workspace-setup

name

workspace-setup

description

Set up a fresh development workspace for the RealSense MIPI platform driver on a Linux VM. Use when the user has cloned the repo and needs to prepare for building — installing dependencies, downloading NVIDIA sources, applying patches, building, and configuring git. Triggers on requests mentioning setup workspace, prepare environment, first time setup, new workspace, get started, fresh clone, initialize workspace, or onboarding.

Workspace Setup

Prepare a freshly cloned repo for development on a Linux VM (cross-compilation for Jetson).

Workflow Overview

1. Determine JetPack version (guide user if needed)
2. Install build dependencies
3. Configure git identity
4. Run setup_workspace.sh (download NVIDIA sources + toolchain)
5. Run apply_patches.sh (apply D4XX driver patches)
6. Run build_all.sh (build kernel, DTBs, modules)
7. Verify build output

Step 1: Determine JetPack Version

If the user hasn't specified a version, help them choose using this mapping:

Jetson Platform	Supported JetPack Versions
AGX Xavier	4.6.1, 5.0.2, 5.1.2
AGX Orin	6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.2.1

Ask which Jetson model they have, then recommend the latest version for that platform:

• Xavier → 5.1.2
• Orin → 6.2.1

Valid versions: 4.6.1, 5.0.2, 5.1.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.2.1

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies

sudo apt install -y build-essential bc wget flex bison curl libssl-dev xxd

Verify all installed successfully before proceeding.

Step 3: Configure Git Identity

Required before apply_patches.sh (it commits patches to NVIDIA sub-repos).

git config user.name "User Name"
git config user.email "[e-mail]"

Ask the user for their name and email. Set these in the repo root — apply_patches.sh propagates them to sub-repos automatically.

Step 4: Download NVIDIA Sources and Toolchain

./setup_workspace.sh $VERSION

Important: This script is interactive — it displays the NVIDIA license and waits for a keypress. Warn the user they need to interact with the terminal.

What it does:

• Downloads the cross-compilation toolchain to l4t-gcc/$VERSION/
• Clones NVIDIA kernel sources to sources_$VERSION/ (or extracts from ~/nvidia_sources_cache/ if a cached tarball exists)
• For JP 6.x: copies Makefile for out-of-tree module build

This step takes significant time (large git clones). If the user has a cached tarball at ~/nvidia_sources_cache/backup_sources_$VERSION.tar.gz, it will be used instead (much faster).

Step 5: Apply Patches

./apply_patches.sh $VERSION

For JP 5.0.2 only, there is an optional camera configuration flag:

• --one-cam (default) — single camera GMSL board
• --dual-cam — dual camera GMSL board

To reset patches (e.g., before re-applying):

./apply_patches.sh reset $VERSION

Step 6: Build

./build_all.sh $VERSION

Build output goes to images/$VERSION/. This step takes significant time.

Optional flags:

• --clean — remove previous build artifacts first
• --dev-dbg — enable CONFIG_DYNAMIC_DEBUG in kernel

Step 7: Verify Build

Check that build output was produced:

JP 6.x (Orin):

ls images/$VERSION/rootfs/boot/dtb/tegra234-*.dtb
ls images/$VERSION/rootfs/boot/tegra234-camera-d4xx-overlay*.dtbo
ls images/$VERSION/rootfs/lib/modules/*/extra/

JP 4.x/5.x (Xavier):

ls images/$VERSION/arch/arm64/boot/Image
ls images/$VERSION/modules/

If all outputs exist, the workspace is ready for development.

Troubleshooting

• Patches fail to apply: Run ./apply_patches.sh reset $VERSION then retry.
• Missing git identity: Ensure git config user.name and git config user.email are set (Step 3).
• setup_workspace.sh fails on curl/wget: Verify build dependencies are installed (Step 2).
• Build fails with cross-compiler errors: Ensure setup_workspace.sh completed successfully and l4t-gcc/$VERSION/bin/ exists.
• BUILD_NUMBER warning: If this env var is set (common in CI), it changes the kernel vermagic string. Unset it for local builds: unset BUILD_NUMBER.