archr-linux/Arch-R v1.0-beta2

Arch R v1.0 Beta 2

on GitHub

Arch R v1.0 Beta 2

The biggest Arch R update yet. Kernel fully migrated to mainline, new board + overlay architecture, and the entire build pipeline rewritten from scratch.

Mainline Kernel 6.12.61 LTS

Moved from BSP kernel 6.6 (proprietary fork) to Linux 6.12.61 mainline LTS. Cross-compiles directly from x86 host — no more ARM chroot needed to build the kernel.

• 8 device patches (panel, input, wifi, USB, DTS)
• 7 Panfrost patches (performance counters, BO labelling)
• ntsync patch (future Wine/Proton support)
• panel-generic-dsi driver built-in with archr,generic-dsi compatible

Board + Overlay Architecture

Fundamental change in how hardware is detected:

• Board DTB = hardware profile (GPIOs, PMIC, joypad, audio). 16 boards supported. Auto-selected by U-Boot via ADC reading (SARADC ch0).
• Panel Overlay = display init sequence. 20 panels supported. Applied at boot via fdt apply in boot.ini.
• Two images: Original (R36S, OGA, OGS, RG351V/M, Chi, R33S, XU10) and Clone (K36, RGB20S, RGB10X, XU-Mini-M, R36Max, EE clone, G350).
• Same image works on all boards of a variant — only the panel overlay needs to match your display.

Initramfs Boot Splash

SVG splash rendered directly to framebuffer at ~0.7s after power-on, before systemd starts. Static aarch64 binary embedded in the kernel initramfs.

System Scripts

• Hotkeys: volume and brightness via gamepad (FN + D-pad)
• Automount: SD/USB auto-detection via udev
• Bluetooth agent: pairing without terminal
• Memory manager: OOM prevention
• Sleep/Suspend: deep sleep and freeze modes
• USB gadget: file transfer mode
• Save-config: settings persistence
• gptokeyb: gamepad-to-keyboard mapper via uinput

ES Tools (WIP)

Interactive scripts in EmulationStation's OPTIONS menu: System Info, WiFi, Bluetooth, Performance Mode, Sleep Mode, USB Mode, Factory Reset. Uses fbcon + gptokeyb for gamepad navigation. Still being tested.

Build Pipeline

Full build rewritten with cross-compilation:

build-all.sh
  ├── build-initramfs.sh         # Boot splash SVG
  ├── build-kernel.sh            # Kernel 6.12.61 cross-compile (~10 min)
  ├── build-rootfs.sh            # Arch Linux ARM chroot (~45 min)
  ├── build-mesa.sh              # Mesa 26 Panfrost
  ├── build-emulationstation.sh  # ES-fcamod
  ├── build-retroarch.sh         # RetroArch + cores
  ├── generate-panel-dtbos.sh    # 20 panel overlays
  ├── build-uboot.sh             # BSP U-Boot (original)
  ├── build-uboot-clone.sh       # Mainline U-Boot (clone)
  └── build-image.sh             # SD card image (×2 variants)

Panel Selection

Use the Arch R Flasher (v1.0.0) to flash and select your panel automatically. Or manually:

# Mount BOOT partition
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt

# Copy your panel overlay (example: Panel 4 V22, the most common)
sudo cp /mnt/overlays/panel4-v22.dtbo /mnt/overlays/mipi-panel.dtbo

sudo umount /mnt && sync

Supported Boards

Full changelog: v1.0-beta1.3...v1.0-beta2