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1Prerequisites
2=============
3
4This document describes the software requirements for building |TF-A| for
5AArch32 and AArch64 target platforms.
6
7It may possible to build |TF-A| with combinations of software packages that are
8different from those listed below, however only the software described in this
9document can be officially supported.
10
11Build Host
12----------
13
14|TF-A| can be built using either a Linux or a Windows machine as the build host.
15
16A relatively recent Linux distribution is recommended for building |TF-A|. We
17have performed tests using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (64-bit) but other distributions
18should also work fine as a base, provided that the necessary tools and libraries
19can be installed.
20
21.. _prerequisites_toolchain:
22
23Toolchain
24---------
25
26|TF-A| can be built with any of the following *cross-compiler* toolchains that
27target the Armv7-A or Armv8-A architectures:
28
29- GCC >= 10.3-2021.07 (from the `Arm Developer website`_)
30- Clang >= 4.0
31- Arm Compiler >= 6.0
32
33In addition, a native compiler is required to build the supporting tools.
34
35.. note::
36   The software has also been built on Windows 7 Enterprise SP1, using CMD.EXE,
37   Cygwin, and Msys (MinGW) shells, using version 5.3.1 of the GNU toolchain.
38
39.. note::
40   For instructions on how to select the cross compiler refer to
41   :ref:`Performing an Initial Build`.
42
43.. _prerequisites_software_and_libraries:
44
45Software and Libraries
46----------------------
47
48The following tools are required to obtain and build |TF-A|:
49
50- An appropriate toolchain (see :ref:`prerequisites_toolchain`)
51- GNU Make
52- Git
53
54The following libraries must be available to build one or more components or
55supporting tools:
56
57- OpenSSL >= 1.0.1
58
59   Required to build the cert_create tool.
60
61The following libraries are required for Trusted Board Boot support:
62
63- mbed TLS == 2.26.0 (tag: ``mbedtls-2.26.0``)
64
65These tools are optional:
66
67- Device Tree Compiler (DTC) >= 1.4.6
68
69   Needed if you want to rebuild the provided Flattened Device Tree (FDT)
70   source files (``.dts`` files). DTC is available for Linux through the package
71   repositories of most distributions.
72
73- Arm `Development Studio 5 (DS-5)`_
74
75   The standard software package used for debugging software on Arm development
76   platforms and |FVP| models.
77
78- Node.js >= 16
79
80   Highly recommended, and necessary in order to install and use the packaged
81   Git hooks and helper tools. Without these tools you will need to rely on the
82   CI for feedback on commit message conformance.
83
84Package Installation (Linux)
85^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
86
87If you are using the recommended Ubuntu distribution then you can install the
88required packages with the following command:
89
90.. code:: shell
91
92    sudo apt install build-essential git libssl-dev
93
94The optional packages can be installed using:
95
96.. code:: shell
97
98    sudo apt install device-tree-compiler
99
100Additionally, to install an up-to-date version of Node.js, you can use the `Node
101Version Manager`_ to install a version of your choosing (we recommend 16, but
102later LTS versions might offer a more stable experience):
103
104.. code:: shell
105
106    curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | "$SHELL"
107    exec "$SHELL" -ic "nvm install 16; exec $SHELL"
108
109.. _Node Version Manager: https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#install--update-script
110
111Supporting Files
112----------------
113
114TF-A has been tested with pre-built binaries and file systems from `Linaro
115Release 20.01`_. Alternatively, you can build the binaries from source using
116instructions in :ref:`Performing an Initial Build`.
117
118.. _prerequisites_get_source:
119
120Getting the TF-A Source
121-----------------------
122
123Source code for |TF-A| is maintained in a Git repository hosted on
124TrustedFirmware.org. To clone this repository from the server, run the following
125in your shell:
126
127.. code:: shell
128
129    git clone "https://review.trustedfirmware.org/TF-A/trusted-firmware-a"
130
131Additional Steps for Contributors
132^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
133
134If you are planning on contributing back to TF-A, there are some things you'll
135want to know.
136
137TF-A is hosted by a `Gerrit Code Review`_ server. Gerrit requires that all
138commits include a ``Change-Id`` footer, and this footer is typically
139automatically generated by a Git hook installed by you, the developer.
140
141If you have Node.js installed already, you can automatically install this hook,
142along with any additional hooks and Javascript-based tooling that we use, by
143running from within your newly-cloned repository:
144
145.. code:: shell
146
147    npm install --no-save
148
149If you have opted **not** to install Node.js, you can install the Gerrit hook
150manually by running:
151
152.. code:: shell
153
154    curl -Lo $(git rev-parse --git-dir)/hooks/commit-msg https://review.trustedfirmware.org/tools/hooks/commit-msg
155    chmod +x $(git rev-parse --git-dir)/hooks/commit-msg
156
157You can read more about Git hooks in the *githooks* page of the Git
158documentation, available `here <https://git-scm.com/docs/githooks>`_.
159
160--------------
161
162*Copyright (c) 2021, Arm Limited. All rights reserved.*
163
164.. _Arm Developer website: https://developer.arm.com/open-source/gnu-toolchain/gnu-a/downloads
165.. _Gerrit Code Review: https://www.gerritcodereview.com/
166.. _Linaro Release Notes: https://community.arm.com/dev-platforms/w/docs/226/old-release-notes
167.. _Linaro instructions: https://community.arm.com/dev-platforms/w/docs/304/arm-reference-platforms-deliverables
168.. _Development Studio 5 (DS-5): https://developer.arm.com/products/software-development-tools/ds-5-development-studio
169.. _Linaro Release 20.01: http://releases.linaro.org/members/arm/platforms/20.01
170