Build Seeed Jetson BSP from Source

Obtain the BSP source code for Seeed's Jetson products, overlay Seeed's customizations from GitHub, compile the kernel, and flash onto the device.

Hardware: Seeed Jetson device (reComputer/reServer), USB cable for flashing Software: Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 host PC (native)

Source: https://github.com/Seeed-Studio/Linux_for_Tegra

Execution model

Run one phase at a time. After each phase:

• If output contains [STOP] → stop immediately, consult the failure decision tree
• If output ends with [OK] → tell the user "Phase N complete" and proceed

Replace <L4T_VERSION> with the target version (e.g. 36.4.3) throughout.

Phase 1 — install build dependencies (~2 min)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential flex bison libssl-dev \
  sshpass abootimg nfs-kernel-server libxml2-utils qemu-user-static git-lfs

[OK] when all packages install without errors.

Phase 2 — download & extract NVIDIA BSP + rootfs (~10 min)

Download from https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/linux-tegra-archive:

• L4T Driver Package (BSP): Jetson_Linux_r<L4T_VERSION>_aarch64.tbz2
• Sample Root Filesystem: Tegra_Linux_Sample-Root-Filesystem_r<L4T_VERSION>_aarch64.tbz2

tar xf Jetson_Linux_r<L4T_VERSION>_aarch64.tbz2
sudo tar xpf Tegra_Linux_Sample-Root-Filesystem_r<L4T_VERSION>_aarch64.tbz2 \
  -C Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/

[OK] when Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/ is populated.

Phase 3 — sync NVIDIA source & overlay Seeed patches (~15 min)

cd Linux_for_Tegra/source/
./source_sync.sh -t jetson_<L4T_VERSION>
cd ../..

Clone Seeed's BSP overlay:

mkdir -p github/Linux_for_Tegra
git clone https://github.com/Seeed-Studio/Linux_for_Tegra.git \
  -b r<L4T_VERSION> --depth=1 github/Linux_for_Tegra

Overlay Seeed files:

cp -r github/Linux_for_Tegra/* Linux_for_Tegra/

Apply binaries:

cd Linux_for_Tegra
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh

[OK] when apply_binaries.sh completes.

Phase 4 — setup cross-compilation toolchain (~2 min)

Download the toolchain aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1.tar.bz2 and extract:

mkdir -p l4t-gcc
tar xf aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1.tar.bz2 -C ./l4t-gcc
export ARCH=arm64
export CROSS_COMPILE=$(pwd)/l4t-gcc/aarch64--glibc--stable-2022.08-1/bin/aarch64-buildroot-linux-gnu-

[OK] when $CROSS_COMPILE points to a valid binary.

Phase 5 — build kernel (~10–30 min)

cd Linux_for_Tegra/source
./nvbuild.sh

[OK] when build completes without errors.

Phase 6 — install kernel & modules (~2 min)

./do_copy.sh
export INSTALL_MOD_PATH=$(pwd)/../rootfs/
./nvbuild.sh -i

[OK] when modules are installed to rootfs.

Phase 7 — flash device (~15–30 min)

Put the Jetson device into recovery mode:

1. Power off
2. Hold REC button, connect USB to host
3. Release REC after 2 seconds

Verify:

lsusb | grep -i nvidia

Flash (JetPack 6 example):

cd ..
sudo ./tools/kernel_flash/l4t_initrd_flash.sh \
  --external-device nvme0n1p1 \
  -c tools/kernel_flash/flash_l4t_t234_nvme.xml \
  -p "-c bootloader/generic/cfg/flash_t234_qspi.xml" \
  --showlogs --network usb0 <DEVICE_NAME> internal

Replace <DEVICE_NAME> with your board's config name. Available names for L4T 36.4.3:

• recomputer-orin-j401
• recomputer-industrial-orin-j201 (also for j40/j30 series)
• reserver-agx-orin-j501x
• reserver-agx-orin-j501x-gmsl
• reserver-industrial-orin-j401
• recomputer-orin-j40mini
• recomputer-orin-robotics-j401
• recomputer-orin-super-j401

For JetPack 5, change the -p parameter to: -p "-c bootloader/t186ref/cfg/flash_t234_qspi.xml"

[OK] when flash completes and device boots.

Failure decision tree

Reference files

• references/source.body.md — Original Seeed wiki with version-specific details and screenshots