As Raspberry Pi devices become more popular, more and more developers and enthusiasts want to run different operating systems on them, with Chromium OS being particularly favored. The FydeOS team is committed to providing support for Chromium OS on Raspberry Pi, allowing users to enjoy an experience similar to Chrome OS. This article will detail how to build and run Chromium OS on Raspberry Pi 4B, Pi400, and the latest Raspberry Pi 5, helping you achieve this goal.

System Requirements

The prerequisites for building Chromium OS include:

• • Hardware: An x86_64 system is required; 64-bit hardware and operating system are necessary. Chromium OS is a very large project, and the build process can take several hours to over 10 hours, depending on system configuration.

• • CPU: A 4-core or higher processor is recommended, as more cores can significantly reduce build time.

• • Memory: At least 16GB of RAM is recommended, along with sufficient swap space.

• • Disk: At least 100GB of available space is required, with 200GB or more recommended. Using an SSD can greatly reduce build time.

• • Network: The total amount of source code to download exceeds 10GB, so a stable and fast internet connection will be very helpful.

• • Operating System: Compatible Linux versions include Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and Gentoo Linux.

Preparing the Environment

Installing Necessary Tools

Install tools such as Git and curl on the host machine, along with Python 3 for various scripts during the build process:

sudo apt-get install git-core gitk git-gui curl lvm2 thin-provisioning-tools python-pkg-resources python-virtualenv python-oauth2client xz-utils python3.9

If Python 3.5 is the default version, switch to Python 3.9.

Installing Google depot_tools

depot_tools is a set of scripts provided by Google for managing source code.

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/repo
sudo chmod 777 /usr/local/repo
cd /usr/local/repo
git clone https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/tools/depot_tools.git

Add the depot_tools directory to PATH.

Configuring Git

git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
git config --global user.name "Your Name"

Getting Chromium OS Source Code

Creating Directory Structure

It is recommended to create a directory to hold the Chromium OS source code.

mkdir -p /path/to/cros-pi

Fetching Source Code

First, visit the Chromium source code manifest to find the version reference name you want to build.

cd /path/to/cros-pi
repo init -u https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/manifest.git --repo-url https://chromium.googlesource.com/external/repo.git -b release-R114-15437.B
repo sync -j8

Requesting Google API Key

If you need to log in to the Chromium OS GUI using a Google account, you will need to apply for a Google API key. Please refer to the Google documentation for the specific application process.

Setting Up Raspberry Pi Overlays

Download the overlay and create a symbolic link:

cd /path/to/overlays
git clone https://github.com/fydeos/chromium_os-raspberry_pi.git .
cd /path/to/cros-pi/src/overlays
ln -s /path/to/overlays/* .

Building Chromium OS

Creating Chroot Environment

cd /path/to/cros-pi
cros_sdk

Setting Board Support

Set up board support for the Raspberry Pi 4B:

setup_board --board=rpi4

Building Packages

Build all packages:

build_packages --board=rpi4 --no-withautotest

Building Image

After building the packages, start building the disk image:

build_image --board=rpi4 --noenable_rootfs_verification

Booting Raspberry Pi from the Image

To boot the Raspberry Pi from the SD card, you need to write the generated disk image to the SD card. You can write it directly using the cros command.

cros flash usb:// rpi4/latest

After inserting the SD card, follow the prompts to select the corresponding number. Once completed, you can insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi to boot.

Conclusion

By following the steps above, you will be able to successfully build and run Chromium OS on the Raspberry Pi. This not only adds more application scenarios for Raspberry Pi devices but also allows users to explore and customize the features of the operating system. Whether for development, learning, or home entertainment, this experience will be very enjoyable.

Project Address: https://github.com/FydeOS/chromium_os-raspberry_pi