Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst

15 section below: it contains a step-by-step guide, which is more detailed, but
57 Compiling your own Linux kernel is easy in principle. There are various ways to
58 do it. Which of them actually work and is the best depends on the circumstances.
62 goal is to cover everything typically needed on mainstream Linux distributions
65 The described approach is great for testing purposes, for example to try a
94    quickest and easiest way to achieve this on commodity x86 systems is to
130    partially cloning the Linux stable git repository. This is called a shallow
143    If you want to access recent mainline releases and pre-releases, deepen you
157    is ideal for checking whether developers already fixed an issue::
163    pre-release like ``v6.2-rc1`` will work, too. Stable or longterm versions
176    If the ``-p1`` is actually needed, depends on how the patch was created; in
208    Using this make target is fine for everybody else, too -- but you often can
218    There is a catch: 'localmodconfig' is likely to disable kernel features you
223    it is often negligible if such features are missing. But you should keep that
266    Often all left for you to do afterwards is a ``reboot``, as many commodity
329  * Your kernel is easy to remove later, as its parts are only stored in two
334    Start by deleting the directory holding your kernel's modules, which is named
352 Did you run into trouble following any of the above steps that is not cleared up
356 Linux docs mailing list (linux-doc@vger.kernel.org). Such feedback is vital to
357 improve this document further, which is in everybody's interest, as it will
394 with the help of a certificate and signing. How to do that is not described
399 Temporarily disabling solutions like Secure Boot is another way to make your own
400 Linux boot. On commodity x86 systems it is possible to do this in the BIOS Setup
404 On mainstream x86 Linux distributions there is a third and universal option:
407 tell you to create a one-time password, which is safe to write down. Now
426 The kernel is pretty stand-alone, but besides tools like the compiler you will
492 git clone. There is :ref:`more to tell about this method<sources_shallow>` and
495 be wiser to use a proper pre-release than the latest mainline code
511 The step-by-step guide uses a shallow clone, as it is the best solution for most
554 front-page of https://kernel.org is the best approach to retrieve Linux'
556 kernel version without changing any code. Thing is: you might be sure this will
568 mainline pre-release (aka 'rc') via the front-page of kernel.org would.
570 A shallow clone therefore is often the better choice. If you nevertheless want
584 If downloading and storing a lot of data (~4,4 Gigabyte as of early 2023) is
604 Proper pre-releases (RCs) vs. latest mainline
608 will retrieve a codebase that is somewhere between the latest and the next
609 release or pre-release. This almost always is the code you want when giving
610 mainline a shot: pre-releases like v6.1-rc5 are in no way special, as they do
613 There is one exception: you might want to stick to the latest mainline release
614 (say v6.1) before its successor's first pre-release (v6.2-rc1) is out. That is
616 time, as mainline then is in its 'merge window': a usually two week long phase,
617 in which the bulk of the changes for the next release is merged.
632 of the Linux stable repository  every few hours. This lag most of the time is
654 This is the point where you might want to patch your kernel -- for example when
706    that is not the intended one, simply store it as '~/linux/.config'
744 is hard to think of everything that might be needed -- even kernel developers
792 as it is; but you should take a closer look at this, if you might need to decode
812 You on the other hand definitely want to enable them, if there is a decent
864 (ncurses, Qt5, Gtk2); an error message will tell you if something required is
887 which of the two it is. To perform such a investigation, restart the build
905 This most of the time will find something that will explain what is wrong; quite
911 reported by others already. That includes issues where the cause is not your
929 This is just a selection of available make targets for this purpose, see
954 ``/sbin/`` that does everything needed, hence there is nothing left for you
959 If ``installkernel`` is found, the kernel's build system will delegate the
996 The process to build later kernels is similar, but at some points slightly
1023 One of the two places is a directory in /lib/modules/, which holds the modules
1024 for each installed kernel. This directory is named after the kernel's release
1028 The other place is /boot/, where typically one to five files will be placed
1049 when all you want is to remove 6.0 or 6.0.1.
1061 As initially stated, this guide is 'designed to cover everything typically
1071 That being said: this of course is a balancing act. Hence, if you think an
1072 additional use-case is worth describing, suggest it to the maintainers of this
1079    This document is maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info>. If
1087    This text is available under GPL-2.0+ or CC-BY-4.0, as stated at the top
1094    is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed