Kernel Patches for OpenFrame

These patches should be sufficient to get you compiling a new Linux kernel which works with your lovely OpenFrame device from OpenPeak. In addition, this repository now builds the .deb packages used for system images, available on the Releases page.

Installing via apt

Kernels are built automatically using Debian Trixie (i386) and published to an apt repository at kernel.openbeak.net. New upstream 6.18.x releases should be picked up within a few hours.

To add the repository:

sudo curl -fsSL https://kernel.openbeak.net/key.gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/openframe-kernel.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/openframe-kernel.gpg] https://kernel.openbeak.net/ trixie 6.18" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/openframe-kernel.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install linux-image-openframe-6.18

This installs a metapackage that tracks the latest 6.18.x kernel. Future point releases will then appear via apt upgrade:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt autoremove

Adding the repository to earlier Trixie images is completely possible, just make sure to put this file in your /etc/kernel/postinst.d directory otherwise your grub.cfg file won't be updated to use it.

There's only enough space on the /boot partition to support two simultaneously installed kernel versions, so please remember to do a sudo apt autoremove once you've confirmed the new kernel is installed and working.

You might get away with using these packages with earlier Debian or Ubuntu releases too, though we build within a Trixie container with that toolchain, so your mileage may vary.

Patches

The patches include a modified verison of Andrew de Quincey's OpenFrame backlight driver, a pin tweak which enables line output switching on the STAC9202 audio IC inside the OpenFrame 1, plus a twiddle to get the I2C bus to play nicely, which gets the ambient light sensor working.

Apply to the kernel source like this:

patch -p1 -d linux-version < patchfile

There's also a .config file to get you started. If the version has changed it's best practice to do:

make olddefconfig

Which will bring that .config file up to date with the latest defaults. Then you can:

make menuconfig

To apply any changes you would like to make in a graphical interface.

Building

The GitHub Way

Just fork this repository and you should inherit your own build system. The files live in .github/workflows and the magic happens behind the Actions tab. We build in a Debian Trixie container.

The Self-Hosted Way

You'll need a 32-bit i686 build environment, which can be achieved with a chroot on 64-bit systems. The Build Environment setup instructions from my openframe-linux repo will help you there.

Once you have everything together, compile kernel versions 6.2 and below with:

make -j`nproc` deb-pkg

For reasons undiscovered, kernel versions 6.3 and above require:

make -j`nproc` bindeb-pkg

This will compile the kernel and generate the .deb packages.