View Source Updating Projects

Please review this guide before updating your projects. Help is available via the #nerves channel on the elixir-lang discord and the Elixir forum. Please file bugs on GitHub.

Contents:

Updating from v0.8 to v0.9

Nerves v0.9.0 contains changes that require updates to existing projects. All users are highly encouraged to update, but if you cannot, be sure to force the Nerves version in your mix.exs dependencies.

Update Nerves Bootstrap to v0.8.1

Nerves Bootstrap is an Elixir archive that provides a new project generator and some logic required for the Nerves integration into mix. Nerves v0.9 requires updates to this archive.

Install the latest Nerves Bootstrap archive by running:

mix local.nerves

or

mix archive.install hex nerves_bootstrap

Update mix.exs aliases (old)

IMPORTANT: If you're upgrading to Nerves v1.0, this step has been superseded.

Nerves requires that you add aliases to your project's mix.exs to pull in the firmware creation and compilation logic. Previously, you needed to know which aliases to override. Nerves v0.9 added a new alias. Rather than add this alias, we recommend using the new alias helper in your mix.exs. To do this, edit the target aliases function to look like this:

defp aliases(_target) do
  [
    # Add custom mix aliases here
  ]
  |> Nerves.Bootstrap.add_aliases()
end

This only works with nerves_bootstrap v0.7.0 and later, so if you get an error, be sure to update your Nerves Bootstrap as described in the previous section.

For those interested in more details, the reason behind this change was to move precompiled artifact downloads from the mix compile step to the mix deps.get step. That entailed adding additional logic to the deps.get step and hence an additional alias.

Replace Bootloader with Shoehorn

During this release, we renamed one of our dependencies from bootloader to shoehorn to prevent overloading the term bootloader in the embedded space. This requires a few updates:

First, update the dependency by changing:

{:bootloader, "~> 0.1"}

to

{:shoehorn, "~> 0.2"}

Next, update the distillery release config in rel/config.exs. Look for the line near the end that looks like:

plugin Bootloader.Plugin

or

plugin Bootloader

and change it to

plugin Shoehorn

Finally, change references to bootloader in your config/config.exs to shoehorn. For example, change:

config :bootloader,
  init: [:nerves_runtime],
  app: :my_app

to

config :shoehorn,
  init: [:nerves_runtime],
  app: :my_app

Artifact checksums

Some Nerves dependencies reference a large precompiled version of their build products to significantly reduce compilation time. These are called artifacts and due to their size, they cannot be hosted on hex.pm. Nerves downloads these automatically as part of the dependency resolution process. It is critical that they match the corresponding source code and the previous method of checking version numbers was insufficient. Nerves v0.9.0 now uses a checksum of the projects source files. This works for all projects no matter what version control system they use or how they are stored.

If you have created a custom Nerves system or toolchain, you will need to update your project's mix.exs to ensure that the checksum covers the right files. This is done using the :checksum key on the nerves_package. Since the files that you checksum are likely identical to those published on hex.pm, we recommend creating a package_files/0 function that's used by both.

Here's an example from nerves-project/nerves_system_rpi0:

  def nerves_package do
    [
      # ... Other Options
      checksum: package_files()
    ]
  end

  defp package do
    [
      files: package_files(),
      licenses: ["Apache 2.0"],
      links: %{"Github" => "https://github.com/nerves-project/#{@app}"}
    ]
  end

  defp package_files do
    [
      "LICENSE",
      "mix.exs",
      "nerves_defconfig",
      "README.md",
      "VERSION",
      "rootfs_overlay",
      "fwup.conf",
      "fwup-revert.conf",
      "post-createfs.sh",
      "post-build.sh",
      "cmdline.txt",
      "linux-4.4.defconfig",
      "config.txt"
    ]
  end

Easier artifact creation

Prior to Nerves v0.9.0, creating artifacts for Nerves systems and toolchains required manual steps. Nerves v0.9.0 adds the nerves.artifact mix task to make this easier. Please update your CI scripts or build instructions to use this new method.

Nerves makes it easier to predigest artifacts for systems and toolchains with the added mix task mix nerves.artifact <app_name>. Omitting <app_name> will default to the app name of the parent mix project. This is useful if you are calling mix nerves.artifact from within a custom system or toolchain project.

For example, lets say we have a custom rpi0 system and we would like to create an artifact. mix nerves.artifact custom_system_rpi0

This will produce a file in the current working directory with a name of the format <app_name>-<host_tuple | portable>-<version>-<checksum><extension>

For example, custom_system_rpi0-portable-0.11.0-17C58821DE265AC241F28A0A722DB25C447A7B5FFF5648E4D0B99EF72EB3341F.tar.gz

Artifact sites

Once you've created the artifact (or had CI create it for you), you can then upload this to Github releases and instruct the artifact resolver to fetch this artifact following deps.get. Update the Nerves package config by editing the :nerves_package options of Mix.project/0 for your custom system or toolchain to set the sites for which the artifact is available on.

This can be passed as {:github_releases, "<organization>/<repository>"} or specified as url / path prefixes {:prefix, "/path/to/artifact_dir"} {:prefix, http://artifact_server.com/artifacts}

def nerves_package do
  [
    # ... Other Options
    artifact_sites: [
      {:github_releases, "nerves-project/custom_system_rpi0"}
    ]
  ]
end

The artifact resolver will attempt to fetch from each site listed until it successfully retrieves an artifact or it reaches the end of the list.

Updating from v0.9 to v1.0.0-rc.0

Update to Nerves Bootstrap v1.0.0-rc.0

Nerves Bootstrap is an Elixir archive that provides a new project generator and some logic required for the Nerves integration into mix. Nerves v1.0-rc requires updates to this archive.

Install the latest Nerves Bootstrap archive by running:

mix local.nerves

or

mix archive.install hex nerves_bootstrap

Update project dependencies

You will need to update the version string for nerves and nerves_bootstrap in your projects to enable the usage of 1.0-rc. Open your mix.exs file and start by updating the nerves_bootstrap archive:

  # mix.exs

  def project do
    [
      # ...
      archives: [{:nerves_bootstrap, "~> 1.0-rc"}],
    ]
  end

Then update the nerves dep:


  # Run "mix help deps" to learn about dependencies.
  defp deps do
    [{:nerves, "~> 1.0-rc", runtime: false}] ++ deps(@target)
  end

You may have to set override: true if you are using other Nerves packages that have not been updated to depend on Nerves 1.0-rc yet

If you wish to revert, you lock to a specific version using ~> 0.8.0 or = 0.8.0

Update mix.exs aliases

nerves_bootstrap 1.0-rc manages its own aliases on Application.start/1 and is invoked by setting MIX_TARGET to value other then host. Update your mix.exs file to add the bootstrap/1 function and change the aliases to [loadconfig: [&bootstrap/1]]:


  # mix.exs

  def project do
    [
      # ...
      aliases: [loadconfig: [&bootstrap/1]],
    ]
  end

  # Starting nerves_bootstrap pulls in the Nerves hooks to mix, but only
  # if the MIX_TARGET environment variable is set.
  defp bootstrap(args) do
    Application.start(:nerves_bootstrap)
    Mix.Task.run("loadconfig", args)
  end

Updating from v1.0.0-rc.0 to v1.0.0-rc.2

Updating Provider to BuildRunner

This only applies to custom systems and host tools

Nerves v1.0.0-rc.2 renames the module Nerves.Artifact.Provider to Nerves.Artifact.BuildRunner.

The nerves_package config allowed the package to override provider and provider_opts. These keys have been renamed to build_runner and build_runner_opts

For example:

  def nerves_package do
    [
      # ..
      build_runner: Nerves.Artifact.BuildRunner.Docker,
      # ..
    ]
  end

Updating from v1.0 to v1.3

Modify the release config

Nerves now runs as a distillery plugin instead of inside the rel/config.exs.

You will need to change your rel/config.exs. Find the section near the bottom of the file that defines your application.

Change this:

release :my_app do
  set version: current_version(:my_app)
  plugin Shoehorn
  if System.get_env("NERVES_SYSTEM") do
    set dev_mode: false
    set include_src: false
    set include_erts: System.get_env("ERL_LIB_DIR")
    set include_system_libs: System.get_env("ERL_SYSTEM_LIB_DIR")
    set vm_args: "rel/vm.args"
  end
end

To this:

release :my_app do
  set version: current_version(:my_app)
  plugin Shoehorn
  plugin Nerves
end

Update shoehorn dependency

You will need to update your version of shoehorn to {:shoehorn, "~> 0.4"}.

Updating from v1.3 to v1.4

Version v1.4.0 adds support for Elixir 1.8's new built-in support for mix targets. In Nerves, the MIX_TARGET was used to select the appropriate set of dependencies for a device. This lets you switch between building for different boards and your host. Elixir 1.8 pulls this support into mix and lets you annotate dependencies for which targets they should be used.

Update your mix.exs file

The @target is no longer used. Delete it and then add @all_targets like this:

@target System.get_env("MIX_TARGET") || "host"
@all_targets [:rpi0, :rpi3, :rpi]

The @all_targets alias will be convenient when updating the dependencies in your mix.exs. Set it to the target names that you use (in atom form). Like the previous use of MIX_TARGET, it didn't matter what you called the targets. It only mattered that you were consistent.

The :host target refers to compilation for your computer. It's the only special target and is used for running non-hardware-specific unit tests.

Next, remove the following lines from the project/0 callback (yay Elixir 1.8):

  target: @target
  deps_path: "deps/#{@target}"
  build_path: "_build/#{@target}"
  lockfile: "mix.lock.#{@target}"

Change build_embedded from

build_embedded: @target != "host"

to

build_embedded: Mix.target() != :host,

The next step is to consolidate your dependencies to one deps/0 function. Nerves previously grouped dependencies and used pattern matches to pick the right ones for your device. Elixir 1.8 makes this unnecessary.

Now Elixir can fetch and lock your dependencies for all targets. Previously, if you'd switch targets, your dependencies might change versions. No more!

Elixir 1.8 adds the :targets option on dependencies. Here's an example:

Before:

  # Run "mix help deps" to learn about dependencies.
  # Dependencies for all targets
  defp deps do
    [
      {:nerves, "~> 1.3", runtime: false},
      {:shoehorn, "~> 0.4"},
      {:ring_logger, "~> 0.6"},
      {:toolshed, "~> 0.2"}
    ] ++ deps(@target)
  end

  # Specify target specific dependencies
  defp deps("host"), do: []

  # Dependencies for all targets except :host
  defp deps(target) do
    [
      {:nerves_runtime, "~> 0.6"},
      {:nerves_init_gadget, "~> 0.4"}
    ] ++ system(target)
  end

  # Dependencies for specific targets
  defp system("rpi"), do: [{:nerves_system_rpi, "~> 1.5", runtime: false}]
  defp system("rpi0"), do: [{:nerves_system_rpi0, "~> 1.5", runtime: false}]
  defp system("rpi2"), do: [{:nerves_system_rpi2, "~> 1.5", runtime: false}]
  defp system("rpi3"), do: [{:nerves_system_rpi3, "~> 1.5", runtime: false}]
  defp system("bbb"), do: [{:nerves_system_bbb, "~> 2.0", runtime: false}]
  defp system("x86_64"), do: [{:nerves_system_x86_64, "~> 1.5", runtime: false}]
  defp system(target), do: Mix.raise("Unknown MIX_TARGET: #{target}")

After:

  # Run "mix help deps" to learn about dependencies.
  defp deps do
    [
      # Dependencies for all targets
      {:nerves, "~> 1.4", runtime: false},
      {:shoehorn, "~> 0.4"},
      {:ring_logger, "~> 0.6"},
      {:toolshed, "~> 0.2"},

      # Dependencies for all targets except :host
      {:nerves_runtime, "~> 0.6", targets: @all_targets},

      # Dependencies for specific targets
      {:nerves_system_rpi, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :rpi},
      {:nerves_system_rpi0, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :rpi0},
      {:nerves_system_rpi2, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :rpi2},
      {:nerves_system_rpi3, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :rpi3},
      {:nerves_system_rpi3a, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :rpi3a},
      {:nerves_system_bbb, "~> 2.0", runtime: false, targets: :bbb},
      {:nerves_system_x86_64, "~> 1.5", runtime: false, targets: :x86_64}
    ]
  end

Update config.exs

Accessing the MIX_TARGET is done differently now. References in your config.exs to Mix.Project.config[:target] need to be Mix.target() now. For example, change this:

import_config "#{Mix.Project.config[:target]}.exs

to:

import_config "#{Mix.target()}.exs"

Update application.ex

Search your Elixir code for references to Mix.Project.config()[:target]. These need to change as well. It's not uncommon to have these in your application.ex to decide what to start in your main supervision tree. For example, change this:

@target Mix.Project.config()[:target]

to:

@target Mix.target()

Updating from v1.4 to v1.5

Nerves v1.5 adds support for Elixir 1.9+ releases. Previous versions of Nerves only supported Distillery for OTP release creation. Nerves v1.5 still supports Distillery, but it is no longer included by default. Nerves v1.5 also still supports previous Elixir versions, so there is no need to update to Elixir 1.9.

The most important part of the Nerves v1.5 upgrade process is to make sure that Nerves knows whether you want to use Elixir 1.9 releases or Distillery. Please find the subsections below that correspond to your environment.

Update nerves_bootstrap

Nerves now requires nerves_bootstrap 1.5.1 and later. Assuming that you already have it installed, run:

mix local.nerves

nerves_bootstrap v1.6.0 and later generate Elixir 1.9-based projects. This functionality does not affect existing projects if you are not updating your Elixir version. However, if you cannot update Elixir and still want to create new projects, force the nerves_bootstrap installation to ~> 1.5.0:

mix archive.install hex nerves_bootstrap "~> 1.5.0"

Update Elixir < 1.9.0 projects

If you're not updating to Elixir 1.9, then Distillery is your only option for OTP release creation and must be explicitly specified. The following steps will ensure that your project has the appropriate updates:

In your mix.exs, add distillery as a dependency of your project:

{:distillery, "~> 2.1"}

Distillery 2.1 moved code out of the Mix.Releases namespace. This requires a change to your project's rel/config.exs. Open rel/config.exs and look for the following line:

use Mix.Releases.Config

Change it to:

use Distillery.Releases.Config

Finally, check that the :shoehorn dependency is ~> 0.6:

{:shoehorn, "~> 0.6"}

Run mix deps.get and your project should continue to work.

At this point, consider updating your Nerves system to the latest to pull in Linux, Erlang, and other C library and application updates.

Update Elixir ~> 1.9

First verify that you have nerves_bootstrap 1.6.0 or later installed:

$ mix archive
* hex-0.20.1
* nerves_bootstrap-1.6.0

The following instructions are for updating your project files to use Elixir 1.9 releases. If you must use Distillery, see the instructions above for Elixir < 1.9.0 projects.

mix.exs updates

In your project's mix.exs, make the following edits:

  1. Move the application name to a module attribute:

     @app :my_app

 def project do
   [
     app: @app
     # ...
   ]
 end

  2. Add release config to the project config:

    
 def project do
   [
     # ...
     releases: [{@app, release()}]
   ]
 end

 def release do
   [
     overwrite: true,
     cookie: "#{@app}_cookie",
     include_erts: &Nerves.Release.erts/0,
     steps: [&Nerves.Release.init/1, :assemble],
     strip_beams: Mix.env() == :prod
   ]
 end

  3. Update the nerves and shoehorn dependencies

     def deps
   [
     {:nerves, "~> 1.5.0", runtime: false},
     {:shoehorn, "~> 0.6"},
     # ...
   ]
 end

  4. Update the required archives:

     def project do
   [
     # ...
     archives: [nerves_bootstrap: "~> 1.6"],
   ]
 end

  5. Add preferred CLI target to the project config:

     def project do
   [
     # ...
     preferred_cli_target: [run: :host, test: :host]
   ]
 end

vm.args updates

Next, rename rel/vm.args to rel/vm.args.eex

Then update the line that sets the cookie to

-setcookie <%= @release.options[:cookie] %>

Erase old Distillery files

Since Distillery is no longer being used, erase any Distillery configuration files that are still around. For most Nerves users, run the following:

rm rel/config.exs
rm rel/plugins/.gitignore

Nerves system update

Elixir 1.9+ releases are only compatible with systems that contain erlinit ~> 1.5.

If you are using an official Nerves system, then make sure that you are using one of these versions:

nerves_system_rpi:    ~> 1.8
nerves_system_rpi2:   ~> 1.8
nerves_system_rpi3:   ~> 1.8
nerves_system_rpi3a:  ~> 1.8
nerves_system_rpi0:   ~> 1.8
nerves_system_x86_64: ~> 1.8
nerves_system_bbb:    ~> 2.3

If you are using a custom system, you will need to update nerves_system_br to a version that is >= 1.8.1.

config.exs updates

Nerves has been improving support for "host" builds of firmware projects. This makes it possible to unit test platform-independent code on your build machine. To take advantage of this, it's important to separate out the target-dependent sections of the config.exs. Here's one way of doing this:

  1. Create a new file config/target.exs

  2. Move configs for applications that are only available on the target to the target.exs file.

  3. Update config.exs to import target.exs if the target is not host.

     if Mix.target() != :host do
   import_config "target.exs"
 end

Updating from v1.5 to v1.6

Nerves 1.6 adds support for Elixir 1.10. In truth, only the internals of the Nerves tooling were changed. As a result of this change, we made the decision to drop support for Elixir 1.6 and Erlang 20. If you are still using these older versions, you'll need to update to at least Elixir 1.7 and Erlang 21. Then update to Nerves 1.6.

To update your projects to use Nerves 1.6, bump the :nerves dependency in your project's mix.exs:

  defp deps do
    [
      ...
      {:nerves, "~> 1.6.0", runtime: false},
      ...
    ]
  end

Run mix deps.get and build as normal. You may also need to update your Nerves system to a newer official build. Many systems have dependency requirements on Nerves 1.5 that can be updated to Nerves 1.6 without issue. Please review the Nerves system release notes when you upgrade.

Updating from v1.6 to v1.7

The only backwards incompatible change in Nerves 1.7 is to remove Distillery support. See Updating from v1.4 to v1.5 for how to move to mix releases.