How do I build a Custom OS Image with Edge Microvisor Toolkit?

[biapalmeiro]

This is a walkthrough on how to build, customize, and extend EMT images—from creating base ISOs to injecting your own packages. Whether you're creating a streamlined image for a fleet of edge nodes or experimenting with real-time extensions, EMT gives you full control. Because your workload is unique, we have flexible tools tailored to that.

For a complete step by step guidance access the Developer Guide

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Getting Started: Prerequisites

Make sure you’re working on Ubuntu and have installed essential build tools. Then:

1. Clone the Toolkit Repo

   git clone https://github.com/open-edge-platform/edge-microvisor-toolkit --branch=<stable_tag_name>
   cd edge-microvisor-toolkit/toolkit
   
   

2. Build the Toolchain

   sudo make toolchain REBUILD_TOOLS=y
   
   

💡 Tip: Always use a stable tag—not latest—for more predictable results. Building the full toolchain takes time, so use REBUILD_TOOLCHAIN=y only when necessary.

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Building Your First Image

Out of the box, EMT includes several JSON-based configurations in imageconfigs/. Each defines what the resulting OS image looks like, from included RPMs to kernel options.

Build an ISO:

sudo make iso -j8 REBUILD_TOOLS=y REBUILD_PACKAGES=n CONFIG_FILE=./imageconfigs/full.json

Build a RAW Image:

Without real-time:

sudo make image -j8 REBUILD_TOOLS=y REBUILD_PACKAGES=n CONFIG_FILE=./imageconfigs/edge-image.json

With real-time extensions:

sudo make image -j8 REBUILD_TOOLS=y REBUILD_PACKAGES=n CONFIG_FILE=./imageconfigs/edge-image-rt.json

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Customizing Your Image

Option 1: Add Existing RPMs (e.g., nano)

1. Create a custom package list:

   cat <<EOF > ./imageconfigs/packagelists/utilities.json
   {
       "packages": [ "nano" ]
   }
   EOF
   
   

2. Include it in your imageconfig:

   "PackageLists": [
     ...
     "packagelists/utilities.json"
   ],
   "Users": [
     {
         "Name": "user",
         "Password": "user"
     }
   ]
   
   

3. Rebuild the image:

   sudo make image -j8 REBUILD_TOOLS=y REBUILD_PACKAGES=n CONFIG_FILE=./imageconfigs/edge-image.json
   
   

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Option 2: Add a New Custom Package

Creating your own RPM involves writing a .spec file, a source archive, and computing SHA-256 checksums.

Step-by-step:

• Define helloworld.spec

• Create a helloworld.sh script

• Generate a tarball and its signature

• Copy to ~/rpmbuild/ and run rpmbuild -ba

• Add to EMT’s SPECS/ and update cgmanifest.json

• Include in your image as in Option 1

Once built and tested, raise a PR for inclusion in the official repository.

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Updating an Agent (e.g., node-agent)

When updating an existing component like a Bare Metal Agent (BMA):

• Bump version/release in the .spec file

• Update SHA-256 signatures

• Modify any wrappers or configuration scripts

• Rebuild and update the cgmanifest.json

The update process ensures consistency, reproducibility, and compatibility with Intel’s Edge Manageability Framework (EMF) .