2025-12-03 –, Walnascar
In Yocto-based projects, the distribution is commonly a means to an end - sandwiched between the BSP and business logic, it often simply "exists". But what if the distro itself is the focus of the project, designed to be generic and reusable across multiple devices, products, or even organizations? This lightning talk explores the motivations, challenges, and strategies behind writing a targetless, general-purpose Yocto distribution.
This quick presentation talks about the considerations of building a Yocto distribution without a specific target in mind. We'll discuss when a generic distro makes sense, how to plan for the unknown, and some best practices for architecture, kernel, userspace, and documentation. Topics include:
- Why and when to write a general-purpose distro, and the distro's role in embedded Linux projects.
- Choosing hardware targets before users or use cases are defined.
- Optimizing the distro for flexibility and reuse in Yocto projects.
- The Linux kernel's role in a generic distro.
- Creating references and documentation.
Esa Jääskelä is an embedded systems engineer with a focus on Linux, Yocto, and programming. He holds an MSc in Computer Science and Engineering and has worked in embedded Linux development since 2016. Passionate about cybersecurity, Esa explores system hardening and shares technical insights on his blog at ejaaskel.dev.