K230 Linux SDK

• Documentation: https://www.kendryte.com/zh/sdkResource/230linux
• CI Images: https://download.kendryte.com/k230/release/linux_sdk_images/daily_build/

This document uses the k230d_canmv_defconfig configuration as an example. If you use a different configuration, replace k230d_canmv_defconfig with the appropriate name. All supported configurations can be found in the buildroot-overlay/configs/ directory.

Install Toolchain and Dependencies

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/kendryte/k230_linux_sdk.git  # Clone the source code
cd k230_linux_sdk # Enter the source directory
sudo make toolchain_and_depend
# Installs the GCC toolchain and SDK dependencies. See tools/install_toolchain_and_depend.sh for details.

• This SDK has been verified on Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04. Other versions may encounter build issues.

• Only k230d_canmv_ilp32_defconfig requires the rv64ilp32 toolchain to be installed manually:

  # Only needed for k230d_canmv_ilp32_defconfig
  wget -c https://github.com/ruyisdk/riscv-gnu-toolchain-rv64ilp32/releases/download/2024.06.25/riscv64ilp32-elf-ubuntu-22.04-gcc-nightly-2024.06.25-nightly.tar.gz
  mkdir -p /opt/toolchain/riscv64ilp32-elf-ubuntu-22.04-gcc-nightly-2024.06.25/
  tar -xvf riscv64ilp32-elf-ubuntu-22.04-gcc-nightly-2024.06.25-nightly.tar.gz \
      -C /opt/toolchain/riscv64ilp32-elf-ubuntu-22.04-gcc-nightly-2024.06.25/

Build

The build consists of three steps, executed in order:

1. make <defconfig>: Select the build configuration. Only needs to be run once; configuration files are in the buildroot-overlay/configs/ directory
2. make source: Download the open-source software archives required by the configuration (optional, can be skipped if the source packages have already been prepared manually)
3. make: Perform the build

Example commands:

make k230d_canmv_defconfig && make source && make         # Build k230d CanMV image (64-bit kernel and rootfs)
# make k230_canmv_defconfig && make source  && make       # Build k230 CanMV image
# make k230d_canmv_ilp32_defconfig && make source && make # Build k230d CanMV image (32-bit rootfs)
# make help                                               # Show help

The initial build takes considerable time. To skip compilation and try the Linux system directly, download the daily build image from Canaan.

Output

output/k230d_canmv_defconfig/images/sysimage-sdcard.img.gz

k230d_canmv_defconfig is an example — replace it with your actual configuration name. Uncompress the image, burn it to a TF card, insert the card into the device, and power on.

U-Boot

make uboot-rebuild    # Rebuild U-Boot
make uboot-dirclean   # Clean U-Boot build artifacts

Directory layout:

Directory	Description
buildroot-overlay/boot/uboot/u-boot-2022.10-overlay/	U-Boot overlay source
output/k230d_canmv_defconfig/build/uboot-2022.10/	U-Boot full source and build directory

Linux Kernel

make linux-menuconfig     # Modify kernel configuration
make linux-savedefconfig  # Save kernel configuration to defconfig
make linux-rebuild        # Rebuild kernel
make linux-dirclean       # Clean kernel build artifacts

Buildroot (SDK Configuration)

make menuconfig      # Modify SDK configuration
make savedefconfig   # Save SDK configuration

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo make debian  # Generate Debian distribution image
sudo make ubuntu  # Generate Ubuntu distribution image

The initial build takes considerable time. To skip compilation, download the daily build image from Canaan.

For more information about Debian/Ubuntu, see K230 Debian/Ubuntu System Guide.

AI Demo

• Source directory: buildroot-overlay/package/ai_demo/

  ls buildroot-overlay/package/ai_demo/                # List all AI demos
  ls buildroot-overlay/package/ai_demo/face_detection/  # View face_detection source

• Build a single demo (using face_detection as an example):

  make face_detection-dirclean  # Clean build artifacts
  make face_detection           # Build

• Enable additional demos: By default, only face_detection is enabled. To enable others, use the menu:

  make menuconfig
  # Target packages → Canaan package → AI →
  #   [*] face detection
  #   [ ] demo mix
  #   [ ] bytetrack
  #   ...
  #   [ ] face_mesh
  #   [ ] face_parse
  #   [ ] face_pose
  #   [ ] face_verification

• Run a demo: Navigate to the corresponding directory under /root/app/ on the device:

  cd /root/app/face_detection/
  ls
  # face_detect_image.sh       face_detection_320.kmodel
  # face_detect_isp.sh         face_detection_640.kmodel
  # face_detection.elf
  ./face_detect_isp.sh

• For more information, see the K230 AI Demo Guide.

FAQ

For frequently asked questions, see K230 FAQ.

Resources

• K230 Linux SDK Documentation
• K230 Community Forum
• K230 Product Center
• K230 Documentation Hub
• K230 Debian/Ubuntu System Guide