# Kernel documentation Explore the Qualcomm^®^ Linux^®^ kernel—customized for performance, scalability, and system on chip (SoC) functionality. ## Kernel overview Kernel overview Qualcomm Linux helps to port and customize the Linux kernel to devices with Qualcomm hardware SoCs. ## Get started with the Qualcomm Linux kernel Access the Qualcomm Linux kernel source code Access the kernel source code and required meta layers. Identify supported Qualcomm machines Identify the supported machines in the software. Build Yocto image recipes and kernel configuration Learn how to build the Yocto images for base and custom variants. Access the platform device tree Locate the platform device tree for Qualcomm SoCs. Manage out-of-tree kernel modules Build and autoload out-of-tree kernel modules using Yocto. Build the device image Build full Qualcomm Linux images using Yocto. Bring up the device Boot your device after the build is completed. ## Boot flow and architecture overview Universal extensible firmware interface (UEFI) boot managers Understand the Qualcomm Linux cold boot flow. Systemd-boot Learn about systemd-boot that manages Qualcomm Linux boot entries and unified kernel images. Qualcomm Linux kernel as the EFI stub Boot the Qualcomm Linux kernel directly through EFI stub. Boot images and ESP or boot partition Learn about the EFI system partition (ESP) composition. ## Develop the kernel Develop kernel using Yocto workflow Set up your host computer compile and develop Qualcomm Linux kernel. Compile the kernel independent of Yocto Compile Qualcomm Linux kernel without Yocto build system support. Configure the DTB support and kernel configuration Add new DTBs to the Qualcomm Linux kernel. ## Configure the remote processor (remoteproc) subsystems Configure remoteproc recovery and subsystem restart Ensure subsystem resilience with remoteproc’s crash detection, recovery orchestration, and coredump diagnostics for Qualcomm Linux platforms. Qualcomm remoteproc support Learn how to configure remote processors. Enable or disable core dump Enable or disable core dump for subsystems. ## Configure and manage memory Configure ZRAM as a swap device Configure ZRAM memory parameters. Extend the memory map Modify the reserved or contiguous memory allocator (CMA) memory in device tree source inclusion (DTSI). ## Configure the scheduler Understand CPU topology and EAS Learn about CPU capacities and topology. Configure utilization clamping (UCLAMP) Adjust the UCLAMP for processes. ## Configure the dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) governors Select the CPU DVFS governor Configure the CPU frequency governor. Configure the cache and memory DVFS governors Configure cache and DDR bandwidth frequency. ## Configure the pinctrl driver Configure the pinctrl driver Manage and configure pins used for general-purpose input/output (GPIO). Configure the GPIO usage Understand GPIO configuration available in the SoC. Configure GPIOs to generate clock or pulse width modulation Generate PWM pulse using GPIO. Configure GPIOs from the user space Manage GPIO from the user space. ## Access content from the device Enable secure shell (SSH) Connect to the device using SSH. Retrieve the information from the device Retrieve the information to debug the kernel issues. ## Capture the kernel logs Capture the serial console logs Configure the serial console to capture early boot logs. Configure the console log level Configure the kernel log levels. ## Configure debug methods Enable and mount the debugfs filesystem Mount the debugfs filesystem to trace, debug, and inspect kernel data structures from user space. Debug with kernel probes Configure the kernel with kprobes. ## Configure kernel debugger Debug kernel modules with kernel GNU debugger (KGDB) Connect KGDB to the device. Use KGDB with serial COM port Configure KGDB to connect over a serial port. ## Troubleshoot kernel issues Boot failure due to incorrect or no DTB picked Verify the boot time device tree loading. Serial console not working Debug serial port configuration issues. Last Published: Mar 04, 2026 Next Topic Kernel overview