Getting Started with Alpine-Linux

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1 Introduction to Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox, designed for security, simplicity, and efficiency. Its core is very small, containing only the most basic features, making it ideal for embedded devices, containers (such as Docker), and other resource-constrained environments. Alpine’s package manager, apk, provides fast and simple package installation and updates, supporting a wide range of software packages.

FriendlyElec, based on the features of Alpine Linux, offers an Alpine Linux system image built with GitHub Actions. Users can directly download and test the image or fork the repository to customize the system according to their specific needs.

2 Supported platforms

• RK3328
  
• RK3399
  
• RK3528
  
• RK3566
  
• RK3568
  
• RK3588
  

3 Downloading the System Image

You can download the Alpine Linux image for FriendlyElec development boards, built online using GitHub Actions, from here:
https://github.com/friendlyarm/Actions-Alpine-Linux

Users should select the appropriate image file based on the CPU of their development board.
The image file names begin with the CPU model (e.g., rk3568, rk3588), and the terms “sd” and “eflasher” in the file names represent different purposes. Their meanings are as follows:

• sd: Used for installing the system to a TF card
• eflasher: Used when writing the system to eMMC via TF card

4 Installing Alpine Linux

4.1 Running the System from TF Card

Download the image file with “-sd-” in the name, use your preferred flashing tool to write the image file to the TF card, then insert the TF card into the development board. Power on the board, and the Alpine Linux system will start.

4.2 Flashing the System to eMMC

Download the image file with “-eflasher-” in the name, use your preferred flashing tool to write the image file to the TF card, then insert the TF card into the development board. Power on the board, and it will automatically flash the system to eMMC. After flashing is complete, removing the TF card will trigger an automatic reboot and boot into the Alpine Linux system on eMMC.
If an HDMI display is connected, you can observe the flashing progress through the graphical interface. Alternatively, you can monitor the flashing progress using the onboard LED lights. For example, on the NanoPi-R5S/NanoPi-R3S/NanoPi-R5C, the LED behavior is as follows:

Progress	SYS LED(Red)	LAN LED(Green)	WAN LED(Green)
Power On	Solid On	Off	Off
System Boot	Slow Flashing	Off	Off
Installation in Progress	Fast Flashing	Off	Off
Installation Done	Slow Flashing	Solid On	Solid On

5 Logging into Alpine Linux

Default account:

Username: root
Password: fa

There are three methods to log into Alpine Linux:

• Serial port: Connect to the serial terminal using the following settings:

Baud rate	1500000
Data bit	8
Parity check	None
Stop bit	1
Flow control	None

• HDMI: Connect a display to log directly into the Alpine system.
• SSH: After connecting to the device via the network, you can log in through SSH. By default, Alpine Linux is configured only for the eth0 interface. If the development board has multiple network interfaces, connect the Ethernet cable to the WAN port (on some development boards, this may be labeled with numbers; choose the one with the smallest number).

6 Initial Setup

On the first boot, use the setup-alpine command to perform basic system configuration, including setting up the network, time zone, hostname, and other details:

setup-alpine

7 Installing Packages

Alpine uses the apk package manager to install software packages. You can use the following command to install the desired packages:

apk add <package_name>

For example, to install the vim editor:

apk update
apk add vim

You can configure the package source by modifying the /etc/apk/repositories file.

8 Customizing Your Own Alpine Linux System

8.1 Method 1: Fork the GitHub Action Project

• Fork the project: Click the link below, and click the “Fork” button in the top right corner to copy the project to your GitHub account: https://github.com/friendlyarm/Actions-Alpine-Linux
• Modify the script file scripts/setup-alpine.sh, which is used to initialize the Alpine Linux system. You can customize your Alpine system by modifying this file.
• Change the repository permissions: Go to the repository’s Settings -> Actions -> General -> Workflow permissions, and change the option to “Read and write permissions.”
• Trigger the GitHub Actions build: By default, clicking Star will trigger the build. You can track the build progress and results via the GitHub dashboard.

8.2 Method 2: Repackage Using the Original Materials

Visit https://github.com/friendlyarm/Actions-Alpine-Linux/releases to download the file image-assets-rkXXXX.tgz (where XXXX is replaced with the specific CPU model). This file contains the filesystem and partition image files, which users can modify and repackage into a flashable firmware. For example, to repackage the firmware for the rk3528 platform:

git clone https://github.com/friendlyarm/sd-fuse_rk3528 -b kernel-6.1.y
tar xzf image-assets-rk3528.tgz -C sd-fuse_rk3528 --strip-components=1
cd sd-fuse_rk3528
# modify rootfs
./tools/extract-rootfs-tar.sh rootfs.tgz
echo "hello" > rootfs/root/welcome.txt
# re-package rootfs.img
./build-rootfs-img.sh rootfs alpine-linux-arm64
# download kernel source code
git clone https://github.com/friendlyarm/kernel-rockchip -b nanopi6-v6.1.y kernel --depth 1
cat > kernel/arch/arm64/configs/custom.config<<EOL
CONFIG_ANDROID_LOW_MEMORY_KILLER=n
CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER_IPC=y
CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDERFS=y
CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER_DEVICES="binder,hwbinder,vndbinder,anbox-binder,anbox-hwbinder,anbox-vndbinder"
EOL
# check default defconfig
grep "KCFG:=" ./build-kernel.sh
# re-build kernel with customize config
KCFG="nanopi5_linux_defconfig kvm.config custom.config" kernel_src=kernel ./build-kernel.sh alpine-linux-arm64
# re-package sdraw image
./mk-sd-image.sh alpine-linux-arm64
# re-package sd-to-emmc image (Select Y when asking whether to download the eflasher file.)
./mk-emmc-image.sh alpine-linux-arm64

9 Alpine Linux Official Documentation

For more Alpine Linux usage guides, please refer to the official documentation:
https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/