Warn the user about the usage of output/target as the root filesystem
PATCH 1/1 Warn the user about the usage of output/target as the root filesystem
A very common mistake done by our users is that they use output/target/ directory as their root filesystem. Even though this is loudly documented in our Buildroot manual, people don't read documentation, so it is not sufficient.
This patch adds a text file named output/target/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM which explains why output/target isn't appropriate to use as the root filesystem. The process is:
* At the beginning of the build, right after the skeleton has been copied, support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt is copied to output/target/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM
* In the filesystem images creation code, this file is removed before launching fakeroot, and restored right after that, so that this file is not present in the generated root filesystem images.
Note that the file has not been added to the default skeleton for two reasons:
* It would have annoying to have in our source tree a file named in capital letters inside system/skeleton/
* The proposed way works even if the user uses a custom skeleton.
--- Makefile | 5 +++++ fs/common.mk | 2 ++ support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3 files changed, 36 insertions(+) create mode 100644 support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt
Makefile +5 -0
@@ -269,6 +269,10 @@ LEGAL_LICENSES_TXT=$(LEGAL_INFO_DIR)/licenses.txt LEGAL_WARNINGS=$(LEGAL_INFO_DIR)/.warnings LEGAL_REPORT=$(LEGAL_INFO_DIR)/README +# Location of a file giving a big fat warning that output/target +# should not be used as the root filesystem. +TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE=$(TARGET_DIR)/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM + ifeq ($(BR2_CCACHE),y) CCACHE:=$(HOST_DIR)/usr/bin/ccache BUILDROOT_CACHE_DIR = $(call qstrip,$(BR2_CCACHE_DIR))
@@ -403,6 +407,7 @@ $(BUILD_DIR)/.root: cp -fa $(TARGET_SKELETON)/* $(TARGET_DIR)/; \ fi; \ fi + cp support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt $(TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE) -find $(TARGET_DIR) -type d -name CVS -print0 -o -name .svn -print0 | xargs -0 rm -rf -find $(TARGET_DIR) -type f \( -name .empty -o -name '*~' \) -print0 | xargs -0 rm -rf touch $@
fs/common.mk +2 -0
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ $(BINARIES_DIR)/rootfs.$(1): $(ROOTFS_$(2)_DEPENDENCIES) @$(call MESSAGE,"Generating root filesystem image rootfs.$(1)") $(foreach hook,$(ROOTFS_$(2)_PRE_GEN_HOOKS),$(call $(hook))$(sep)) rm -f $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) + rm -f $(TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE) echo "chown -R 0:0 $(TARGET_DIR)" >> $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) ifneq ($(ROOTFS_DEVICE_TABLES),) cat $(ROOTFS_DEVICE_TABLES) > $(FULL_DEVICE_TABLE)
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ endif echo "$(ROOTFS_$(2)_CMD)" >> $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) chmod a+x $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) $(HOST_DIR)/usr/bin/fakeroot -- $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) + cp support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt $(TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE) - at rm -f $(FAKEROOT_SCRIPT) $(FULL_DEVICE_TABLE) $(foreach hook,$(ROOTFS_$(2)_POST_GEN_HOOKS),$(call $(hook))$(sep)) ifeq ($$(BR2_TARGET_ROOTFS_$(2)_GZIP),y)
support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt new file +29 -0
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Warning! +======== + +This directory does *not* contain the root filesystem that you can use +on your embedded system. Since Buildroot does not run as root, it +cannot create device files and set the permissions and ownership of +files correectly in this directory to make it usable as a root +filesystem. + +For that reason, do *not* use the contents of this directory to mount +your root filesystem over NFS or copy the contents of this directory +to a SD card or USB key, thinking it will work as the root filesystem +for your embedded system. It will simply *not* work. + +Instead, if you need a usable root filesystem, please select one of +the filesystem image formats available in the Buildroot configuration +interface (make menuconfig or others) in the "Filesystem images" +sub-menu. If you want to get a filesystem image that you can easily +extract to your SD card or to some directory exposed through NFS, +please use the "tar the root filesystem" option. It will generate a +images/rootfs.tar image in your Buildroot output directory, which you +can extract as root: + + sudo tar -C /destination/of/extraction -xf images/rootfs.tar + +Those image files are created using the contents of the target/ +directory, but there is a post-processing step to create device files +and set owernship/permissions properly even if Buildroot does not run +as root.
Signature · 1 line
1.7.9.5
PATCH 1/1 Warn the user about the usage of output/target as the root filesystem
Quoted 21 lines · Thomas Petazzoni
A very common mistake done by our users is that they use output/target/ directory as their root filesystem. Even though this is loudly documented in our Buildroot manual, people don't read documentation, so it is not sufficient.
This patch adds a text file named output/target/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM which explains why output/target isn't appropriate to use as the root filesystem. The process is:
* At the beginning of the build, right after the skeleton has been copied,
support/misc/target-dir-warning.txtis copied to output/target/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM* In the filesystem images creation code, this file is removed before launching fakeroot, and restored right after that, so that this file is not present in the generated root filesystem images.
Note that the file has not been added to the default skeleton for two reasons:
Quoted 7 lines
* It would have annoying to have in our source tree a file named in capital letters inside system/skeleton/
* The proposed way works even if the user uses a custom skeleton.
Signed-off-by Thomas Petazzoni <[email protected]>Cc Juha Lumme <[email protected]>
PATCH 1/1 Warn the user about the usage of output/target as the root filesystem
In reply to Thomas Petazzonisupport/misc/target-dir-warning.txt line 8
Quoted 5 lines · Thomas Petazzoni
support/misc/target-dir-warning.txt new file +5
-0+This directory does *not* contain the root filesystem that you can use +on your embedded system. Since Buildroot does not run as root, it +cannot create device files and set the permissions and ownership of +files correectly in this directory to make it usable as a root +filesystem.
Typo at "correectly".
Signature · 1 line
Richard Braun
PATCH 1/1 Warn the user about the usage of output/target as the root filesystem
In reply to Thomas PetazzoniQuoted 1 line
Quoted 1 line
Quoted 1 line
Quoted 1 line
Quoted 1 line
"Thomas" == Thomas Petazzoni <[email protected]> writes:
Thomas> A very common mistake done by our users is that they use Thomas> output/target/ directory as their root filesystem. Even though this is Thomas> loudly documented in our Buildroot manual, people don't read Thomas> documentation, so it is not sufficient.
Committed with the typo fixed, thanks.
Signature · 1 line
Bye, Peter Korsgaard