Caution
This project is moving to a new organization called Embedded Containers. This repo will no longer be updated and new images will not be built moving forward. Previous images will remain hosted for some time. Migrate to https://github.com/embeddedcontainers/zephyr ASAP.
Docker containers for the Zephyr RTOS
Develop Zephyr applications locally using Docker. No other tools required* besides docker & git! The container image includes all the tools needed to fetch, build, flash & debug, while your source code can stay on your local machine.
*mostly, depends on OS.
Getting container images
Build images locally
Building images locally ensures you can trust the source of the image, as well as allow you to modify the container image configuration.
Building with Docker CLI
To build an image for Arm Cortex-M targets:
docker build --build-arg ZEPHYR_SDK_TOOLCHAINS="-t arm-zephyr-eabi" --build-arg ZEPHYR_SDK_VERSION=0.16.4 -t zephyr:arm-0.16.4sdk .
To build an image for multiple toolchains:
docker build --build-arg ZEPHYR_SDK_TOOLCHAINS="-t arm-zephyr-eabi -t x86_64-zephyr-elf" --build-arg ZEPHYR_SDK_VERSION=0.16.4 -t zephyr:arm_x86-0.16.4sdk .
⚠️ Experimental: Smaller images with Alpine
Alpine Linux is a lightweight Linux distro that's commonly used as the basis of Docker containers to reduce their size. In order to build a container image image using Alpine instead of Debian:
docker build --build-arg ARCHITECTURE=x86_64 --build-arg ZEPHYR_SDK_VERSION=0.16.0 --build-arg ZEPHYR_VERSION=v3.2.0 --build-arg TOOLCHAIN=arm-zephyr-eabi -t zephyr-arm:alpine-v3.2.0-0.16.0sdk -f Dockerfile.alpine .
Important build arguments
- ZEPHYR_SDK_VERSION - SDK version. Must be 0.14.1 or later. Default 0.16.4.
- ZEPHYR_SDK_TOOLCHAINS - target toolchain. Default arm.
Download prebuilt images
Prebuilt container images can be used instead of having to build locally. Prebuilts are created using Github Actions daily and hosted on the Github Container Registry.
Each container image supports a single target architecture under the zephyr package. See all packages here.
NOTE: Previously images were tagged like zephyr-arm and had a different implementation. The old images are incompatible with the new images but previous versions are kept around for backwards compatibility.
Install from the commandline:
docker pull ghcr.io/beriberikix/zephyr:arm-0.16.4sdk
Use as a base image in a Dockerfile:
FROM ghcr.io/beriberikix/zephyr:arm-0.16.4sdk
Develop with Docker
The container image can be used to build any compatible Zephyr application, including in-tree samples or custom application. There are several ways to use a Docker container for development.
Interactive mode
A container can be used in a like you would use a Virtual Machine. Here is an example following the official Getting Started Guide but with much less setup.
docker run -it --name zephyr-gsg ghcr.io/beriberikix/zephyr:arm-0.16.4sdk
west init ~/zephyrproject
cd ~/zephyrproject
west update
west zephyr-export
cd ~/zephyrproject/zephyr
pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt
west build -b mimxrt1060_evkb samples/basic/minimal -p
exit
The container will stop after you exit and will remain on your machine in the previous state (again, like a VM.) To restart the container where you left off use docker start.
Using the GSG example:
docker start -ia zephyr-gsg
Seamless mode
TODO
GitHub Actions
TOOD
Notes
- Currently only supports local development. CI integration planned for the future.
- Supports Zephyr SDK 0.16.0 and later.
- Pre-builts currently only target x86_64 hosts.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to the ZMK maintainers. This implementation was originally based on zmk-docker but has since been re-written.