source
199 files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
200 simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
204 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
205 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
207 Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
209 If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
210 that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
211 kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
212 module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
217 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
218 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
219 isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
221 In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
222 compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
223 "$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
225 Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
226 you can use the value of a `CONFIG_` symbol to optionally include an
227 object file as part of a composite object.
232 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
233 ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
234 namei.o super.o symlink.o
235 ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
238 In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
239 part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
242 Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
243 the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
244 kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
245 parts and then link this into built-in.a, as you would expect.
247 3.4 Objects which export symbols
248 --------------------------------
250 No special notation is required in the makefiles for
251 modules exporting symbols.
253 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
254 ------------------------------
256 Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
257 combined in a built-in.a for that specific directory.
258 There is also the possibility to list objects that will
259 be included in a library, lib.a.
260 All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
261 library for that directory.
262 Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
263 lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
264 be accessible anyway.
265 For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
267 Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
268 and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
269 may contain both a built-in.a and a lib.a file.
273 #arch/x86/lib/Makefile
276 This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
277 actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
278 shall be listed in libs-y.
280 See also "6.4 List directories to visit when descending".
282 Use of lib-y is normally restricted to `lib/` and `arch/*/lib`.
284 3.6 Descending down in directories
285 ----------------------------------
287 A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
288 directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
289 Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
290 invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
293 To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
294 ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
295 tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
300 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
302 If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
303 the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
304 down in the ext2 directory.
306 Kbuild uses this information not only to decide that it needs to visit
307 the directory, but also to decide whether or not to link objects from
308 the directory into vmlinux.
310 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'y', all built-in objects
311 from that directory are combined into the built-in.a, which will be
312 eventually linked into vmlinux.
314 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'm', in contrast, nothing
315 from that directory will be linked into vmlinux. If the Makefile in
316 that directory specifies obj-y, those objects will be left orphan.
317 It is very likely a bug of the Makefile or of dependencies in Kconfig.
319 It is good practice to use a `CONFIG_` variable when assigning directory
320 names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
321 corresponding `CONFIG_` option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
323 3.7 Compilation flags
324 ---------------------
326 ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
327 These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
328 are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
329 invocations happening during a recursive build.
330 Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
331 EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
332 They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
334 ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
338 # drivers/acpi/acpica/Makefile
339 ccflags-y := -Os -D_LINUX -DBUILDING_ACPICA
340 ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG) += -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
342 This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
343 variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
346 asflags-y specifies assembler options.
350 #arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
353 ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
357 #arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
358 ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
360 subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
361 The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
362 The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
363 file where they are present and all subdirectories.
364 Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
365 the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
369 subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
372 CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
375 $(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC). The $@
376 part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
380 # drivers/scsi/Makefile
381 CFLAGS_aha152x.o = -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
382 CFLAGS_gdth.o = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
385 These two lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o and gdth.o.
387 $(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
392 # arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
393 AFLAGS_head.o := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
394 AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
395 AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
398 3.9 Dependency tracking
399 -----------------------
401 Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
403 1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
404 2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
405 3) Command-line used to compile target
407 Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
413 Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
414 not provide the required support. A typical example is
415 header files generated during the build process.
416 Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
417 need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
419 Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
420 Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
421 located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
422 path to prerequisite files and target files.
424 Two variables are used when defining special rules:
427 $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
428 where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
429 referring to files located in the src tree.
432 $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
433 where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
434 referring to generated files.
438 #drivers/scsi/Makefile
439 $(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
440 $(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
442 This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
445 The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
446 to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
447 to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
451 echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
452 but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
453 except for warnings/errors.
454 To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
455 text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
459 #arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
460 $(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
461 $(call if_changed,uimage)
462 @$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
465 3.11 $(CC) support functions
466 ----------------------------
468 The kernel may be built with several different versions of
469 $(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
470 kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
471 $(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
475 as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
476 assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
477 second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
482 cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
484 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
485 -Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
486 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
487 if first argument is not supported.
490 as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
491 and then outputs either option1 or option2
492 C escapes are supported in the test instruction
493 Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for assembler options
496 cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
497 not supported to use an optional second option.
502 cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
504 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
505 -march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
506 The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
507 cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
508 Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
511 cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
512 and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
517 biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
518 aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
519 cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
521 In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
522 option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
523 and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
525 Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
528 cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
529 the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
530 because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
531 warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
535 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
537 In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
538 KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
541 cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
542 if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
547 #fs/reiserfs/Makefile
548 ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
550 In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
551 $(CC) version is less than 4.2.
552 cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
553 -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
554 The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
555 be an expanded variable or a macro.
558 cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
559 one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
560 prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
561 then nothing is returned.
562 Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
563 call of cc-cross-prefix.
564 This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
565 to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
566 values to select between.
567 It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
568 build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
569 is already set then leave it with the old value.
574 ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
575 ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
576 CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
580 3.12 $(LD) support functions
581 ----------------------------
584 ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
585 ld-option takes two options as arguments.
586 The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
587 first option is not supported by $(LD).
592 LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
595 4 Host Program support
596 ======================
598 Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
600 Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
602 The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
603 done utilising the variable "hostprogs".
605 The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
606 This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
607 or utilise the variable "always-y".
608 Both possibilities are described in the following.
610 4.1 Simple Host Program
611 -----------------------
613 In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
614 computer where the build is running.
615 The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
616 built on the build host.
622 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
623 c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
626 4.2 Composite Host Programs
627 ---------------------------
629 Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
630 The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
631 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
632 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
637 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
638 hostprogs := lxdialog
639 lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
641 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
642 files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
643 and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
645 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
646 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
648 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
649 -------------------------------
651 kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
652 introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
657 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
659 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
661 In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
662 qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
664 If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
665 additional line can be used to identify this.
669 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
671 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
672 qconf-objs := check.o
674 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
675 --------------------------------------------------
677 When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
678 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
679 the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
680 To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
681 in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
685 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
686 HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
688 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
693 #arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
694 HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
696 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
700 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
701 HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
703 When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
706 4.5 When host programs are actually built
707 -----------------------------------------
709 Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
711 This is possible in two ways:
713 (1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a special rule.
717 #drivers/pci/Makefile
718 hostprogs := gen-devlist
719 $(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
720 ( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
722 The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
723 $(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
724 the host programs in special rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
728 When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
729 shall be built when a makefile is entered, the always-y
730 variable shall be used.
734 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
735 hostprogs := lxdialog
736 always-y := $(hostprogs)
738 This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
741 5 Userspace Program support
742 ===========================
744 Just like host programs, Kbuild also supports building userspace executables
745 for the target architecture (i.e. the same architecture as you are building
748 The syntax is quite similar. The difference is to use "userprogs" instead of
751 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
752 ----------------------------
754 The following line tells kbuild that the program bpf-direct shall be
755 built for the target architecture.
759 userprogs := bpf-direct
761 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bpf-direct is made from a
762 single C source file named bpf-direct.c located in the same directory
765 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
766 --------------------------------
768 Userspace programs can be made up based on composite objects.
769 The syntax used to define composite objects for userspace programs is
770 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
771 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
776 #samples/seccomp/Makefile
777 userprogs := bpf-fancy
778 bpf-fancy-objs := bpf-fancy.o bpf-helper.o
780 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
781 files. In the above example, bpf-fancy.c is compiled to bpf-fancy.o
782 and bpf-helper.c is compiled to bpf-helper.o.
784 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, bpf-fancy.
785 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for userspace programs.
787 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
788 -------------------------------------------------------
790 When compiling userspace programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
791 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(CC) passed
792 the options specified in $(KBUILD_USERCFLAGS).
793 To set flags that will take effect for all userspace programs created
794 in that Makefile, use the variable userccflags.
798 # samples/seccomp/Makefile
799 userccflags += -I usr/include
801 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
806 bpf-helper-userccflags += -I user/include
808 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
812 # net/bpfilter/Makefile
813 bpfilter_umh-userldflags += -static
815 When linking bpfilter_umh, it will be passed the extra option -static.
817 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
818 ----------------------------------------------
820 Same as "When host programs are actually built".
822 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
823 =============================
825 "make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
826 is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
827 Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs), $(always-y), $(always-m),
828 $(always-), $(extra-y), $(extra-) and $(targets). They are all deleted
829 during "make clean". Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus
830 some additional files generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel
831 source tree when "make clean" is executed.
833 Additional files or directories can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of
839 clean-files := crc32table.h
841 When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
842 Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
843 Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
845 To exclude certain files or directories from make clean, use the
846 $(no-clean-files) variable.
848 Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
849 but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
850 is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
854 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
855 subdir- := compressed
857 The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
858 directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
860 To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
861 final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
867 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
869 When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
870 and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
871 the subdir- trick to descend further down.
873 Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
874 included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
875 is not operational at that point.
877 Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
878 be visited during "make clean".
880 7 Architecture Makefiles
881 ========================
883 The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
884 before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
885 The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
886 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
887 for said architecture.
888 To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
891 When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
893 1) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
894 2) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
895 3) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
896 - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
897 4) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
898 init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
899 - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
900 5) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
901 located at the root of the obj tree.
902 The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
903 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
904 6) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
905 and builds the final bootimage.
906 - This includes building boot records
907 - Preparing initrd images and the like
910 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
911 --------------------------------------------------------
914 Generic $(LD) options
916 Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
917 Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
922 KBUILD_LDFLAGS := -m elf_s390
924 Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
925 the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
928 Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
930 LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
931 the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
932 LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
937 LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
942 When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
943 the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
944 $(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
950 OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
952 #arch/s390/boot/Makefile
953 $(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
954 $(call if_changed,objcopy)
956 In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
957 vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
962 Default value - see top level Makefile
963 Append or modify as required per architecture.
967 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
968 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
973 Default value - see top level Makefile
974 Append or modify as required per architecture.
976 Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
980 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
981 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
982 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
983 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
985 Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
986 probe supported options::
991 cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII) += $(call cc-option,\
992 -march=pentium2,-march=i686)
994 # Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
995 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
999 The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
1000 to 'y' when selected.
1002 KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL
1003 Assembler options specific for built-in
1005 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1006 resident kernel code.
1008 KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE
1009 Assembler options specific for modules
1011 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1012 are used for assembler.
1014 From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1016 KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL
1017 $(CC) options specific for built-in
1019 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1020 resident kernel code.
1022 KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE
1023 Options for $(CC) when building modules
1025 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1027 From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1029 KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
1030 Options for $(LD) when linking modules
1032 $(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
1033 used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
1035 From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1039 The linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level Makefile.
1043 The module linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level
1044 Makefile and additionally by the arch Makefile.
1048 All object files for vmlinux. They are linked to vmlinux in the same
1049 order as listed in KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS.
1053 All .a "lib" files for vmlinux. KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS and
1054 KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS together specify all the object files used to
1057 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
1058 ------------------------------------
1060 The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
1061 may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
1063 It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
1064 architecture itself.
1067 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
1068 ------------------------------------
1070 The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
1071 built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
1072 This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
1077 archprepare: maketools
1079 In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1080 before descending down in the subdirectories.
1081 See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
1082 generating offset header files.
1085 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
1086 ---------------------------------------------
1088 An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1089 which specify how to build the vmlinux file. Note that there is no
1090 corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1091 machinery is all architecture-independent.
1094 head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
1095 $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1097 $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1099 The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1102 $(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
1104 Then the rest follows in this order:
1106 $(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
1108 The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1109 and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1114 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
1115 core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
1116 libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
1117 drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE) += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
1120 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1121 -------------------------------------
1123 An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1124 it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1125 somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1126 The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1128 It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1129 directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
1131 Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1132 target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
1133 call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1135 The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1136 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1137 into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1142 boot := arch/x86/boot
1144 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1146 "$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1147 make in a subdirectory.
1149 There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1150 but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1151 To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1157 echo '* bzImage - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1160 When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1161 will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1163 An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1164 In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1165 Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1173 When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1175 7.6 Building non-kbuild targets
1176 -------------------------------
1179 extra-y specifies additional targets created in the current
1180 directory, in addition to any targets specified by `obj-*`.
1182 Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1184 1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1186 - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1188 2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1192 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1193 extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1195 In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1196 shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.a.
1198 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1199 ---------------------------------------------
1201 Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1205 if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1209 target: source(s) FORCE
1210 $(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1212 When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1213 need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1214 invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1215 to the executable have changed.
1216 Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1217 otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1219 Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1220 if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1221 defined in 6.8 "Custom kbuild commands".
1223 Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1224 Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1225 significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1228 target: source(s) FORCE
1230 **WRONG!** $(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1233 if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
1234 It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
1236 file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
1237 unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
1238 tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
1241 Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1245 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1246 LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1247 LDFLAGS_setup := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1249 targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1250 $(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1251 $(call if_changed,ld)
1253 In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1254 options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1255 LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1256 $(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1257 the targets and will:
1259 1) check for commandline changes
1260 2) delete target during make clean
1262 The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1263 frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1266 It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1267 resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1271 Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1272 arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1273 OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1276 Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1280 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1281 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1282 $(call if_changed,gzip)
1285 Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1286 into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1287 in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1288 blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1290 To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1291 some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1293 A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1294 architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1299 DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1301 7.8 Custom kbuild commands
1302 --------------------------
1304 When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1305 of a command is normally displayed.
1306 To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1307 two variables to be set::
1309 quiet_cmd_<command> - what shall be echoed
1310 cmd_<command> - the command to execute
1315 quiet_cmd_image = BUILD $@
1316 cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1317 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1320 $(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1321 $(call if_changed,image)
1322 @echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1324 When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line:
1326 BUILD arch/x86/boot/bzImage
1328 will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1331 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1332 --------------------------------
1334 When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1335 arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1336 The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1337 located in the same directory.
1338 kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1342 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1343 extra-y := vmlinux.lds
1346 export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1348 The assignment to extra-y is used to tell kbuild to build the
1350 The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1351 specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1353 When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1355 KBUILD_CPPFLAGS : Set in top-level Makefile
1356 cppflags-y : May be set in the kbuild makefile
1357 CPPFLAGS_$(@F) : Target-specific flags.
1358 Note that the full filename is used in this
1361 The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1362 architecture-specific files.
1364 7.10 Generic header files
1365 -------------------------
1367 The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1368 that may be shared between individual architectures.
1369 The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1370 to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1371 See "7.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1376 If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1377 will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1378 for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1381 This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1382 needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1383 kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1384 .tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1386 For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1387 the linked vmlinux file.
1389 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1390 ------------------------------------
1392 The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1393 Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1394 minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1395 The pre-processing does:
1397 - drop kernel-specific annotations
1398 - drop include of compiler.h
1399 - drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1401 All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1402 arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1405 A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1406 arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1407 See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1409 8.1 no-export-headers
1410 ---------------------
1412 no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1413 avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1414 not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1419 If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1420 include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1421 arch/$(ARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1425 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1426 generic-y += termios.h
1429 During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1430 file is generated in the directory::
1432 arch/$(ARCH)/include/generated/asm
1434 When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1435 the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1436 of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1440 The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1442 Example: termios.h::
1444 #include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1449 If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1450 wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1452 This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1457 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1458 generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1463 mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1464 to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1466 This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1467 in arch/$(ARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically generate
1468 a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1473 The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1475 VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1476 These variables define the current kernel version. A few arch
1477 Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1478 $(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1480 $(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1481 three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0". These three
1482 values are always numeric.
1484 $(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1485 or additional patches. It is usually some non-numeric string
1486 such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1489 $(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1490 for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1491 version strings. Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1494 This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1495 "arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1496 determine which files to compile.
1498 By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1499 host system architecture. For a cross build, a user may
1500 override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1506 This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1507 the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1508 Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1510 INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1511 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1512 installation. This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1513 may be passed in by the user if desired.
1515 $(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1516 The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1517 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE). The user may
1518 override this value on the command line if desired.
1521 If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1522 after they are installed. If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1523 default option --strip-debug will be used. Otherwise, the
1524 INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1528 10 Makefile language
1529 ====================
1531 The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make. The Makefiles
1532 use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1535 GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions. The kernel
1536 Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1539 GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=". ":=" performs
1540 immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1541 into the left-hand side. "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1542 right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1543 time the left-hand side is used.
1545 There are some cases where "=" is appropriate. Usually, though, ":="
1546 is the right choice.
1559 - Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1560 - Generating offset header files.
1561 - Add more variables to section 7?