Arch R

Arch Linux-based gaming distribution for R36S and all clones.

Leve como uma pluma.

Arch R is a custom Linux distribution built from scratch for the R36S handheld gaming console (RK3326 SoC, Mali-G31 GPU, 640x480 MIPI DSI display). It supports all R36S variants and clones — 16 board profiles and 20 display panels.

Features

• Kernel 6.12.61 (Mainline LTS) — board auto-detection via SARADC, 16 board DTBs, panel overlays
• Mesa 26 Panfrost — open-source GPU driver, GLES 1.0/2.0/3.1, no proprietary blobs
• EmulationStation (fcamod fork) — 78fps stable, GLES 1.0 native rendering
• RetroArch 1.22.2 — KMS/DRM + EGL, 18+ cores pre-installed
• 19-second boot — initramfs splash at 0.7s, systemd to EmulationStation
• Full audio — ALSA, speaker + headphone auto-switch, volume/brightness hotkeys
• Battery monitoring — capacity/voltage reporting, LED warning
• Multi-panel support — 20 panel overlays (7 original + 13 clone variants)
• Two images — Original R36S and Clone boards, both auto-detect hardware

Quick Start

Download the latest images from Releases:

• ArchR-R36S-*.img.xz — for genuine R36S, OGA, OGS, RG351V/M, Chi, R33S
• ArchR-R36S-clone-*.img.xz — for K36 clones, RGB20S, RGB10X, XU-Mini-M, R36Max

Using Arch R Flasher (recommended)

Download the Arch R Flasher app, select your console type and display panel, and flash directly. The Flasher handles image download, panel overlay selection, and SD card writing.

Manual Flash

xz -d ArchR-R36S-*.img.xz
sudo dd if=ArchR-R36S-*.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
sync

After flashing, mount the BOOT partition and copy your panel overlay:

sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt
sudo cp /mnt/overlays/panel4-v22.dtbo /mnt/overlays/mipi-panel.dtbo
sudo umount /mnt
sync

Insert the SD card and power on. The correct board DTB is selected automatically.

Building from Source

Host Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04+ (or any Linux with QEMU user-static support)
• Disk: 30GB+ free space
• RAM: 4GB+ recommended

Install Dependencies

sudo apt install -y \
    gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu \
    qemu-user-static \
    binfmt-support \
    parted \
    dosfstools \
    e2fsprogs \
    rsync \
    xz-utils \
    imagemagick \
    device-tree-compiler \
    git \
    bc \
    flex \
    bison \
    libssl-dev

Build Everything

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/archr-linux/Arch-R.git
cd Arch-R

# Full build: kernel + rootfs + mesa + ES + retroarch + panels + both images
sudo ./build-all.sh

Output: output/images/ArchR-R36S-YYYYMMDD.img.xz and ArchR-R36S-clone-YYYYMMDD.img.xz

Build Individual Components

sudo ./build-all.sh --kernel     # Kernel + initramfs (~10 min, cross-compile)
sudo ./build-all.sh --rootfs     # Rootfs + Mesa + ES + RetroArch (~3 hours, QEMU chroot)
sudo ./build-all.sh --uboot      # U-Boot (~2 min)
sudo ./build-all.sh --image      # Image assembly only (~2 min per variant)
sudo ./build-all.sh --clean      # Remove all build artifacts

Build Pipeline

build-all.sh
  ├── build-initramfs.sh           # Boot splash (SVG rendering, ~648KB)
  ├── build-kernel.sh              # Cross-compile kernel 6.12.61 (~10 min)
  ├── build-rootfs.sh              # Arch Linux ARM in QEMU chroot (~45 min)
  ├── build-mesa.sh                # Mesa 26 Panfrost + GLES 1.0 (~30 min)
  ├── build-emulationstation.sh    # ES-fcamod with patches (~20 min)
  ├── build-retroarch.sh           # RetroArch + cores (~40 min)
  ├── generate-panel-dtbos.sh      # 20 panel overlays (~10 sec)
  ├── build-uboot.sh               # BSP U-Boot for original boards
  ├── build-uboot-clone.sh         # Mainline U-Boot for clone boards
  └── build-image.sh               # SD card image (×2 variants)

Project Structure

Arch-R/
├── build-all.sh                     # Master build orchestrator
├── build-kernel.sh                  # Kernel 6.12.61 cross-compilation
├── build-initramfs.sh               # Initramfs with boot splash
├── build-rootfs.sh                  # Root filesystem (Arch Linux ARM)
├── build-mesa.sh                    # Mesa 26 GPU driver
├── build-emulationstation.sh        # EmulationStation frontend
├── build-retroarch.sh               # RetroArch + cores
├── build-uboot.sh                   # BSP U-Boot (original boards)
├── build-uboot-clone.sh             # Mainline U-Boot (clone boards)
├── build-image.sh                   # SD card image assembly
├── config/
│   ├── linux-archr-base.config      # Kernel config (mainline 6.12)
│   ├── a_boot.ini                   # Boot script — original variant
│   ├── b_boot.ini                   # Boot script — clone variant
│   ├── es_systems.cfg               # EmulationStation systems
│   ├── retroarch.cfg                # RetroArch base config
│   ├── asound.conf                  # ALSA audio config
│   ├── gptokeyb/                    # Gamepad-to-keyboard mappings
│   ├── udev/                        # udev rules (automount, USB gadget)
│   └── autoconfig/                  # RetroArch controller autoconfig
├── kernel/
│   ├── dts/archr/                   # Board device trees (16 boards)
│   └── drivers/                     # Out-of-tree joypad driver
├── patches/                         # Kernel patches (mainline + device)
├── scripts/
│   ├── emulationstation.sh          # ES launch wrapper
│   ├── retroarch-launch.sh          # RetroArch launch wrapper
│   ├── archr-hotkeys.py             # Volume/brightness hotkey daemon
│   ├── archr-init.c                 # Initramfs splash (static binary)
│   ├── archr-gptokeyb.c             # Gamepad-to-keyboard mapper
│   ├── panel-detect.py              # Panel detection
│   ├── generate-panel-dtbos.sh      # Panel overlay generator
│   ├── pmic-poweroff                # PMIC shutdown handler
│   └── opt-system/                  # ES Tools menu scripts
├── bootloader/
│   └── u-boot-rk3326/              # U-Boot source (submodule)
├── prebuilt/
│   └── cores/                       # Pre-built RetroArch cores
├── ArchR.png                        # Boot logo
├── ROADMAP.md                       # Development diary
└── FLASHER.md                       # Flasher app specification

Hardware

Component	Details
SoC	Rockchip RK3326 (4x Cortex-A35 @ 1.5GHz)
GPU	Mali-G31 Bifrost (Mesa Panfrost, 600MHz)
RAM	1GB DDR3L (786MHz)
Display	640x480 MIPI DSI (20 panel variants)
Audio	RK817 codec, speaker + headphone jack
Storage	MicroSD (BOOT + rootfs + ROMS)
Controls	D-pad, ABXY, L1/L2/R1/R2, dual analog sticks
Battery	3200mAh Li-Po (RK817 charger)
USB	OTG with host/gadget mode switching

Architecture

Arch R separates board configuration from panel configuration:

• Board DTB = hardware profile (GPIOs, PMIC, joypad, audio codec). One per board variant. Selected automatically by U-Boot via SARADC ADC reading.
• Panel overlay = display init sequence and timings. One per panel type. Applied on top of the board DTB at boot time.

This means the same image works on all boards of a variant — only the panel overlay needs to match your specific display.

Supported Boards

Board	DTB	Image
R36S (original)	rk3326-gameconsole-r36s	Original
Odroid Go Advance	rk3326-odroid-go2	Original
Odroid Go Advance v1.1	rk3326-odroid-go2-v11	Original
Odroid Go Super	rk3326-odroid-go3	Original
Anbernic RG351V	rk3326-anbernic-rg351v	Original
Anbernic RG351M	rk3326-anbernic-rg351m	Original
GameForce Chi	rk3326-gameforce-chi	Original
R33S	rk3326-gameconsole-r33s	Original
MagicX XU10	rk3326-magicx-xu10	Original
K36 / R36S clone	rk3326-gameconsole-r36max	Clone
EE clone	rk3326-gameconsole-eeclone	Clone
Powkiddy RGB10	rk3326-powkiddy-rgb10	Clone
Powkiddy RGB10X	rk3326-powkiddy-rgb10x	Clone
Powkiddy RGB20S	rk3326-powkiddy-rgb20s	Clone
MagicX XU-Mini-M	rk3326-magicx-xu-mini-m	Clone
BatLexp G350	rk3326-batlexp-g350	Clone

Supported Panels

Original R36S (7 panels)

Panel	Overlay file	Controller	Notes
Panel 0	panel0.dtbo	ST7703	Early R36S units
Panel 1	panel1.dtbo	ST7703	V10 board
Panel 2	panel2.dtbo	ST7703	V12 board
Panel 3	panel3.dtbo	ST7703	V20 board
Panel 4	panel4.dtbo	ST7703	V22 board
Panel 4-V22	panel4-v22.dtbo	ST7703	Most common (~60%)
Panel 5	panel5.dtbo	ST7703	V22 Q8 variant

R46H (1024x768): r46h.dtbo

Clone R36S (13 panels)

Panel	Overlay file	Controller	Notes
Clone 1	clone_panel_1.dtbo	ST7703
Clone 2	clone_panel_2.dtbo	ST7703
Clone 3	clone_panel_3.dtbo	NV3051D
Clone 4	clone_panel_4.dtbo	NV3051D
Clone 5	clone_panel_5.dtbo	ST7703
Clone 6	clone_panel_6.dtbo	NV3051D
Clone 7	clone_panel_7.dtbo	JD9365DA
Clone 8	clone_panel_8.dtbo	ST7703	G80CA — most common
Clone 9	clone_panel_9.dtbo	NV3051D
Clone 10	clone_panel_10.dtbo	ST7703
R36 Max	r36_max.dtbo	ST7703	720x720
RX6S	rx6s.dtbo	NV3051D

Manual Panel Selection

Mount the BOOT partition and copy the correct overlay as mipi-panel.dtbo:

sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt

# Example: set Panel 4-V22 (most common original R36S panel)
sudo cp /mnt/overlays/panel4-v22.dtbo /mnt/overlays/mipi-panel.dtbo

# Example: set Clone 8 (most common clone panel)
sudo cp /mnt/overlays/clone_panel_8.dtbo /mnt/overlays/mipi-panel.dtbo

sudo umount /mnt
sync

Boot Flow

Power On
  → U-Boot loads (idbloader → trust → uboot.img)
  → boot.ini: read SARADC hwrev → select board DTB
  → boot.ini: apply overlays/mipi-panel.dtbo (panel init sequence)
  → Kernel 6.12.61 + initramfs splash (0.7s)
  → systemd → archr-boot-setup (GPU + governors)
  → emulationstation.service → EmulationStation UI
  ≈ 19 seconds total

Contributing

See ROADMAP.md for current development status and planned features.

License

GPL v3