The official build framework for the Armbian Linux distribution. This repository contains the complete toolchain and scripts required to compile custom OS images from source, including kernel configuration, U-Boot handling, and board-specific tweaks for various ARM and ARM64 single-board computers.

Armbian Linux Build Framework

Purpose of This Repository

The Armbian Linux Build Framework builds customizable OS images based on Debian or Ubuntu for single-board computers (SBCs) and other embedded devices. It assembles the kernel, bootloader, firmware, device trees and root filesystem into a reproducible image, with per-board and per-family configuration.

Looking for prebuilt images? Use Armbian Imager — the easiest way to download and flash Armbian to an SD card or USB drive. Available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/armbian/build
cd build
./compile.sh

The entrypoint compile.sh sources lib/single.sh and dispatches into the framework in lib/. Build-time options can be passed on the command line, e.g.:

./compile.sh BOARD=orangepi5 BRANCH=current RELEASE=trixie BUILD_MINIMAL=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no

Build Host Requirements

Hardware

RAM: ≥ 8 GB (less with KERNEL_BTF=no)
Disk: ~50 GB free space
Architecture: x86_64, aarch64 or riscv64

Operating System

Native builds: Armbian / Debian 13 (Trixie)
Containerized: any Docker-capable Linux
Windows: WSL2 with Armbian / Debian 13 (Trixie)

Software

Superuser privileges (sudo or root)
An up-to-date host (outdated Docker or other tooling can cause failures)

Repository Layout

Path	Contents
`compile.sh`	Build entrypoint; sources `lib/single.sh` and invokes the CLI
`lib/`	Core build framework (Bash functions, Python helpers under `lib/tools/`)
`config/`	Board, family, distribution, kernel and CLI configuration
`config/boards/`	One file per board; the extension marks its support status (see below)
`config/distributions/`	Supported Debian/Ubuntu release metadata
`config/cli/`	CLI package selections per release
`config/its/`	Image Tree Source files for device tree builder
`patch/`	Kernel, U-Boot and ATF patch sets organized by family/version
`packages/`	In-tree package sources, blobs and BSP material
`extensions/`	Optional build extensions enabled via `ENABLE_EXTENSIONS=`
`tools/`	Developer helpers (`mk_format_patch`, `unifying_configs`)
`action.yml`	GitHub Action definition ("Rebuild Armbian")

Board config extensions

Files under config/boards/ use an extension that signals support status:

Extension	Meaning
`.conf`	Standard board configuration
`.csc`	Community maintained / unstable (no active Armbian maintainer)
`.wip`	Work in progress
`.eos`	End of life
`.tvb`	TV box, community supported (no Armbian maintainer)

See config/boards/README.md for the full list of per-board variables (e.g. BOARD_NAME, BOARD_VENDOR, BOARDFAMILY, BOOTCONFIG, KERNEL_TARGET, SERIALCON, MODULES, DEFAULT_OVERLAYS).

Release/package base statuses used under config/distributions/ are defined separately in config/distributions/README.md.

Built With

Bash — build framework in lib/, entrypoint compile.sh, most of extensions/, and the shell portions of board/family configs
Python — developer and build helpers under lib/tools/
Make / Kbuild — kernel and U-Boot build systems invoked by the framework; overlay Makefiles under patch/kernel/archive/*/overlay/
Device Tree Source (.dts / .dtsi / .dtso) — board and overlay sources carried under patch/
GitHub Actions (YAML) — repository automation under .github/workflows/
Patch series — thousands of *.patch files under patch/ applied to kernel, U-Boot and ATF trees

Continuous Integration

Repository automation (board/maintainer data sync, labeling, security scanning, artifact builds, mirroring, etc.) lives in .github/workflows/. For a live overview of workflow runs and status, see:

👉 CI overview for armbian/build

Self-hosted runner setup notes live in .github/workflows/README.md.

Using the GitHub Action

This repository publishes a composite action (action.yml, "Rebuild Armbian") that can be consumed from other workflows to build an image or a kernel.

Input	Required	Default
`armbian_token`	yes	—
`armbian_target`	no	`kernel`
`armbian_board`	no	`uefi-x86`
`armbian_branch`	no	`main`
`armbian_kernel_branch`	no	`current`
`armbian_release`	no	`noble`
`armbian_ui`	no	`minimal`
`armbian_compress`	no	`sha,img,xz`
`armbian_extensions`	no	(empty)
`armbian_artifacts`	no	`build/output/images/`

See action.yml for the full input list (versioning, signing, publishing and release-metadata options).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to report issues, how to prepare patches (including the ./compile.sh CREATE_PATCHES="yes" flow) and the PR / labeling conventions. The .github/labels.yml file is the source of truth for labels.