Yocto Image Analysis

Yocto Image Analysis

Workflow

1. Identify image recipe, MACHINE, DISTRO, package format, and actual deploy directory.
2. Collect image manifests, package data, dependency graphs, and buildhistory when available.
3. Trace inclusion from image recipe, packagegroups, features, runtime dependencies, recommends, and distro/machine policy.
4. Estimate "what-if" changes by checking dependency chains before editing metadata.
5. Route recipe changes to $yocto-recipe-maintenance and build failures to $yocto-build-debug.

Commands

oe-pkgdata-util list-pkgs
oe-pkgdata-util find-path <path>
oe-pkgdata-util lookup-recipe <pkg>
oe-pkgdata-util list-pkg-files <pkg>
bitbake -g <image>
bitbake -e <image>

Use find_image_package_refs.py with a build/repo path and package name for a quick text scan across manifests, package data, and dependency graph files.

References

• image-analysis-playbook.md: why/what-if/image-size workflows.

Guardrails

• Do not assume a package is directly listed in IMAGE_INSTALL; it may arrive through packagegroups, recommends, shlib deps, or image features.
• Do not remove packages from an image without checking runtime dependencies and service impact.
• Do not optimize size blindly; preserve required update, debug, recovery, and compliance artifacts.