# \[ Buildroot Topic Template \]
**URL:** https://hub.mender.io/t/buildroot-topic-template/560
**Category:** Buildroot
**Tags:** template
**Created:** [May 14, 2019, 8:14am UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/buildroot-topic-template/560 "2019-05-14T08:14:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mirzak](https://hub.mender.io/u/mirzak)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2019, 8:14am UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/buildroot-topic-template/560/1 "2019-05-14T08:14:59Z")
**NOTE!** This has the same content which is presented when you press the “+ New Topic” button, but we store this here for traceability. All updates to this topic must be pushed to “Yocto Project” -\> “Edit” -\> “Topic Template” as well. That is the raw markdown content. **END NOTE**
The official [Mender documentation](https://docs.mender.io/) explains how Mender works. This is simply a board-specific complement to the official documentation.
# Board description
TODO: Short description of board
TODO: Upload board picture here.
URL: TODO: vendor URL with board specs
Wiki: TODO: wiki URL (if available)
# Test results
The Buildroot releases in the table below have been tested by the Mender community. Please update it if you have tested this integration on other releases.
TODO: Update table below with Buildroot versions tested & result. Sample data:
| Buildroot | Build | Runtime |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [2019.02](https://git.buildroot.net/buildroot/tag/?h=2019.02) | :test_workaround: [1](#footnote1) | :test_works: |
| [2018.11.3](https://git.buildroot.net/buildroot/tag/?h=2018.11.3) | :test_works: | :test_fails: [2](#footnote2) |
1. Build issue due to systemd-network…workaround steps…
2. Board does not boot, freezes after U-Boot prompt with the following message…
**Build** Means that the Buildroot build using this Mender integration completes without errors and outputs images.
**Runtime** Means that Mender has been verified to work on the board. For U-Boot-based boards, the [integration checklist](https://docs.mender.io/devices/yocto-project/bootloader-support/u-boot/integration-checklistt?target=_blank) has been verified.
# Getting started
## Prerequisites
- A supported Linux distribution and dependencies installed on your workstation/laptop as described in the [Buildroot Manual](https://buildroot.org/downloads/manual/manual.html#requirement)
- NOTE. Instructions depend on which Buildroot version you intend to use.
## Configuring the build
### Setup Buildroot environment
Set the Buildroot tag you are building for:
```auto
# set to your branch, make sure it is supported (see table above)
export BR2_TAG="2019.05"
```
Clone this repository:
```auto
git clone https://github.com/mendersoftware/buildroot-mender -b ${BR2_TAG}
```
Change directory to `buildroot-mender`:
```auto
cd buildroot-mender
```
Fetch submodules:
```auto
git submodule init --update
```
## Setup build environment
Generate configuration file (Mender configs merged with upstream config):
```auto
./buildroot-external-mender/board/freescale//gen-defconfig.sh
```
Configure Buildroot:
```auto
make mender__defconfig
```
### Configure Mender server URL (optional)
This section is not required for a successful build but images that are generated by default are only suitable for usage with the Mender client in [Standalone deployments](https://docs.mender.io/architecture/standalone-deployments?target=_blank), due to lack of server configuration.
You can edit the `buildroot-external-mender/board/common/rootfs_overlay/etc/mender/mender.conf` file to provide your Mender server configuration, ensuring the generated images and Mender Artifacts are connecting to the Mender server that you are using.
#### Build for Hosted Mender
To get your tenant token:
- log in to [https://hosted.mender.io](https://hosted.mender.io)
- click your email at the top right and then “My organization”
- press the “COPY TO CLIPBOARD”
- assign content of clipboard to `TenantToken`
Example `buildroot-external-mender/board/common/rootfs_overlay/etc/mender/mender.conf`:
```auto
{
"InventoryPollIntervalSeconds": 5,
"UpdatePollIntervalSeconds": 5,
"RetryPollIntervalSeconds": 10,
"ServerURL": "https://hosted.mender.io",
"TenantToken": ""
}
```
#### Build for Mender demo server
This is if you have followed the [Getting started documentation](https://docs.mender.io/getting-started/create-a-test-environment) where you launch a Mender server locally and to configure your enviroment to connect to this local server you need to provide the IP address of the server on the local network.
By default the demo enviroment will connect to `docker.mender.io` and `s3.docker.mender.io` and we need to make sure that these are resolved to the local IP address of the running server by adding the following entry to `/etc/hosts`
```auto
echo "192.168.0.100" >> buildroot-external-mender/board/common/rootfs_overlay/etc/hosts
```
No changes are required to the `mender.conf ` file in this case it will be already setup to connecto to `docker.mender.io`.
### Building the image
You can now proceed with building an image:
```auto
make
```
### Using the build output
After a successful build, the images and build artifacts are placed in `buildroot/output/images`
The disk image (with TODO: select right one `.sdimg`/`.uefiimg` / `.biosimg` suffix) is used to provision the device storage for devices without Mender running already. Please proceed to [the official documentation on provisioning a new device](https://docs.mender.io/artifacts/provisioning-a-new-device?target=_blank) for steps to do this.
On the other hand, if you already have Mender running on your device and want to deploy a rootfs update using this build, you should use the [Mender Artifact](https://docs.mender.io/architecture/mender-artifacts?target=_blank) files, which have `.mender` suffix. You can either deploy this Artifact in managed mode with the Mender server (upload it under Releases in the server UI) or by using the Mender client only in [Standalone deployments](https://docs.mender.io/architecture/standalone-deployments?target=_blank).
# References
TODO: Add any relevant references such as repository README.md files, etc.
# Known issues
- Known issue #1
- Known issue #2
- …
* * *
_If this post was useful to you, please press like, or leave a thank you note to the contributor who put valuable time into this and made it available to you. It will be much appreciated!_
---
### Author:  [@TheYoctoJester](https://hub.mender.io/u/TheYoctoJester)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://hub.mender.io/t/buildroot-topic-template/560/2 "2025-07-25T10:42:35Z")
2 posts were split to a new topic: [Buildroot integration maintenance](https://hub.mender.io/t/buildroot-integration-maintenance/7918)