.. SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-2.0-UK

**************************
Source Directory Structure
**************************

The :term:`Source Directory` consists of numerous files,
directories and subdirectories; understanding their locations and
contents is key to using the Yocto Project effectively. This chapter
describes the Source Directory and gives information about those files
and directories.

For information on how to establish a local Source Directory on your
development system, see the
":ref:`dev-manual/start:locating yocto project source files`"
section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

.. note::

   The OpenEmbedded build system does not support file or directory
   names that contain spaces. Be sure that the Source Directory you use
   does not contain these types of names.

.. _structure-core:

Top-Level Core Components
=========================

This section describes the top-level components of the :term:`Source Directory`.

.. _structure-core-bitbake:

``bitbake/``
------------

This directory includes a copy of BitBake for ease of use. The copy
usually matches the current stable BitBake release from the BitBake
project. BitBake, a :term:`Metadata` interpreter, reads the
Yocto Project Metadata and runs the tasks defined by that data. Failures
are usually caused by errors in your Metadata and not from BitBake
itself.

When you run the ``bitbake`` command, the main BitBake executable (which
resides in the ``bitbake/bin/`` directory) starts. Sourcing the
environment setup script (i.e. :ref:`structure-core-script`) places
the ``scripts/`` and ``bitbake/bin/`` directories (in that order) into
the shell's ``PATH`` environment variable.

For more information on BitBake, see the :doc:`BitBake User Manual
<bitbake:index>`.

.. _structure-core-build:

``build/``
----------

This directory contains user configuration files and the output
generated by the OpenEmbedded build system in its standard configuration
where the source tree is combined with the output. The :term:`Build Directory`
is created initially when you ``source`` the OpenEmbedded build environment
setup script (i.e. :ref:`structure-core-script`).

It is also possible to place output and configuration files in a
directory separate from the :term:`Source Directory` by
providing a directory name when you ``source`` the setup script. For
information on separating output from your local Source Directory files
(commonly described as an "out of tree" build), see the
":ref:`structure-core-script`" section.

See the ":ref:`The Build Directory --- build/ <structure-build>`" section for details
about the contents of the :term:`Build Directory`.

.. _handbook:

``documentation/``
------------------

This directory holds the source for the Yocto Project documentation as
well as templates and tools that allow you to generate PDF and HTML
versions of the manuals. Each manual is contained in its own sub-folder;
for example, the files for this reference manual reside in the
``ref-manual/`` directory.

.. _structure-core-meta:

``meta/``
---------

This directory contains the minimal, underlying OpenEmbedded-Core
metadata. The directory holds recipes, common classes, and machine
configuration for strictly emulated targets (``qemux86``, ``qemuarm``,
and so forth.)

.. _structure-core-meta-poky:

``meta-poky/``
--------------

Designed above the ``meta/`` content, this directory adds just enough
metadata to define the Poky reference distribution.

.. _structure-core-meta-yocto-bsp:

``meta-yocto-bsp/``
-------------------

This directory contains the Yocto Project reference hardware Board
Support Packages (BSPs). For more information on BSPs, see the
:doc:`/bsp-guide/index`.

.. _structure-meta-selftest:

``meta-selftest/``
------------------

This directory adds additional recipes and append files used by the
OpenEmbedded selftests to verify the behavior of the build system. You
do not have to add this layer to your ``bblayers.conf`` file unless you
want to run the selftests.

.. _structure-meta-skeleton:

``meta-skeleton/``
------------------

This directory contains template recipes for BSP and kernel development.

.. _structure-core-scripts:

``scripts/``
------------

This directory contains various integration scripts that implement extra
functionality in the Yocto Project environment (e.g. QEMU scripts). The
:ref:`structure-core-script` script prepends this directory to the
shell's ``PATH`` environment variable.

The ``scripts`` directory has useful scripts that assist in contributing
back to the Yocto Project, such as ``create-pull-request`` and
``send-pull-request``.

.. _structure-core-script:

``oe-init-build-env``
---------------------

This script sets up the OpenEmbedded build environment. Running this
script with the ``source`` command in a shell makes changes to ``PATH``
and sets other core BitBake variables based on the current working
directory. You need to run an environment setup script before running
BitBake commands. The script uses other scripts within the ``scripts``
directory to do the bulk of the work.

When you run this script, your Yocto Project environment is set up, a
:term:`Build Directory` is created, your working directory becomes the
:term:`Build Directory`, and you are presented with some simple
suggestions as to what to do next, including a list of some possible
targets to build. Here is an example::

   $ source oe-init-build-env

   ### Shell environment set up for builds. ###

   You can now run 'bitbake <target>'

   Common targets are:
       core-image-minimal
       core-image-sato
       meta-toolchain
       meta-ide-support

   You can also run generated QEMU images with a command like 'runqemu qemux86-64'

The default output of the ``oe-init-build-env`` script is from the
``conf-summary.txt`` and ``conf-notes.txt`` files, which are found in the ``meta-poky`` directory
within the :term:`Source Directory`. If you design a
custom distribution, you can include your own versions of these
configuration files where you can provide a brief summary and detailed usage
notes, such as a list of the targets defined by your distribution.
See the
":ref:`dev-manual/custom-template-configuration-directory:creating a custom template configuration directory`"
section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual for more
information.

By default, running this script without a :term:`Build Directory` argument
creates the ``build/`` directory in your current working directory. If
you provide a :term:`Build Directory` argument when you ``source`` the script,
you direct the OpenEmbedded build system to create a :term:`Build Directory` of
your choice. For example, the following command creates a
:term:`Build Directory` named ``mybuilds/`` that is outside of the
:term:`Source Directory`::

   $ source oe-init-build-env ~/mybuilds

The OpenEmbedded build system uses the template configuration files, which
are found by default in the ``meta-poky/conf/templates/default`` directory in the Source
Directory. See the
":ref:`dev-manual/custom-template-configuration-directory:creating a custom template configuration directory`"
section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual for more
information.

.. note::

   The OpenEmbedded build system does not support file or directory
   names that contain spaces. If you attempt to run the ``oe-init-build-env``
   script from a Source Directory that contains spaces in either the
   filenames or directory names, the script returns an error indicating
   no such file or directory. Be sure to use a Source Directory free of
   names containing spaces.

.. _structure-basic-top-level:

``LICENSE, README, and README.hardware``
----------------------------------------

These files are standard top-level files.

.. _structure-build:

The Build Directory --- ``build/``
==================================

The OpenEmbedded build system creates the :term:`Build Directory` when you run
the build environment setup script :ref:`structure-core-script`. If you do not
give the :term:`Build Directory` a specific name when you run the setup script,
the name defaults to ``build/``.

For subsequent parsing and processing, the name of the Build directory
is available via the :term:`TOPDIR` variable.

.. _structure-build-buildhistory:

``build/buildhistory/``
-----------------------

The OpenEmbedded build system creates this directory when you enable
build history via the :ref:`ref-classes-buildhistory` class file. The directory
organizes build information into image, packages, and SDK
subdirectories. For information on the build history feature, see the
":ref:`dev-manual/build-quality:maintaining build output quality`"
section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

.. _structure-build-cache:

``build/cache/``
----------------

This directory contains several internal files used by the OpenEmbedded
build system. The path to this directory is defined by the
:term:`PERSISTENT_DIR` variable.

It also contains ``sanity_info``, a text file keeping track of important
build information such as the values of :term:`TMPDIR`, :term:`SSTATE_DIR`,
as well as the name and version of the host distribution.

This directory should not be shared between builds.

.. note::

   The default location of the :ref:`overview-manual/concepts:Hash Equivalence`
   database is this directory (when :term:`BB_HASHSERVE` is set to ``auto``). If
   you need to share the :ref:`overview-manual/concepts:Hash Equivalence`
   database, don't share this file and instead refer to the
   :doc:`/dev-manual/hashequivserver` document of the Yocto Project Development
   Tasks Manual to setup Hash Equivalence server.

.. _structure-build-conf-local.conf:

``build/conf/local.conf``
-------------------------

This configuration file contains all the local user configurations for
your build environment. The ``local.conf`` file contains documentation
on the various configuration options. Any variable set here overrides
any variable set elsewhere within the environment unless that variable
is hard-coded within a file (e.g. by using '=' instead of '?='). Some
variables are hard-coded for various reasons but such variables are
relatively rare.

At a minimum, you would normally edit this file to select the target
:term:`MACHINE`, which package types you wish to use
(:term:`PACKAGE_CLASSES`), and the location from
which you want to access downloaded files (:term:`DL_DIR`).

If ``local.conf`` is not present when you start the build, the
OpenEmbedded build system creates it from ``local.conf.sample`` when you
``source`` the top-level build environment setup script
:ref:`structure-core-script`.

The source ``local.conf.sample`` file used depends on the
:term:`TEMPLATECONF` script variable, which defaults to ``meta-poky/conf/templates/default``
when you are building from the Yocto Project development environment,
and to ``meta/conf/templates/default`` when you are building from the OpenEmbedded-Core
environment. Because the script variable points to the source of the
``local.conf.sample`` file, this implies that you can configure your
build environment from any layer by setting the variable in the
top-level build environment setup script as follows::

   TEMPLATECONF=your_layer/conf/templates/your_template_name

Once the build process gets the sample
file, it uses ``sed`` to substitute final
``${``\ :term:`OEROOT`\ ``}`` values for all
``##OEROOT##`` values.

.. note::

   You can see how the :term:`TEMPLATECONF` variable is used by looking at the
   ``scripts/oe-setup-builddir`` script in the :term:`Source Directory`.
   You can find the Yocto Project version of the ``local.conf.sample`` file in
   the ``meta-poky/conf/templates/default`` directory.

.. _structure-build-conf-bblayers.conf:

``build/conf/bblayers.conf``
----------------------------

This configuration file defines
:ref:`layers <dev-manual/layers:understanding and creating layers>`,
which are directory trees, traversed (or walked) by BitBake. The
``bblayers.conf`` file uses the :term:`BBLAYERS`
variable to list the layers BitBake tries to find.

If ``bblayers.conf`` is not present when you start the build, the
OpenEmbedded build system creates it from ``bblayers.conf.sample`` when
you ``source`` the top-level build environment setup script (i.e.
:ref:`structure-core-script`).

As with the ``local.conf`` file, the source ``bblayers.conf.sample``
file used depends on the :term:`TEMPLATECONF` script variable, which
defaults to ``meta-poky/conf/templates/default`` when you are building from the Yocto
Project development environment, and to ``meta/conf/templates/default`` when you are
building from the OpenEmbedded-Core environment. Because the script
variable points to the source of the ``bblayers.conf.sample`` file, this
implies that you can base your build from any layer by setting the
variable in the top-level build environment setup script as follows::

   TEMPLATECONF=your_layer/conf/templates/your_template_name

Once the build process gets the sample file, it uses ``sed`` to substitute final
``${``\ :term:`OEROOT`\ ``}`` values for all ``##OEROOT##`` values.

.. note::

   You can see how the :term:`TEMPLATECONF` variable is defined by the ``scripts/oe-setup-builddir``
   script in the :term:`Source Directory`. You can find the Yocto Project
   version of the ``bblayers.conf.sample`` file in the ``meta-poky/conf/templates/default``
   directory.

.. _structure-build-conf-bblock.conf:

``build/conf/bblock.conf``
--------------------------

This configuration file is generated by :doc:`bblock </dev-manual/bblock>` and
contains the signatures locked by ``bblock``. By default, it does not exist
and will be created upon the first invocation of ``bblock``.

.. _structure-build-conf-toolcfg.conf:

``build/conf/toolcfg.conf``
---------------------------

This file contains configuration variables that are automatically modified by
tools such as :oe_git:`bitbake-config-build </bitbake/tree/bin/bitbake-config-build>`.
This file should not be modified manually.

.. _structure-build-conf-auto.conf:

``build/conf/auto.conf``
------------------------

This file is intended for use by continuous integration environments, such as the
Yocto Project's :doc:`Autobuilder </test-manual/understand-autobuilder>`. It
should not be created or modified when running local builds.

.. _structure-build-downloads:

``build/downloads/``
--------------------

This directory contains downloaded upstream source tarballs. You can
reuse the directory for multiple builds or move the directory to another
location. You can control the location of this directory through the
:term:`DL_DIR` variable.

.. _structure-build-sstate-cache:

``build/sstate-cache/``
-----------------------

This directory contains the shared state cache. You can reuse the
directory for multiple builds or move the directory to another location.
You can control the location of this directory through the
:term:`SSTATE_DIR` variable.

.. _structure-build-tmp:

``build/tmp/``
--------------

The OpenEmbedded build system creates and uses this directory for all
the build system's output. The :term:`TMPDIR` variable
points to this directory.

BitBake creates this directory if it does not exist. As a last resort,
to clean up a build and start it from scratch (other than the
downloads), you can remove everything in the ``tmp`` directory or get
rid of the directory completely. If you do, you should also completely
remove the ``build/sstate-cache`` directory.

.. _structure-build-tmp-buildstats:

``build/tmp/buildstats/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory stores the build statistics as generated by the
:ref:`ref-classes-buildstats` class.

.. _structure-build-tmp-cache:

``build/tmp/cache/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When BitBake parses the metadata (recipes and configuration files), it
caches the results in ``build/tmp/cache/`` to speed up future builds.
The results are stored on a per-machine basis.

During subsequent builds, BitBake checks each recipe (together with, for
example, any files included or appended to it) to see if they have been
modified. Changes can be detected, for example, through file
modification time (mtime) changes and hashing of file contents. If no
changes to the file are detected, then the parsed result stored in the
cache is reused. If the file has changed, it is reparsed.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy:

``build/tmp/deploy/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory contains any "end result" output from the OpenEmbedded
build process. The :term:`DEPLOY_DIR` variable points
to this directory. For more detail on the contents of the ``deploy``
directory, see the
":ref:`overview-manual/concepts:images`" and
":ref:`overview-manual/concepts:application development sdk`" sections in the Yocto
Project Overview and Concepts Manual.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-deb:

``build/tmp/deploy/deb/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This directory receives any ``.deb`` packages produced by the build
process. The packages are sorted into feeds for different architecture
types.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-rpm:

``build/tmp/deploy/rpm/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This directory receives any ``.rpm`` packages produced by the build
process. The packages are sorted into feeds for different architecture
types.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-ipk:

``build/tmp/deploy/ipk/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This directory receives ``.ipk`` packages produced by the build process.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-licenses:

``build/tmp/deploy/licenses/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This directory receives package licensing information. For example, the
directory contains sub-directories for ``bash``, ``busybox``, and
``glibc`` (among others) that in turn contain appropriate ``COPYING``
license files with other licensing information. For information on
licensing, see the
":ref:`dev-manual/licenses:maintaining open source license compliance during your product's lifecycle`"
section in the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual.

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-images:

``build/tmp/deploy/images/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This directory is populated with the basic output objects of the build
(think of them as the "generated artifacts" of the build process),
including things like the boot loader image, kernel, root filesystem and
more. If you want to flash the resulting image from a build onto a
device, look here for the necessary components.

Be careful when deleting files in this directory. You can safely delete
old images from this directory (e.g. ``core-image-*``). However, the
kernel (``*zImage*``, ``*uImage*``, etc.), bootloader and other
supplementary files might be deployed here prior to building an image.
Because these files are not directly produced from the image, if you
delete them they will not be automatically re-created when you build the
image again.

If you do accidentally delete files here, you will need to force them to
be re-created. In order to do that, you will need to know the target
that produced them. For example, these commands rebuild and re-create
the kernel files::

   $ bitbake -c clean virtual/kernel
   $ bitbake virtual/kernel

.. _structure-build-tmp-deploy-sdk:

``build/tmp/deploy/sdk/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The OpenEmbedded build system creates this directory to hold toolchain
installer scripts which, when executed, install the sysroot that matches
your target hardware. You can find out more about these installers in
the ":ref:`sdk-manual/appendix-obtain:building an sdk installer`"
section in the Yocto Project Application Development and the Extensible
Software Development Kit (eSDK) manual.

.. _structure-build-tmp-hosttools:

``build/tmp/hosttools/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The OpenEmbedded build system uses this directory to create symbolic links to
some of the host components that are allowed to be called within tasks. These
are basic components listed in the :ref:`ref-manual/system-requirements:required
packages for the build host` section. These components are also listed in the
:term:`HOSTTOOLS` variable and are limited to this list to prevent host
contamination.

.. _structure-build-tmp-pkgdata:

``build/tmp/pkgdata/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The OpenEmbedded build system uses this directory to store package metadata
generated during the :ref:`ref-tasks-packagedata` task. The files stored in this
directory contain information about each output package produced by the
OpenEmbedded build system, and are used in different ways by the build system
such as ":ref:`dev-manual/debugging:viewing package information with
``oe-pkgdata-util```".

.. _structure-build-tmp-sstate-control:

``build/tmp/sstate-control/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The OpenEmbedded build system uses this directory for the shared state
manifest files. The shared state code uses these files to record the
files installed by each sstate task so that the files can be removed
when cleaning the recipe or when a newer version is about to be
installed. The build system also uses the manifests to detect and
produce a warning when files from one task are overwriting those from
another.

.. _structure-build-tmp-sysroots-components:

``build/tmp/sysroots-components/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory is the location of the sysroot contents that the task
:ref:`ref-tasks-prepare_recipe_sysroot`
links or copies into the recipe-specific sysroot for each recipe listed
in :term:`DEPENDS`. Population of this directory is
handled through shared state, while the path is specified by the
:term:`COMPONENTS_DIR` variable. Apart from a few
unusual circumstances, handling of the ``sysroots-components`` directory
should be automatic, and recipes should not directly reference
``build/tmp/sysroots-components``.

.. _structure-build-tmp-sysroots:

``build/tmp/sysroots/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previous versions of the OpenEmbedded build system used to create a
global shared sysroot per machine along with a native sysroot. Since
the 2.3 version of the Yocto Project, there are sysroots in
recipe-specific :term:`WORKDIR` directories. Thus, the
``build/tmp/sysroots/`` directory is unused.

.. note::

   The ``build/tmp/sysroots/`` directory can still be populated using the
   ``bitbake build-sysroots`` command and can be used for compatibility in some
   cases. However, in general it is not recommended to populate this directory.
   Individual recipe-specific sysroots should be used.

.. _structure-build-tmp-stamps:

``build/tmp/stamps/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory holds information that BitBake uses for accounting
purposes to track what tasks have run and when they have run. The
directory is sub-divided by architecture, package name, and version.
Here is an example::

      stamps/all-poky-linux/distcc-config/1.0-r0.do_build-2fdd....2do

Although the files in the directory are empty of data, BitBake uses the filenames
and timestamps for tracking purposes.

For information on how BitBake uses stamp files to determine if a task
should be rerun, see the
":ref:`overview-manual/concepts:stamp files and the rerunning of tasks`"
section in the Yocto Project Overview and Concepts Manual.

.. _structure-build-tmp-log:

``build/tmp/log/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory contains general logs that are not otherwise placed using
the package's :term:`WORKDIR`. Examples of logs are the output from the
``do_check_pkg`` or ``do_distro_check`` tasks. Running a build does not
necessarily mean this directory is created.

.. _structure-build-tmp-work:

``build/tmp/work/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory contains architecture-specific work sub-directories for
packages built by BitBake. All tasks execute from the appropriate work
directory. For example, the source for a particular package is unpacked,
patched, configured and compiled all within its own work directory.
Within the work directory, organization is based on the package group
and version for which the source is being compiled as defined by the
:term:`WORKDIR`.

It is worth considering the structure of a typical work directory. As an
example, consider ``linux-yocto-kernel-3.0`` on the machine ``qemux86``
built within the Yocto Project. For this package, a work directory of
``tmp/work/qemux86-poky-linux/linux-yocto/3.0+git1+<.....>``, referred
to as the :term:`WORKDIR`, is created. Within this directory, the source is
unpacked to ``sources/linux-qemux86-standard-build`` and then patched by Quilt.
(See the ":ref:`dev-manual/quilt:using quilt in your workflow`" section in
the Yocto Project Development Tasks Manual for more information.) Within
the ``linux-qemux86-standard-build`` directory, standard Quilt
directories ``linux-3.0/patches`` and ``linux-3.0/.pc`` are created, and
standard Quilt commands can be used.

There are other directories generated within :term:`WORKDIR`. The most
important directory is ``WORKDIR/temp/``, which has log files for each
task (``log.do_*.pid``) and contains the scripts BitBake runs for each
task (``run.do_*.pid``). The ``WORKDIR/image/`` directory is where "make
install" places its output that is then split into sub-packages within
``WORKDIR/packages-split/``.

.. _structure-build-tmp-work-tunearch-recipename-version:

``build/tmp/work/tunearch/recipename/version/``
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The recipe work directory --- ``${WORKDIR}``.

As described earlier in the
":ref:`structure-build-tmp-sysroots`" section,
beginning with the 2.3 release of the Yocto Project, the OpenEmbedded
build system builds each recipe in its own work directory (i.e.
:term:`WORKDIR`). The path to the work directory is
constructed using the architecture of the given build (e.g.
:term:`TUNE_PKGARCH`, :term:`MACHINE_ARCH`, or "allarch"), the recipe
name, and the version of the recipe (i.e.
:term:`PE`\ ``:``\ :term:`PV`\ ``-``\ :term:`PR`).

Here are key subdirectories within each recipe work directory:

-  ``${WORKDIR}/temp``: Contains the log files of each task executed for
   this recipe, the "run" files for each executed task, which contain
   the code run, and a ``log.task_order`` file, which lists the order in
   which tasks were executed.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/image``: Contains the output of the
   :ref:`ref-tasks-install` task, which corresponds to
   the ``${``\ :term:`D`\ ``}`` variable in that task.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/pseudo``: Contains the pseudo database and log for any
   tasks executed under pseudo for the recipe.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/sysroot-destdir``: Contains the output of the
   :ref:`ref-tasks-populate_sysroot` task.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/package``: Contains the output of the
   :ref:`ref-tasks-package` task before the output is
   split into individual packages.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/packages-split``: Contains the output of the
   :ref:`ref-tasks-package` task after the output has been split into individual
   packages. There are subdirectories for each individual package created by
   the recipe.

-  ``${WORKDIR}/recipe-sysroot``: A directory populated with the target
   dependencies of the recipe. This directory looks like the target
   filesystem and contains libraries that the recipe might need to link
   against (e.g. the C library).

-  ``${WORKDIR}/recipe-sysroot-native``: A directory populated with the
   native dependencies of the recipe. This directory contains the tools
   the recipe needs to build (e.g. the compiler, Autoconf, libtool, and
   so forth).

-  ``${WORKDIR}/build``: This subdirectory applies only to recipes that
   support builds where the source is separate from the build artifacts.
   The OpenEmbedded build system uses this directory as a separate build
   directory (i.e. ``${``\ :term:`B`\ ``}``).

.. _structure-build-work-shared:

``build/tmp/work-shared/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For efficiency, the OpenEmbedded build system creates and uses this
directory to hold recipes that share a work directory with other
recipes. This is for example used for ``gcc`` and its variants (e.g.
``gcc-cross``, ``libgcc``, ``gcc-runtime``, and so forth), or by the
:ref:`ref-classes-kernel` class to make the kernel source code and kernel build
artifacts available to out-of-tree kernel modules or other kernel-dependent
recipes.

In practice, only a few recipes make use of the ``work-shared`` directory. This
directory is especially useful for recipes that would induce a lot of storage
space if they were to be shared with the standard :term:`Sysroot` mechanism.

.. _structure-meta:

The Metadata --- ``meta/``
==========================

As mentioned previously, :term:`Metadata` is the core of the
Yocto Project. Metadata has several important subdivisions:

.. _structure-meta-classes:

``meta/classes*/``
------------------

These directories contain the ``*.bbclass`` files. Class files are used to
abstract common code so it can be reused by multiple packages. Every
package inherits the :ref:`ref-classes-base` file. Examples of other important
classes are :ref:`ref-classes-autotools`, which in theory allows any
Autotool-enabled package to work with the Yocto Project with minimal
effort. Another example is :ref:`ref-classes-kernel` that contains common code
and functions for working with the Linux kernel. Functions like image
generation or packaging also have their specific class files such as
:ref:`ref-classes-image`, :ref:`ref-classes-rootfs*` and
:ref:`package*.bbclass <ref-classes-package>`.

For reference information on classes, see the
":doc:`/ref-manual/classes`" chapter.

.. _structure-meta-conf:

``meta/conf/``
--------------

This directory contains the core set of configuration files that start
from ``bitbake.conf`` and from which all other configuration files are
included. See the include statements at the end of the ``bitbake.conf``
file and you will note that even ``local.conf`` is loaded from there.
While ``bitbake.conf`` sets up the defaults, you can often override
these by using the (``local.conf``) file, machine file or the
distribution configuration file.

.. _structure-meta-conf-machine:

``meta/conf/machine/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This directory contains all the machine configuration files. If you set
``MACHINE = "qemux86"``, the OpenEmbedded build system looks for a
``qemux86.conf`` file in this directory. The ``include`` directory
contains various data common to multiple machines. If you want to add
support for a new machine to the Yocto Project, look in this directory.

.. _structure-meta-conf-distro:

``meta/conf/distro/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The contents of this directory controls any distribution-specific
configurations. For the Yocto Project, the ``defaultsetup.conf`` is the
main file here. This directory includes the versions and the :term:`SRCDATE`
definitions for applications that are configured here. An example of an
alternative configuration might be ``poky-bleeding.conf``. Although this
file mainly inherits its configuration from Poky.

.. _structure-meta-conf-machine-sdk:

``meta/conf/machine-sdk/``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The OpenEmbedded build system searches this directory for configuration
files that correspond to the value of
:term:`SDKMACHINE`. By default, 32-bit and 64-bit x86
files ship with the Yocto Project that support some SDK hosts. However,
it is possible to extend that support to other SDK hosts by adding
additional configuration files in this subdirectory within another
layer.

.. _structure-meta-files:

``meta/files/``
---------------

This directory contains common license files and several text files used
by the build system. The text files contain minimal device information
and lists of files and directories with known permissions.

.. _structure-meta-lib:

``meta/lib/``
-------------

This directory contains OpenEmbedded Python library code used during the
build process. It is enabled via the ``addpylib`` directive in
``meta/conf/local.conf``. For more information, see
:ref:`bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-metadata:extending python library code`.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-bsp:

``meta/recipes-bsp/``
---------------------

This directory contains anything linking to specific hardware or
hardware configuration information such as "u-boot" and "grub".

.. _structure-meta-recipes-connectivity:

``meta/recipes-connectivity/``
------------------------------

This directory contains libraries and applications related to
communication with other devices.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-core:

``meta/recipes-core/``
----------------------

This directory contains what is needed to build a basic working Linux
image including commonly used dependencies.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-devtools:

``meta/recipes-devtools/``
--------------------------

This directory contains tools that are primarily used by the build
system. The tools, however, can also be used on targets.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-extended:

``meta/recipes-extended/``
--------------------------

This directory contains non-essential applications that add features
compared to the alternatives in core. You might need this directory for
full tool functionality.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-gnome:

``meta/recipes-gnome/``
-----------------------

This directory contains all things related to the GTK+ application
framework.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-graphics:

``meta/recipes-graphics/``
--------------------------

This directory contains X and other graphically related system
libraries.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-kernel:

``meta/recipes-kernel/``
------------------------

This directory contains the kernel and generic applications and
libraries that have strong kernel dependencies.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-multimedia:

``meta/recipes-multimedia/``
----------------------------

This directory contains codecs and support utilities for audio, images
and video.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-rt:

``meta/recipes-rt/``
--------------------

This directory contains package and image recipes for using and testing
the ``PREEMPT_RT`` kernel.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-sato:

``meta/recipes-sato/``
----------------------

This directory contains the Sato demo/reference UI/UX and its associated
applications and configuration data.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-support:

``meta/recipes-support/``
-------------------------

This directory contains recipes used by other recipes, but that are not
directly included in images (i.e. dependencies of other recipes).

.. _structure-meta-site:

``meta/site/``
--------------

This directory contains a list of cached results for various
architectures. Because certain "autoconf" test results cannot be
determined when cross-compiling due to the tests not able to run on a
live system, the information in this directory is passed to "autoconf"
for the various architectures.

.. _structure-meta-recipes-txt:

``meta/recipes.txt``
--------------------

This file is a description of the contents of ``recipes-*``.
