Getting Started

Installation

pipx is the recommended way to install kas. It creates an isolated Python virtual environment for kas and makes sure its dependencies are installed correctly. To install pipx, follow the instructions at https://pipx.pypa.io/stable/installation/

To install the latest version of kas using pipx run:

$ pipx install kas

With menu support

kas menu requires an additional system dependency. On Debian-based systems, run:

$ sudo apt install python3-newt
$ pipx install kas --system-site-packages

Other installation methods

Debian-based distributions provide a package for kas. However, this may be outdated compared to the latest release. To install kas using the system package manager, run:

$ sudo apt install kas

Dependencies

This project depends on

  • Python 3

  • distro Python 3 package

  • jsonschema Python 3 package

  • PyYAML Python 3 package

  • GitPython Python 3 package

  • kconfiglib Python 3 package (optional, for menu plugin)

  • NEWT Python 3 distro package (optional, for menu plugin)

  • python-gnupg Python 3 package (optional, for signature verification)

Usage

There are (at least) three options for using kas:

  • Install it locally via pip to get the kas command.

  • Use the container image locally. In this case, download the kas-container script from the kas repository and use it in place of the kas command. The script version corresponds to the kas tool and the kas image version.

  • Use the container image in CI. Specify ghcr.io/siemens/kas/kas[-isar][:<x.y>][-<distro-release>] in your CI script that requests a container image as runtime environment.

Start build:

$ kas build /path/to/kas-project.yml

Alternatively, experienced bitbake users can invoke usual bitbake steps manually, e.g.:

$ kas shell /path/to/kas-project.yml -c 'bitbake dosfsutils-native'

For details about the kas input file(s), see Project Configuration. Example configurations can be found in Example project configurations.

Directory Layout

When invoking kas, it places download and build artifacts in the current directory by default. You can specify a different location using the environment variable KAS_WORK_DIR. Repositories managed by kas are stored under their path (or name if path is not set). The build directory is named build and is relative to KAS_WORK_DIR unless explicitly set with KAS_BUILD_DIR. Internal data that persists across executions is prefixed with .kas_.

Use Cases

  1. Initial build/setup:

    $ mkdir $PROJECT_DIR
$ cd $PROJECT_DIR
$ git clone $PROJECT_URL meta-project
$ kas build meta-project/kas-project.yml

  2. Update/rebuild:

    $ cd $PROJECT_DIR/meta-project
$ git pull
$ kas build kas-project.yml

  3. Interactive configuration:

    $ cd $PROJECT_DIR/meta-project
$ kas menu
$ kas build  # optional, if not triggered via kas menu

Community Support

If you have questions on kas, found a bug or would need an additional feature, please post to our mailing list: kas-devel@googlegroups.com. You do not need to be subscribed to post but if you like to do so, this works either via email or via the Google Groups page after signing in.