So I have used yocto since 2024 as part of my position at Sky Labs Aalborg. Whilst, at work I mainly provide recipes that integrates into a larger yocto based project. This has made me build a few yocto based projects in my spare time, mainly focusing on creating a simple print server system and a simple storage system. So I do have some understanding about very big and very tiny yocto projects.

But, before we dive into why I love it. Let me briefly touch on what is actually is. yocto at is core is a (collection) of tools that allows you to build a custom Linux distribution. Some would argue that it is only for constructing Linux distributions for embedded devices. Yet, I have seen it used for building very heavy distros no for embedded devices. Also, it is a project under the Linux Foundation.

So why do I like and why did write this post? Let us start with the latter. Amongst my colleagues and on forums online, I have heard a lot of arguments against yocto. Must circling about when a project gets large enough, it gets too difficult to manage or the build gets heavy. Some even suggest switching too alternative tools, one popular option seems to be BoB.

Okay, let us talk about why I like it then. Firstly, getting started with yocto is super simple! The Yocto Project Quick Build guide, pretty much sets you up for success. One thing here, the guide is focused on Debian and Ubuntu based distros. However, it is fairly easy to find a guide for how to get it running on OpenSuse or Fedora. When you have followed the quick build it is easy to advance on to the next steps.

Secondly, manuals! To me it honestly feels like the yocto project took inspiration from freeBSD and its in depth handbook or ArchLinux wiki. If it is not in the documentation why are you even doing it???? That of course is a joke. The manuals are quite and an excellent resource

recipes.

https://bootlin.com/training/yocto/