Building Kirsch

Kirsch uses a custom, python-based build system to generate a Ninja build file. Ninja then resolves the generated build file and runs all the compilation commands.

To generate the Ninja build file, run the following:

  • In an environment with the complete Toolchain

  • From the root of the Kirsch git repository

python3 generators/build.py > build/ninja.build

Then run Ninja in the build directory

ninja -C build
At time of writing, this will generate artifacts for riscv64 and morello in build/:

  • kernel_ARCH.elf: The Kirsch kernel for architecture ARCH as an ELF executable.

  • loader_ARCH.elf: The Kirsch Loader with the kernel ELF embedded inside, as an ELF executable.

  • loader_ARCH.bin: The Kirsch laoder with the kernel ELF embedded inside, as a binary blob. The first byte of loader_ARCH.bin is the first instruction to execute the loader.

In addition, the Ninja Morello target will compile Morello ARM ATF binaries by executing the generators/morello_atf_package.sh script.

If you’d like to only build the artifacts of a single architecture, use the target $ARCH_all, e.g. morello_all or riscv64_all.

To clean all build files, use

ninja -C build -t clean