Initial commit

poky/documentation/dev-manual/bmaptool.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-2.0-UK
+
+Flashing Images Using ``bmaptool``
+**********************************
+
+A fast and easy way to flash an image to a bootable device is to use
+Bmaptool, which is integrated into the OpenEmbedded build system.
+Bmaptool is a generic tool that creates a file's block map (bmap) and
+then uses that map to copy the file. As compared to traditional tools
+such as dd or cp, Bmaptool can copy (or flash) large files like raw
+system image files much faster.
+
+.. note::
+
+   -  If you are using Ubuntu or Debian distributions, you can install
+      the ``bmap-tools`` package using the following command and then
+      use the tool without specifying ``PATH`` even from the root
+      account::
+
+         $ sudo apt install bmap-tools
+
+   -  If you are unable to install the ``bmap-tools`` package, you will
+      need to build Bmaptool before using it. Use the following command::
+
+         $ bitbake bmap-tools-native
+
+Following, is an example that shows how to flash a Wic image. Realize
+that while this example uses a Wic image, you can use Bmaptool to flash
+any type of image. Use these steps to flash an image using Bmaptool:
+
+#. *Update your local.conf File:* You need to have the following set
+   in your ``local.conf`` file before building your image::
+
+      IMAGE_FSTYPES += "wic wic.bmap"
+
+#. *Get Your Image:* Either have your image ready (pre-built with the
+   :term:`IMAGE_FSTYPES`
+   setting previously mentioned) or take the step to build the image::
+
+      $ bitbake image
+
+#. *Flash the Device:* Flash the device with the image by using Bmaptool
+   depending on your particular setup. The following commands assume the
+   image resides in the :term:`Build Directory`'s ``deploy/images/`` area:
+
+   -  If you have write access to the media, use this command form::
+
+         $ oe-run-native bmap-tools-native bmaptool copy build-directory/tmp/deploy/images/machine/image.wic /dev/sdX
+
+   -  If you do not have write access to the media, set your permissions
+      first and then use the same command form::
+
+         $ sudo chmod 666 /dev/sdX
+         $ oe-run-native bmap-tools-native bmaptool copy build-directory/tmp/deploy/images/machine/image.wic /dev/sdX
+
+For help on the ``bmaptool`` command, use the following command::
+
+   $ bmaptool --help
+