talos-rpi5/README.md
Mathias Beaulieu-Duncan 9c0075057b Use rpiboot for EEPROM config in NVMe guide
CM5 on Compute Blade doesn't have an SD slot for booting Raspberry Pi
OS. Use rpiboot recovery mode over USB instead.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-13 20:05:13 -05:00

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7.3 KiB
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# Talos CM5 Builder
Custom Talos Linux images for Raspberry Pi 5 / CM5 on Compute Blade hardware.
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/v/svrnty/talos-rpi5?sort=semver&label=talos-rpi5&logo=docker&arch=arm64" alt="Docker Hub"></a>
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/pulls/svrnty/talos-rpi5?logo=docker" alt="Docker Pulls"></a>
<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docker/image-size/svrnty/talos-rpi5?sort=semver&logo=docker&arch=arm64" alt="Docker Image Size"></a>
The official Talos Image Factory does not support CM5 — the mainline kernel lacks CM5 device trees and RP1 driver support. This builder uses the RPi downstream kernel (via [talos-rpi5/talos-builder](https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder) patches) to produce working CM5 images with our extensions and overclock config.
## Current versions
| Component | Version |
|-----------|---------|
| Talos Linux | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/talos" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/talos-v1.12.3-blue?logo=kubernetes&logoColor=white" alt="Talos version"></a> |
| RPi Kernel | <a href="https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/kernel-6.12.47-blue?logo=linux&logoColor=white" alt="Kernel version"></a> |
| iscsi-tools | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/extensions" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/iscsi--tools-v0.1.6-blue?logo=docker" alt="iscsi-tools version"></a> |
| util-linux-tools | <a href="https://github.com/siderolabs/extensions" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/util--linux--tools-2.40.4-blue?logo=docker" alt="util-linux-tools version"></a> |
## Image tags
Release images are published to <a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/svrnty/talos-rpi5" target="_blank"><code>docker.io/svrnty/talos-rpi5</code></a> with the format:
```
v<talos>-k<kernel>-<revision>
```
For example: `v1.12.3-k6.12.47-2`
| Segment | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| `v1.12.3` | Upstream Talos Linux version |
| `k6.12.47` | RPi downstream kernel version |
| `2` | Build revision (bumped for config/patch changes on the same upstream versions) |
## Usage
### Install from raw disk image
Download `metal-arm64.raw.zst` from the [latest release](../../releases/latest) and flash to eMMC:
```bash
zstd -d metal-arm64.raw.zst -o metal-arm64.raw
# Flash to eMMC/SD via your preferred tool (dd, balenaEtcher, etc.)
```
### Upgrade an existing node
```bash
talosctl upgrade --image docker.io/svrnty/talos-rpi5:v1.12.3-k6.12.47-2
```
> **Note:** In-place upgrades use GRUB with `--no-nvram` to work around the RPi5/CM5 `SetVariableRT` firmware limitation. This patch is included but not yet tested in production — re-flashing the disk image is the proven fallback.
```bash
# Fallback: re-flash method
zstd -d metal-arm64.raw.zst -o metal-arm64.raw
# Flash to eMMC/SD via your preferred tool
```
### What's included
- RPi downstream kernel with CM5/RP1 support (4K page size, aligned with upstream Talos)
- GRUB bootloader with `--no-nvram` for reliable `talosctl upgrade` on RPi5/CM5
- Overclock: 2.6GHz (`arm_freq=2600`, `over_voltage_delta=50000`, `arm_boost=1`)
- Extensions: `iscsi-tools`, `util-linux-tools`
## Known issues
### ~~No serial console output after boot~~ (Fixed)
The overlay was using `console=ttyAMA0` (GPIO 14/15 UART) but the RPi5/CM5 debug UART is `ttyAMA10`. Fixed by switching to `console=ttyAMA10,115200` and adding `earlycon=pl011,0x107d001000,115200n8` for early boot output. Also added `[pi5] enable_uart=0` to `config.txt` to match upstream and avoid U-Boot compatibility issues.
*Upstream: <a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/4" target="_blank">talos-builder#4</a>*
### Install disk config ignored on SBCs
Talos ignores the `machine.install.disk` config field on SBC platforms. You **must flash the disk image directly** to your target disk (eMMC, SD, NVMe). For NVMe boot, `dd` the metal image to the NVMe drive and configure the EEPROM boot order (`BOOT_ORDER=0xf416`, `PCIE_PROBE=1`).
*Upstream: <a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/22" target="_blank">talos-builder#22</a>*
## Roadmap
This project targets production-ready Talos clusters on RPi5/CM5 hardware.
| Status | Milestone | Description |
|--------|-----------|-------------|
| Untested | **4K page size** | Aligned with upstream Talos kernel config. Reduces memory overhead and improves workload compatibility (Longhorn, jemalloc, F2FS, etc.). |
| Untested | **Reliable in-place upgrades** | Force GRUB bootloader with `--no-nvram` on arm64 to work around the `SetVariableRT` firmware limitation (<a href="https://github.com/talos-rpi5/talos-builder/issues/21" target="_blank">talos-builder#21</a>). |
| Untested | **Serial console fix** | Use correct debug UART (`ttyAMA10`) with `earlycon` for early boot output. |
| Untested | **NVMe boot support** | `dd` image to NVMe + set EEPROM `BOOT_ORDER=0xf416` and `PCIE_PROBE=1`. Kernel has `CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NVME=y` built-in. |
## NVMe boot (untested)
The kernel has NVMe built-in (`CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NVME=y`), so booting from NVMe should work by flashing the disk image directly and configuring the RPi5/CM5 EEPROM.
### 1. Flash the image to NVMe
Connect the NVMe drive via a USB adapter and flash:
```bash
zstd -d metal-arm64.raw.zst | sudo dd of=/dev/<nvme-device> bs=4M status=progress
sync
```
### 2. Configure EEPROM boot order
Use `rpiboot` to update the CM5 EEPROM. Clone the usbboot repo and edit the boot config:
```bash
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
cd usbboot && make
# Edit the EEPROM config for CM5
cp recovery/boot.conf recovery/boot.conf.bak
```
Add or update these values in `recovery/boot.conf`:
```ini
BOOT_ORDER=0xf416
PCIE_PROBE=1
```
Then flash via USB with the CM5 in USB boot mode (hold nRPIBOOT or disable eMMC boot on your carrier board):
```bash
sudo ./rpiboot -d recovery
```
`BOOT_ORDER` is read right-to-left: try NVMe (`6`) first, then SD (`1`), then USB (`4`), then restart (`f`). `PCIE_PROBE=1` is required for non-HAT+ NVMe adapters (Compute Blade, most M.2 carrier boards).
### 3. Boot from NVMe
Power on. The RPi firmware should find the boot partition on NVMe, load U-Boot, and boot Talos.
### Optional: enable PCIe Gen 3
Add to your `configTxtAppend` overlay option or directly to `config.txt` on the boot partition:
```ini
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
```
This doubles throughput (~400 MB/s Gen 2 to ~800 MB/s Gen 3). Not officially certified by Raspberry Pi but works on most NVMe drives.
## Building
For local builds, CI/CD setup, runner configuration, and project structure, see [TECHNICAL.md](TECHNICAL.md).
## License
This project is licensed under the [Mozilla Public License 2.0](LICENSE).
It builds upon the following MPL 2.0 licensed upstream projects:
- [siderolabs/talos](https://github.com/siderolabs/talos) — Talos Linux OS
- [siderolabs/pkgs](https://github.com/siderolabs/pkgs) — Talos package definitions
- [talos-rpi5/sbc-raspberrypi5](https://github.com/talos-rpi5/sbc-raspberrypi5) — Raspberry Pi 5 SBC overlay
Our patches to these projects are in the `patches/` directory and are distributed under the same MPL 2.0 terms.