Armbian

Read the Chinese version: 查看中文说明

Armbian is a lightweight Linux-based operating system based on Debian/Ubuntu built specifically for ARM devices. Armbian is lean, clean, 100% compatible and inherits the functions and rich software ecosystem of Debian/Ubuntu. It can run safely and stably from TF/SD/USB and can be installed to the eMMC on most TV boxes. Now you can replace the Android system of your TV box with Armbian, turning it into a powerful server.

This project relies on many contributors to build Armbian systems for Amlogic, Rockchip, and Allwinner boxes. It supports writing to eMMC, updating the kernel, and other functions. Please refer to the Armbian Documentation for more information on Armbian. The latest Armbian builds can be downloaded from Releases. Welcome to the Armbian Discussions to discuss and share. You are welcome to fork and personalize it. If it is useful to you then please click on the star in the upper right corner of the github repository page to show your support. Thanks!

Armbian system specific instructions

💡Tip: Currently s905 Boxes can only boot from TF/SD/USB. Most other TV boxes support installing Armbian to eMMC. Detailed configuration information of the device can be viewed in the device model database.

Generic installation instructions

The exact installation process for Armbian varies depending upon your devices chipset and model but these instructions are written to be as generic as possible and should apply to all TV boxes.

Hardware support

You need to know the exact make and model of your box and which .dtb (Device Tree Blob) file you need to use to get your box to boot with all supported devices working. Under Android, go to Settings -> System -> About phone to find out the exact model of your TV box.

If you have got your box working but its not listed on either page then see section 12.15 of the documentation for details on how to add support for new devices.

Write the Armbian image to a disk

For instructions covering installing Armbian on Rockchip TV boxes, please refer to Section 8 of the documentation.

For Amlogic and Allwinner boxes，you will have to uncompress the installation image using gunzip first before writing the image to a TF, SD or USB disk using Rufus, balenaEtcher or gnome-disk-utility. You could also use dd but that is not recommended.

After writing the Armbian image, you may need to edit the FDT line in uEnv.txt on the BOOT partition of the disk to use the correct .dtb file for your TV box.

To find the correct dtb to use with Armbian for your box, see Description of Supported Device List or search for your box in the list of system specific instructions at the top of this page.

Enable multi-boot mode - Amlogic TV boxes only

If this is your first time attempting to boot from a SD card or USB disk on an Amlogic TV box, you must first enable multi-boot mode. Insert the Armbian disk then hold down the button in the AV port by inserting a paper clip, a pin or something similar and keep it depressed while powering the device on. Keep the button pressed until you see the boot screen of your box. After a few seconds it should reboot from your SD card or USB disk. You are only required to enable multi-boot mode once.

Running armbian-install

On first boot, Armbian will resize its root partition to use all of the space available on its disk and it will ask you several system configuration questions like your timezone, keyboard layout, username and password etc. After logging in as root or using sudo run:

armbian-install

To start the eMMC installation script. The available options are:

If you can boot Armbian fine from TF/SD/USB and the install script says it installed Armbian to eMMC OK but Armbian fails to boot from eMMC then you should try re-installing Armbian using mainline u-boot instead by running:

armbian-install -m yes

Updating the Armbian Kernel

You won't be able to use all of your hardware properly unless you are running the correct kernel and using the right .dtb. Unfortuntely Armbian cannot auto-detect these for you. In most cases, you are recommended to run the latest kernel version available for your TV box but some features on some devices will only work on specific kernels. For example, 4K HDMI output only works on the X96 Max+ 2T when running a 5.10 series kernel, 4K output doesn't currently work under the 5.15.x or 6.x kernels for that specific model.

Login in to Armbian and run:

# Run as root user (sudo -i)
# If no parameter is specified, it will update to the latest version.
armbian-update

armbian-update's options include:

Example: armbian-update -k 5.15.50 -u dev

When specifying the kernel version using the -k parameter, you can provide an exact version number, for example: armbian-update -k 5.15.50. Alternatively, you can provide a fuzzy specification to indicate the kernel series, for example: armbian-update -k 5.15. When using a fuzzy specification, the tool will automatically select the latest version available in the specified series.

See here for a list of all currently available stable kernel tarballs.

When updating the kernel, the current kernel will be automatically backed up. The three most recently used kernels are stored in the /ddbr/backup directory. If the newly installed kernel is unstable, the backed up kernel can be restored at any time. If the update fails and the system cannot be started, you can start any version of Armbian via USB/TF/SD to recover the system in eMMC. For more instructions, see the help documentation.

Update Armbian scripts

To update all Armbian scripts to the latest versions, run:

armbian-sync

armbian-software store

armbian-software can be used to install various popular apps, added to the Armbian software center according to user demand and feedback given in github Issues, gradually integrating commonly used software to achieve one-click install/update/uninstall of popular programs such as docker images, desktop software, popular server solutions, etc. See more here.

Armbian config tool

Armbian has a handy TUI config tool for changing key system settings:

armbian-config

Create swap for Armbian

If you feel that your TV box has insufficient memory for running demanding applications such as docker, you can create a swap virtual memory partition. armbian-swap lets the user configure how much disk space is reserved for swap memory. The input parameter defines how many gigabytes of space you want to reserve for swap. The default is 1 GB.

armbian-swap 1

Configuring the TV box LED display

It is worthwhile configuring your LED display, if your box has one, if only so that you know when your TV box has finished booting when it is not connected to a HDMI screen.

armbian-openvfd

Full configuration instructions for the LED display are here.

Backup and restore the original eMMC Android OS

Armbian supports backing up and restoring your TV box's Android eMMC OS partition to TF/SD/USB. It is recommended that you back up the Android system that comes with your box before installing Armbian so that you have the option to restore your TV box to its original state.

You may back up your TV box's Android OS by running:

armbian-ddbr

Following the prompt, enter b to perform a system backup or r to perform a system recovery.

Compile the kernel in Armbian

To build your own Armbian kernel, see the compile-kernel documentation. Please login in to armbian → input command:

armbian-kernel -u
armbian-kernel -k 5.10.125

Local build instructions

1. Clone the repository git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ophub/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian.git

2. Install the necessary packages (The script has only been tested on x86_64 Ubuntu-20.04/22.04)

sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get full-upgrade -y
# For Ubuntu-22.04
sudo apt-get install -y $(cat compile-kernel/tools/script/ubuntu2204-build-armbian-depends)

3. Enter the ~/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian root directory, create the build/output/images folder and then upload the Armbian image ( Eg: Armbian_21.11.0-trunk_Odroidn2_current_5.15.50.img ) to this ~/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian/build/output/images directory. Please keep the release version number (e.g. 21.11.0) and kernel version number (e.g. 5.15.50) in the name of the original Armbian image file, It will be used as the name of the armbian system after rebuilding.

4. Enter the ~/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian root directory, and then run, for example sudo ./rebuild -b s905x3 -k 5.10.125 to build armbian for amlogic s9xxx. The generated Armbian image is in the build/output/images directory under the root directory.

Description of localized packaging parameters

• sudo ./rebuild: Use the default configuration to build all TV box images.
• sudo ./rebuild -b s905x3 -k 5.10.125: recommend. Use the default configuration, specify a kernel and a system for compilation.
• sudo ./rebuild -b s905x3_s905d -k 5.10.125_5.15.50: Use the default configuration, specify multiple cores, and multiple system for compilation. use _ to connect.
• sudo ./rebuild -b s905x3 -k 5.10.125 -s 2560: Use the default configuration, specify a kernel, a system, and set the partition size for compilation.
• sudo ./rebuild -b s905x3_s905d: Use the default configuration, specify multiple system, use _ to connect. compile all kernels.
• sudo ./rebuild -k 5.10.125_5.15.50: Use the default configuration. Specify multiple cores, use _ to connect.
• sudo ./rebuild -k 5.10.125_5.15.50 -a true: Use the default configuration. Specify multiple cores, use _ to connect. Auto update to the latest kernel of the same series.
• sudo ./rebuild -t btrfs -s 2560 -k 5.10.125: Use the default configuration, set the file system to btrfs format and the partition size to 2560MiB, and only compile the armbian system with the kernel version 5.10.125.

Use GitHub Actions to build

1. Workflows configuration in build-armbian.yml file.

2. New compilation: Select Build armbian on the Actions page, According to the OS version officially supported by Armbian, you can choose Ubuntu series: jammy, or Debian series: bullseye. Click the Run workflow button. More parameter setting methods can be found in the official document of Armbian.

3. Compile again: If there is an Armbian_.*-trunk_.*.img.gz file in Releases, you do not need to compile it completely, you can directly use this file to build amlogic armbian for a different board. Select Use Releases file to build armbian on the Actions page. Click the Run workflow button.

4. Use other Armbian system, such as odroidn2 provided by the official Armbian system download site armbian.tnahosting.net, only by introducing the script of this repository in the process control file rebuild-armbian.yml for Armbian reconstruction, it can be adapted to the use of other TV Boxes. In the Actions page, select Rebuild armbian, and enter the Armbian network download url such as https://dl.armbian.com/*/Armbian_*.img.xz, or in the process control file rebuild-armbian.yml, set the load path of the rebuild file through the armbian_path parameter. code show as below:

- name: Rebuild Armbian
  uses: ophub/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian@main
  with:
    build_target: armbian
    armbian_path: build/output/images/*.img
    armbian_board: s905d_s905x3_s922x_s905x
    armbian_kernel: 5.10.125_5.15.50
    gh_token: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}

GitHub Actions Input parameter description

For the related settings of GitHUB RELEASES_TOKEN, please refer to: RELEASES_TOKEN. The relevant parameters correspond to the local packaging command, please refer to the above description.

GitHub Actions Output variable description

To upload to Releases, you need to add ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} and ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }} to the repository and set Workflow read and write permissions, see the instructions for details.

Default account for Armbian system

Compile the kernel using GitHub Actions

For the compilation method of the kernel, see compile-kernel

- name: Compile the kernel
  uses: ophub/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian@main
  with:
    build_target: kernel
    kernel_version: 5.15.1_6.1.1
    kernel_auto: true
    kernel_sign: -yourname

Armbian Contributors

First of all, I would like to thank 150balbes for his outstanding contributions and a good foundation for using Armbian in the Amlogic TV Boxes. The Armbian system compiled here directly uses the latest official source code for real-time compilation. The development idea of the program comes from the tutorials of authors such as ebkso. Thank you for your dedication and sharing, so that we can use the Armian system in more boxes.

The kernel / u-boot and other resources used by this system are mainly copied from the project of unifreq/openwrt_packit, Some files are shared by users in Pull and Issues of amlogic-s9xxx-openwrt / amlogic-s9xxx-armbian / luci-app-amlogic / kernel and other projects. To thank these pioneers and sharers, From now on (This source code repository was created on 2021-09-19), I have recorded them in CONTRIBUTORS.md. Thanks again everyone for giving new life and meaning to the TV Boxes.

Other distributions

• The amlogic-s9xxx-openwrt project provides the OpenWrt system used in the box, which is also applicable to the relevant devices that support Armbian.
• unifreq has made OpenWrt system for more boxes such as Amlogic, Rockchip and Allwinner, which is a benchmark in the box circle and is recommended for use.
• Scirese tested the production, installation and use of Arch Linux ARM / Manjaro system in the Android TV boxes, please refer to the relevant instructions in his repository for details.
• 7Ji published some articles on reverse engineering and development on the Amlogic platform in his blog, such as installing the ArchLinux ARM system in the way of ArchLinux, and introducing the startup mechanism of the Amlogic platform. In his ampart project, he provided a partitioning tool that supports reading and editing Amlogic's eMMC partition table and DTB partitions, and can make 100% use of the eMMC space. The method of making and using Arch Linux ARM is provided in amlogic-s9xxx-archlinuxarm project. Yet Another openvfd Daemon is provided in YAopenvfD project.

Links

• armbian
• unifreq
• kernel.org

License

The amlogic-s9xxx-armbian © OPHUB is licensed under GPL-2.0