sfdk-prepare

Prepare sources using the recipe from RPM SPEC file

sfdk-prepare [options]

--help
    Displays a brief help message and exits. This option provides information on available command-line arguments and their usage.

--reconfigure
    Instructs the script to reconfigure an existing Sailfish OS SDK setup. This can be useful for repairing a corrupted environment or applying new configurations.

--non-interactive
    Runs the preparation process without user interaction. This is useful for scripting SDK setups in automated environments where manual prompts are undesirable.

sfdk-prepare is a crucial utility script within the Sailfish OS SDK (Software Development Kit). Its primary purpose is to automate and streamline the initial setup and ongoing preparation of the SDK development environment. This typically involves downloading and configuring essential components such as:

• Toolchains: Compilers, debuggers, and libraries specific to Sailfish OS architecture.
• Emulator Images: Virtual device images (often QEMU-based) that allow developers to run and test applications without physical hardware.
• Virtual Machine Images: For the SDK's build engine (e.g., a Mer SDK chroot or a specific tooling VM).
• Dependency Resolution: Ensuring all necessary system-level dependencies for building Sailfish OS applications are met.

By executing sfdk-prepare, developers can ensure their environment is correctly configured and ready for building, testing, and packaging applications for the Sailfish OS platform, significantly simplifying the setup process which would otherwise be complex and manual.

• This command is specific to the Sailfish OS SDK and will not function outside of its installed environment.
• Requires a stable and active internet connection for downloading necessary toolchains, emulator images, and other components.
• Insufficient disk space or incorrect file permissions can lead to preparation failures.
• The exact behavior and available options may vary slightly between different versions of the Sailfish OS SDK.
• While sfdk-prepare is a script, much of its functionality is now often managed or invoked via the sfdk prepare subcommand of the main sfdk CLI tool.

sfdk-prepare is typically executed either automatically by the Sailfish OS SDK installer during the initial setup, or manually by a user directly from the terminal. When run manually, it's usually invoked from within the SDK's root directory or its bin subdirectory, ensuring it has access to necessary configuration files and internal scripts.

The 'preparation' conducted by sfdk-prepare goes beyond just installing files. It sets up complete development environments, including cross-compilation toolchains for ARM and Aarch64 architectures, virtual machine images for the SDK build engine (e.g., Mer SDK or Jolla SDK chroots), and QEMU-based virtual devices for application testing, ensuring a comprehensive developer experience.

sfdk-prepare has been an integral part of the Sailfish OS SDK Helper tools since the early stages of the SDK's development. It was designed to encapsulate the complex initial setup steps into a single, user-friendly script. Over time, as the sfdk command-line utility matured, much of the 'prepare' functionality became accessible via the sfdk prepare subcommand, offering a more unified interface. However, the sfdk-prepare script itself often remains as a foundational component, particularly for bootstrapping or deep reconfigurations of the SDK environment.

sfdk(1), sdk-chroot(1), qemurelay(1)