yocto-recipe-review

name	yocto-recipe-review
description	Review and improve Yocto/OpenEmbedded recipes, bbappends, bbclasses, package splits, dependencies, licensing, source fetching, patch handling, install logic, systemd/init integration, PACKAGECONFIG, and modern BitBake override syntax. Use for .bb, .bbappend, .bbclass, recipe diffs, recipe modernization, packaging errors, or metadata code review.

Yocto Recipe Review

Use this skill for .bb, .bbappend, and .bbclass review. Optimize for release-aware, reproducible, package-correct metadata.

Review Checklist

Inspect:

SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
HOMEPAGE
LICENSE
LIC_FILES_CHKSUM
SRC_URI
SRCREV
S
inherit
DEPENDS
PACKAGECONFIG
do_configure
do_compile
do_install
FILES:${PN}
RDEPENDS:${PN}
SYSTEMD_SERVICE:${PN}

Findings to Prioritize

• old override syntax in a modern layer without a release reason
• missing or vague LICENSE and LIC_FILES_CHKSUM
• ${AUTOREV} in production metadata
• missing DEPENDS for headers, libraries, generated code tools, or -native tools
• runtime dependency added to DEPENDS instead of RDEPENDS:<package>
• installed files not covered by FILES:*
• installing outside ${D}
• host path or host tool contamination
• unnecessary INSANE_SKIP
• patch entries with missing upstream status or fuzz
• bbappend that is too version-specific or too broad for the intended target

Modern Syntax

Prefer:

FILES:${PN} += "${bindir}/tool"
RDEPENDS:${PN} += "bash"
PACKAGECONFIG:append = " feature"
do_install:append() {
    install -d ${D}${bindir}
}

Avoid _append, _prepend, _remove, and old package override syntax unless the target release requires it.

References

• Read ../../references/bitbake/variables-core.md for variable semantics.
• Read ../../references/bitbake/classes-core.md for class-specific review.
• Read ../../references/yocto/qa-errors.md for package QA risks.
• Use ../../references/shared/official-doc-map.md to route official docs.

Output

Lead with code-review findings:

Findings:
- [severity] file:line issue and Yocto impact

Suggested metadata:
...

Validation:
- bitbake -e <recipe>
- bitbake -c patch <recipe>
- bitbake <recipe>
- bitbake <image>