NixOS on ARM/Radxa ROCK 4 - Revision history

Diamondtroller: Added instructions to build and write U-Boot to SPI flash present on various Rock 4 boards

2025-08-28T14:46:16Z

Added instructions to build and write U-Boot to SPI flash present on various Rock 4 boards

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 The stock UEFI ISO boots fine for installation purposes. If you wish to flash directly to SD/EMMC, the extlinux 'sdimage' may require a minor u-boot env change (<code>env set ramdisk_addr_r 0x06800000</code>, <code>env save</code>) in order to boot, but should work after this change has been made.
-(TODO: SPI flash installation directions, for boards where this is present. This requires changes in Nixpkgs, so that the build command presented here will output the file "u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin".)
+==== SPI flash installation from SD card ====
 == System configuration ==

Pigs: Add category

2025-05-19T05:22:43Z

Add category

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:22, 19 May 2025
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	[https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip nabam/nixos-rockchip] is a Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, including Rock 4B and Rock 4SE.		[https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip nabam/nixos-rockchip] is a Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, including Rock 4B and Rock 4SE.

			[[Category:NixOS on ARM]]

Msgilligan: Official hardware documentation is on Radxa Documentation site (not wiki)

2024-12-09T21:48:36Z

Official hardware documentation is on Radxa Documentation site (not wiki)

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:48, 9 December 2024
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	** [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/misc/uboot/default.nix Nixpkgs] - tested by @ryjelsum, seemingly working but not thoroughly used		** [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/misc/uboot/default.nix Nixpkgs] - tested by @ryjelsum, seemingly working but not thoroughly used

	The official hardware documentation can be found [https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock4 on the Radxa ~~wiki~~].		The official hardware documentation can be found [https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock4 on the Radxa Documentation site].

	== Bootloader Firmware ==		== Bootloader Firmware ==

Ryjelsum: /* System configuration */ specifying the directions in this section are for nixos-rockchip

2024-12-08T16:46:10Z

System configuration: specifying the directions in this section are for nixos-rockchip

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:46, 8 December 2024
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	=== U-Boot Firmware ===		=== U-Boot Firmware ===

	* `nixos-rockchip` uses the mainline U-Boot repository.		* <code>nixos-rockchip</code> uses the mainline U-Boot repository.
	* As an alternative for using nixos-rockchip, There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs.		* As an alternative for using nixos-rockchip, There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs.
	This build of u-boot is built using the defconfig from u-boot's repositories, so it should be equivalent to 'stock' u-boot, but be aware there may be unknown differences, as it has not been thoroughly tested. The following command will build the u-boot bootloader with Nix on a non-aarch64 system, and output its path as a 'result' symlink in the current directory:		This build of u-boot is built using the defconfig from u-boot's repositories, so it should be equivalent to 'stock' u-boot, but be aware there may be unknown differences, as it has not been thoroughly tested. The following command will build the u-boot bootloader with Nix on a non-aarch64 system, and output its path as a 'result' symlink in the current directory:
Line 68:		Line 68:

	== System configuration ==		== System configuration ==

			The following directions are for usage with <code>nixos-rockchip</code>.

	Use the instructions in the [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/blob/main/README.md README].		Use the instructions in the [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/blob/main/README.md README].

Ryjelsum: /* Bootloader Firmware */ The WYSIWYG editor mangled things very badly. Just adding line breaks :)

2024-12-08T01:03:26Z

Bootloader Firmware: The WYSIWYG editor mangled things very badly. Just adding line breaks :)

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 * `nixos-rockchip` uses the mainline U-Boot repository.
-* As an alternative for using nixos-rockchip, There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs. This build of u-boot is built using the defconfig from u-boot's repositories, so it should be equivalent to 'stock' u-boot, but be aware there may be unknown differences, as it has not been thoroughly tested. The following command will build the u-boot bootloader with Nix on a non-aarch64 system, and output its path as a 'result' symlink in the current directory:  <code>nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A pkgsCross.aarch64-multiplatform.ubootRockPi4</code>  This will build u-boot as two separate files, <code>idbloader.img</code> and <code>u-boot.itb</code>. To flash the bootloader, follow the directions provided in u-boot's repos for [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/af69289d61876d8e62449ee2da2dc6683bcb8198/doc/README.rockchip#L486 how to transfer these files to storage (SD card or EMMC) for usage].     <code>sudo dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/sdc seek=64; sudo dd if=u-boot.itb of=/dev/sdc seek=16384</code>  After this, take special care to leave the first ~16mb of the target disk unpartitioned during installation, as this will contain u-boot and overwriting this region will overwrite the bootloader.  The stock UEFI ISO boots fine for installation purposes. If you wish to flash directly to SD/EMMC, the extlinux 'sdimage' may require a minor u-boot env change (<code>env set ramdisk_addr_r 0x06800000</code>, <code>env save</code>) in order to boot, but should work after this change has been made.   (TODO: SPI flash installation directions, for boards where this is present. This requires changes in Nixpkgs, so that the build command presented here will output the file "u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin".)
+* As an alternative for using nixos-rockchip, There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs.
 == System configuration ==

Ryjelsum: Added rough directions for building and using u-boot from nixpkgs. I have tested this (building u-boot 2024.10, and using it to boot NixOS through both UEFI and extlinux) on a Rock 4B+ v1.73 with onboard eMMC.

2024-12-08T01:02:15Z

Added rough directions for building and using u-boot from nixpkgs. I have tested this (building u-boot 2024.10, and using it to boot NixOS through both UEFI and extlinux) on a Rock 4B+ v1.73 with onboard eMMC.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:02, 8 December 2024
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	* U-Boot		* U-Boot
	** [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/ Mainline] - Supports ?? boot options		** [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/ Mainline] - Supports ?? boot options
	** [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/misc/uboot/default.nix Nixpkgs] - ~~not~~ tested ~~yet~~ by @~~msgilligan~~		** [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/misc/uboot/default.nix Nixpkgs] - tested by @ryjelsum, seemingly working but not thoroughly used

	The official hardware documentation can be found [https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock4 on the Radxa wiki].		The official hardware documentation can be found [https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock4 on the Radxa wiki].
Line 52:		Line 52:

	* `nixos-rockchip` uses the mainline U-Boot repository.		* `nixos-rockchip` uses the mainline U-Boot repository.
	* There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs, but ~~testing~~ and ~~documentation~~ for ~~using~~ this ~~version~~ of U-~~Boot~~ is ~~not available~~ here ~~yet~~.		* As an alternative for using nixos-rockchip, There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs. This build of u-boot is built using the defconfig from u-boot's repositories, so it should be equivalent to 'stock' u-boot, but be aware there may be unknown differences, as it has not been thoroughly tested. The following command will build the u-boot bootloader with Nix on a non-aarch64 system, and output its path as a 'result' symlink in the current directory: <code>nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A pkgsCross.aarch64-multiplatform.ubootRockPi4</code> This will build u-boot as two separate files, <code>idbloader.img</code> and <code>u-boot.itb</code>. To flash the bootloader, follow the directions provided in u-boot's repos for [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/af69289d61876d8e62449ee2da2dc6683bcb8198/doc/README.rockchip#L486 how to transfer these files to storage (SD card or EMMC) for usage]. <code>sudo dd if=idbloader.img of=/dev/sdc seek=64; sudo dd if=u-boot.itb of=/dev/sdc seek=16384</code> After this, take special care to leave the first ~16mb of the target disk unpartitioned during installation, as this will contain u-boot and overwriting this region will overwrite the bootloader. The stock UEFI ISO boots fine for installation purposes. If you wish to flash directly to SD/EMMC, the extlinux 'sdimage' may require a minor u-boot env change (<code>env set ramdisk_addr_r 0x06800000</code>, <code>env save</code>) in order to boot, but should work after this change has been made. (TODO: SPI flash installation directions, for boards where this is present. This requires changes in Nixpkgs, so that the build command presented here will output the file "u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin".)

	== System configuration ==		== System configuration ==

Msgilligan: Further improve @nabam's nixos-rockchip section

2024-12-05T07:03:38Z

Further improve @nabam's nixos-rockchip section

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:03, 5 December 2024
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	=== @nabam's nixos-rockchip ===		=== nabam/nixos-rockchip GitHub Project ===

	~~Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, see~~ [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip ~~GitHub~~ nabam/nixos-rockchip]		[https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip nabam/nixos-rockchip] is a Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, including Rock 4B and Rock 4SE.

Msgilligan: Update to reflect that PRs were merged into nixos-rockchip and minor related cleanup.

2024-12-05T07:01:30Z

Update to reflect that PRs were merged into nixos-rockchip and minor related cleanup.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:01, 5 December 2024
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	* '''PCIe''': M.2 M Key M connector (4-lane PCIe 2.1) supports NVMe SSD		* '''PCIe''': M.2 M Key M connector (4-lane PCIe 2.1) supports NVMe SSD

	The ~~@msgilligan PR below has~~ been tested with both the ROCK 4B+ and ROCK 4 SE variants.		The [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip nixos-rockchip] SD-card images have been tested with both the ROCK 4B+ and ROCK 4 SE variants.

	== Status ==		== Status ==
Line 51:		Line 51:
	=== U-Boot Firmware ===		=== U-Boot Firmware ===

	* ~~The @msgilligan PR rely's on~~ `nixos-rockchip` ~~which in turn~~ uses the mainline U-Boot repository.		* `nixos-rockchip` uses the mainline U-Boot repository.
	* There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs, but testing and documentation for using this version of U-Boot is not available here yet.		* There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs, but testing and documentation for using this version of U-Boot is not available here yet.

	== System configuration ==		== System configuration ==

	Use the instructions in the [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/blob/main/README.md README]~~, but until the PR is merged, you'll need to checkout the PR branch~~.		Use the instructions in the [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/blob/main/README.md README].

	Use the following command to build the image:		Use the following command to build the Rock 4B image:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">		<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
Line 64:		Line 64:
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	=== ~~@msgilligan's PR to~~ @nabam's ~~flake~~ ===		or for the Rock 4SE:

			<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
			nix build .#RadxaRock4SE
			</syntaxhighlight>


			=== @nabam's nixos-rockchip ===

	Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, see [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip GitHub nabam/nixos-rockchip]		Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, see [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip GitHub nabam/nixos-rockchip]

	~~@msgilligan's WIP PR to add ROCK 4 support (WIP, but tested on ROCK 4B+ and ROCK 4 SE): [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/pull/27 nabam/nixos-rockchip PR #27]~~

Msgilligan: Add NixOS on ROCK 4 page

2024-10-10T03:57:01Z

Add NixOS on ROCK 4 page

New page

{{ARM/breadcrumb}}
<div class="infobox">
{|class="table"
!colspan="2" class="title"|[https://radxa.com/products/rock4/ Radxa ROCK 4]
|-
|colspan="2"|[[File:Radxa_ROCK_4BP.jpg|frameless|256px|Radxa Rock 4]]
|-
!Manufacturer
|[https://radxa.com/ Radxa]
|-
!Architecture
|AArch64
|-
!Bootloader
|U-Boot
|-
!Boot order
|SPI NOR Flash, eMMC, SD
|-
!Maintainer
|[https://github.com/msgilligan msgilligan]
|}
</div>

The [https://radxa.com/products/rock4/4bp Radxa ROCK 4B+] is a Single-Board Computer with a Rockchip RK3399 SoC.

* '''CPU''': ARM Cortex-A72 and Cortex-A53
* '''GPU''': Mali-T860 MP4
* '''RAM''': 2GB/4GB LPDDR4
* '''MMC''': eMMC Connector for up to 128GB
* '''NET''': 1 Gigabit Ethernet
* '''USB''': 1x USB3 OTG/HOST Type-A, 1x USB 3 Type-A, 2x USB 2 Type-A
* '''PCIe''': M.2 M Key M connector (4-lane PCIe 2.1) supports NVMe SSD

The @msgilligan PR below has been tested with both the ROCK 4B+ and ROCK 4 SE variants.

== Status ==

Support of this system is YMMV (your mileage may vary).

U-Boot bootloaders are available in different variants:

* U-Boot
** [https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/ Mainline] - Supports ?? boot options
** [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/misc/uboot/default.nix Nixpkgs] - not tested yet by @msgilligan

The official hardware documentation can be found [https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock4 on the Radxa wiki].

== Bootloader Firmware ==

=== U-Boot Firmware ===

* The @msgilligan PR rely's on `nixos-rockchip` which in turn uses the mainline U-Boot repository.
* There is also support for ROCK 4 U-Boot in Nixpkgs, but testing and documentation for using this version of U-Boot is not available here yet.

== System configuration ==

Use the instructions in the [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/blob/main/README.md README], but until the PR is merged, you'll need to checkout the PR branch.

Use the following command to build the image:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
nix build .#RadxaRock4
</syntaxhighlight>

=== @msgilligan's PR to @nabam's flake ===

Nix flake for building several Rockchip SBC images, see [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip GitHub nabam/nixos-rockchip]

@msgilligan's WIP PR to add ROCK 4 support (WIP, but tested on ROCK 4B+ and ROCK 4 SE): [https://github.com/nabam/nixos-rockchip/pull/27 nabam/nixos-rockchip PR #27]