Build drivers from source for rpi

查看中文

The main resources in this section are the official piOS building method.

We provide methods to compile locally on Raspberry Pi and cross-compile on PC. It is recommended to use Raspberry Pi local compilation, which is simpler and faster.

1 Building the Drivers Locally

The following operations are performed on the Raspberry Pi.

The following is an example of piOS 5.15.32.

1.1 Prepare environment

sudo apt install git bc bison flex libssl-dev make

1.2 Download the kernel headers for the local piOS

sudo apt install raspberrypi-kernel-headers

1.3 Download drivers code from veye

git clone https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2.git

1.4 Confirm the version of piOS on your own Raspberry Pi

$ uname -a

Linux raspberrypi 5.15.32-v8+ #1538 SMP PREEMPT Thu Mar 31 19:40:39 BST 2022 aarch64 GNU/Linux

1.5 Compile drivers

cd ~/raspberrypi_v4l2/driver_source/cam_drv_src/rpi-5.15_all

make

Done.

1.6 Compile dts

cd ~/raspberrypi_v4l2/driver_source/dts/rpi-5.15.y

./build_dtbo.sh

Done.

1.7 Common errors

1.7.1 Missing build directory

make[1]: *** /lib/modules/[version]/build: No such file or directory. Stop.

The cmd sudo apt install raspberrypi-kernel-headers will simply install the latest kernel headers available on the mirror. Which indeed matches the latest available kernel on the mirror. But not necessarily the installed kernel on the system.

The Raspbian maintainers always remove the older kernel headers from the repository index files. Not sure why they do that.

Solutions：

1.7.1.1 1. Upgrade piOS, and build again.

sudo apt update

sudo apt full-upgrade

sudo apt install raspberrypi-kernel-headers

Specifically, for the Raspberry Pi 4 series, 32-bit PiOS will automatically switch to 64-bit mode after upgrading to the latest version. However, the raspberrypi-kernel-headers package is missing the build directory for the v8+ mode.

For example:

$ uname -a

Linux raspberrypi 6.1.21-v8+ #1642 SMP PREEMPT Mon Apr 3 17:24:16 BST 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux

There is no build directory under /lib/modules/6.1.21-v8+/.

If this happens, you can add arm_64bit=0 to the /boot/config.txt file and then restart the Raspberry Pi to switch back to 32-bit mode.

1.7.1.2 2. Install specific version kernel headers.

Download the deb package for the version of piOS you are currently using from this link and install it.

For tag name, please determine according to the local piOS version and raspberrypi OS tags.

1.7.1.3 3. Use rpi-source

Use rpi-source from https://github.com/RPi-Distro/rpi-source it sets up everything you need to build your own kernel (from the current running kernel by default).

2 Install the compiled driver

Once compiled, you get the specified version of the driver and dtbo file.

Refer to How to install driver，

wget https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2/releases/latest/download/raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz

tar -xzvf raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz

cd raspberrypi_v4l2/release/

mkdir driver_bin/$(uname -r)

Put the driver and dtbo files compiled into this directory.

chmod +x *

sudo ./install_driver.sh [camera module]

camera module：could be veye327,csimx307,cssc132,veyecam2m,etc.

3 References

https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/linux/kernel/building.md

4 Document History

• 20260321

Delete the section related to cross-compilation.

• 20230510

Add solution for"Missing build directory" error.

• 20230326

Add description and solution for "Missing build directory" error.

• 20220424

Add local build method.

• 20220411

Add description of MV series.