147 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
147 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
# Purism Librem 5 revision 4
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Purism's [Librem 5] is a privacy-oriented Linux-friendly smartphone.
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[Librem 5]: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
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## Installation procedure
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> *Note*
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>
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> TODO: build a uuu-compatible installer.
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Until there's a native installer, the easiest way to install NixOS on Librem 5 seems to be using [Jumpdrive].
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[Jumpdrive]: https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Jumpdrive
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### Jumpdrive
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Jumpdrive is a tiny Linux distribution which presents device's internal storage as USB mass storage when you connect it to a PC.
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It also provides a shell session over telnet.
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Follow the instructions in the repo to boot into Jumpdrive.
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Note that `uuu` is part of `nxpmicro-mfgtools` package in nixpkgs.
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Now, plug the device into your PC. A new block device representing Librem 5's internal MMC should appear in `/dev`.
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Note down this device path.
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### U-Boot
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> **Note**
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>
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> While upstream u-boot does support Librem 5, it can only boot using `boot.scr`, for which NixOS has no native support.
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>
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> There's extlinux support in Librem 5's U-Boot here: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/uboot-imx/
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>
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> This U-Boot version is packaged in the [`u-boot`] directory.
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[`u-boot`]: ./u-boot
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Provided you have a way to build Nix derivations for `aarch64-linux` (like a remote builder, [binfmt emulation], or you're building it on the phone itself), just run `nix-build u-boot/build.nix`.
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[binfmt emulation]: https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=22.11&show=boot.binfmt.emulatedSystems&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=binfmt
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> **Warning**
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>
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> Even though I've tested this myself, I can't guarantee that this will not render your device unbootable.
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> Proceed with caution.
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>
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> If it does not work, your best bet is to follow the advice here, which will flash U-Boot build by upstream: https://forums.puri.sm/t/can-someone-with-serial-console-access-try-nixos-kernel-on-librem-5/19121/27
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To flash u-boot to the device, use one of the following (assuming you've built u-boot to `./result`):
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- if you're running an existing OS on the Librem 5, run `# result/bin/u-boot-install-librem5 /dev/mmcblk0` on the device itself
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- if you've mounted the Librem 5's internal MMC via Jumpdrive, run `# TARGET="$(pwd)/result" result/bin/u-boot-install-librem5 <path to Librem 5's MMC>`
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- if you want to flash u-boot manually (not recommended!), use `dd if=/dev/zero of=<path to MMC> bs=1024 count=1055 seek=2` and `dd if=result/uboot.imx conv=notrunc of=<path to MMC> bs=1024 seek=33`
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At this point, if you have an OS installed on your Librem 5, it's best to reboot into it to check that the U-Boot was flashed correctly.
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If that's the case, reboot back into Jumpdrive.
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### Partitioning
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Now, from your host system, partition the MMC.
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> **Warning**
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> Doing this wipes all data off the phone!
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> **Warning**
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>
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> Make sure to keep 2MiB of free space before the first partition as this is where u-boot lives.
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> If you accidentally create a file system in that space, you have to flash u-boot again.
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It ended up looking like this (your device names will be different):
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```console
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$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0
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Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 29,12 GiB, 31268536320 bytes, 61071360 sectors
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Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
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Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
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I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
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Disklabel type: dos
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Disk identifier: 0x15650736
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Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
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/dev/mmcblk0p1 * 4096 528383 524288 256M 83 Linux
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/dev/mmcblk0p2 528384 61071359 60542976 28,9G 83 Linux
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```
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Now you can create filesystems on those partitions.
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I went with a bootable `ext2` partition for `/boot`, and one `f2fs` partition for `/`. You can use any filesystem supported by NixOS (like `ext4` or `zfs`) for `/`, but `f2fs` might improve your eMMC lifespan as it supports wear leveling. Note that `f2fs` does not have a journal, so filesystem corruption can happen if the battery runs out for example.
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Mount the partitions on your host system, e.g. to `/mnt` and `/mnt/boot`.
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Remember that `/mnt` is the second partition, and `/mnt/boot` is the first.
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### Installation
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Now, write your NixOS config.
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Use `/dev/mmcblk0p1` as `fileSystems."/boot"` and `/dev/mmcblk0p2` as `fileSystems."/"`.
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Don't forget to import the [module from this directory](./default.nix).
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If you plan to use the device as a smartphone, you have a choice of two "desktop" (?) environments packaged in nixpkgs: [phosh] and [Plasma Mobile].
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[phosh]: https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=22.11&show=services.xserver.desktopManager.phosh.enable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=phosh
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[Plasma Mobile]: https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=22.11&show=services.xserver.desktopManager.plasma5.mobile.enable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages
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Build the configuration (`nix build .#nixosConfigurations.<hostname>.config.system.build.toplevel` if you're using flakes).
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Running `nixos-install --system ./result --root /mnt` will copy the system to the MMC.
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Unless you're running on an aarch64 system, it will fail to activate or install the bootloader, however.
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You must do this manually. Remember to `sync` and `umount` the MMC on your host before proceeding.
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Get a shell on Jumpdrive, mount partitions there, and activate the system:
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```console
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$ nc 172.16.42.1 23
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# mkdir /mnt
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# mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 /mnt
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# mkdir -p /mnt/boot
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# mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/boot
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# chroot /mnt /nix/var/nix/profiles/system/activate
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# chroot /mnt /nix/var/nix/profiles/system/bin/switch-to-configuration boot
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```
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Provided the last command succeeds, you now should have a bootable device.
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Unmount:
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```console
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# sync
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# umount /mnt/boot
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# umount -l /mnt
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# echo u > /proc/sysrq-trigger
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# echo s > /proc/sysrq-trigger
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```
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And shut the phone down by holding the power key.
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Start it up and you should be booting straight into your NixOS installation.
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## Updating u-boot
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Once you're running NixOS with this module, you can run `# u-boot-install-librem5 /dev/mmcblk0` any time to reflash the most recent version of u-boot from the running NixOS.
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> **Warning**
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>
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> While I (@999eagle) will test u-boot updates on my own device before updating this repository, flashing u-boot may still render your device unbootable!
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