# PS5 Linux Image Builder Builds bootable Linux USB images for PlayStation 5 using Docker containers. Supports Ubuntu 26.04, Ubuntu 24.04, Arch, and Alpine, individually or as a multi-distro image with kexec switching. ## Prerequisites - Docker (with permission to run `--privileged` containers) — install as per your distro's instructions - ~30GB free disk space Once Docker is installed, add your user to the docker group and apply it without logging out: ```bash sudo usermod -aG docker $USER newgrp docker ``` ## Quick Start ```bash # Build a single Ubuntu 26.04 image ./build_image.sh --distro ubuntu2604 OR # Build a single Ubuntu 24.04 image ./build_image.sh --distro ubuntu2404 OR # Build a multi-distro image (ubuntu2604 + ubuntu2404 + arch + alpine) ./build_image.sh --distro all ``` The script auto-clones the kernel source, applies PS5 patches, compiles, and builds the image. Subsequent runs reuse cached artifacts automatically. Press Ctrl+C at any time to abort cleanly. ## Flash to USB ```bash sudo dd if=output/ps5-ubuntu2604.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress ``` ## Options | Flag | Description | Default | |------|-------------|---------| | `--distro` | `ubuntu2604`, `ubuntu2404`, `arch`, `alpine`, or `all` | `ubuntu2604` | | `--kernel` | Path to kernel source directory | auto-clone `v6.19.10` | | `--img-size` | Disk image size in MB | `12000` (`32000` for `all`) | | `--clean` | Remove all cached build artifacts and start fresh | off | ## Caching The build automatically skips stages that have already completed: - **Kernel source** — reused if `work/linux/` exists - **Kernel packages** — reused if `.deb`/`.pkg.tar.zst` files exist in `linux-bin/` - **Root filesystem** — reused if chroot directories are populated Use `--clean` to wipe everything and rebuild from scratch. The build will also suggest `--clean` if a stage fails. ## Build Output ``` PS5 Linux Image Builder ======================= Distro: all (ubuntu2604 ubuntu2404 arch alpine) Image size: 32000MB Kernel src: /path/to/work/linux Stages: 1. Kernel cached 2. Root filesystem build 3. Disk image build Logs: /path/to/build.log ✓ Kernel packages (cached) ✓ Build image builder image ⠹ Building arch rootfs ``` All verbose output goes to `build.log`. The terminal shows a spinner with live progress. ## Distributions | Distro | Desktop | Kernel format | Init | |--------|---------|---------------|------| | Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) | GNOME | `.deb` | systemd | | Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute) | GNOME | `.deb` | systemd | | Arch | Sway | `.pkg.tar.zst` | systemd | | Alpine (3.21) | GNOME | extracted from `.deb` | OpenRC | ## Multi-distro Image `--distro all` builds a 32GB image with 5 partitions: | Partition | Type | Label | Content | |-----------|------|-------|---------| | p1 | FAT32 | boot | Shared kernel, per-distro initrds, kexec scripts | | p2 | ext4 | ubuntu2604 | Ubuntu 26.04 rootfs | | p3 | ext4 | ubuntu2404 | Ubuntu 24.04 rootfs | | p4 | ext4 | arch | Arch rootfs | | p5 | ext4 | alpine | Alpine rootfs | The boot partition contains kexec scripts to switch between distros at runtime. Ubuntu 26.04 is the default boot target. ## Directory Layout ``` build_image.sh # Main build script docker/ kernel-builder/ # Kernel compilation container kernel-builder-arch/ # Repackages .deb kernel as .pkg.tar.zst image-builder/ Dockerfile # Image building container (distrobuilder) entrypoint.sh # Single-distro build logic entrypoint-multi.sh # Multi-distro build logic distros/ ubuntu2404/ # Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) ubuntu2604/ # Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute) arch/ # Arch Linux alpine/ # Alpine 3.21 shared/ # Kernel postinst hooks (single + multi) boot/ cmdline.txt # Kernel cmdline template (__DISTRO__ placeholder) vram.txt # VRAM allocation kexec-{ubuntu2604,ubuntu2404,arch,alpine}.sh work/ # Build artifacts (auto-created) linux-bin/ # Compiled kernel packages output/ # Final .img files ```