EmberBSD GitHub

Independent Unix. Open development.

Unix for
intelligent
devices.

A NetBSD 11 foundation for boards, embedded systems and the ideas you put on them. Hardware adaptations below. Local AI and robotics above.

Start building Explore the source
NetBSD 11 forkARM64 / RISC-VBoard-specific support
EmberBSD's smiling orange and yellow flame mascot
Small foundation.
Ambitious devices.
ROOTED IN UNIX.

Keep the OS focused.
Choose the layers your device needs.

Meet the fork

01 / POSSIBILITIES

A foundation.
A few possibilities.

EmberBSD owns the kernel and board support. Companion projects supply optional dependencies and real application examples.

Local intelligence

Text generation, speech recognition and local document search with llama.cpp, whisper.cpp and SQLite.

Explore local AI

Robotics & telemetry

Zenoh and ROS 2 examples, RGB-D SLAM and a software radio channel. Build on reproducible application workflows.

Explore robotics

Hardware, closer

Board-specific boot paths, drivers and firmware integration. Capability tables make tested functions and remaining gaps visible.

Explore board support

Build your stack

Cross-build the OS. Use Ports for shared dependencies and Examples for applications. Keep each layer in its own place.

Explore Ports

Validation belongs to each workflow and platform. A VM result does not establish physical-board support. GPU/NPU work has its own validation limits; SDK and Runtime remain at the design stage.

02 / HARDWARE

Pick a board.
Read its boundaries.

Support is a collection of tested functions, not a promise about every peripheral. The public board pages carry the details.

BROADCOM / ARM64Raspberry Pi 5UEFI / ACPI · storage, network and selected peripherals checked BROADCOM / ARM64Compute Module 5eMMC · Ethernet · WPA3 · scoped V3D experiments ALLWINNER / ARM64Orange Pi Zero 3WA733 · microSD · Wi-Fi · selected GPU experiments ESPRESSIF / RISC-VESP32-S3116 MB PSRAM · read-only flash root · limited peripherals

Also documented: Orange Pi Zero 4 and Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.

Full board catalog
RESEARCH TARGET

Orange Pi 6 Plus / CIX P1. Support assessment awaits device testing. No validated EmberBSD board profile is published yet. Sharing a SoC with another board does not establish support.

03 / GET STARTED

From source
to your next device.

Start with the public instructions for your target. Pin the source revision and keep the kernel, modules, firmware and userland compatible.

  1. Choose your target

    Start with device selection, image availability and verification. Read your board's boot path, tested functions and recovery requirements.

    Quick Start

  2. Install and check first boot

    Use a full image with compatible local sets. The amd64 VM walkthrough starts with a new virtual disk and checks boot without installation media.

    VM installation guide

  3. Configure and keep it working

    Set up accounts, networking and SSH. Add applications from Ports and Examples. For amd64 VMs, follow the checked upgrade and full backup recovery procedure.

    User Guide
    VM upgrade and recovery

04 / BUILD IN THE OPEN

Bring a board.
Fix a driver.
Make it useful.

Share a reproducible issue or a focused patch. Board contributions include boot integration, regression checks and honest hardware evidence.

Contribution guide Browse contributions

Shared dependency fixes belong in Ports. Application examples belong in Examples. The same change procedure applies to maintainers and agent-assisted development.