rockpi-s
Standard support
CLI

Armbian 24.5.1 Noble Server / CLI

Kernel: 6.6.31, Size: 416.2MB, Release date: May 25, 2024
SHA hash | PGP signature

Stable user space packages
Minimal

Armbian 24.5.3 Bookworm Minimal / IOT

Kernel: 6.6.36, Size: 247.1MB, Release date: Jul 1, 2024
SHA hash | PGP signature

Stable user space packages
  • If your RockPi-S is equipped with >=2GB SDNAND, you may flash an OS image directly to this internal flash as follows:
    • Build Linux x86 binary rkdeveloptool (sources) on host
    • Remove any SDcard
    • Hold down MASKROM button while you…
    • Power on or press the RESET button to enter flash mode
    • Release the MASKROM button after 2 seconds
      800px-Keys
      Next, run these host commands to flash the internal SDnand:

       

  • Holding the MASKROM button during reset prevents booting from internal the SDNAND.
  • But, the board will always boot from the SD Card, if it finds a valid image there.
  • Kernel serial console is on UART0.  [some older images have their console on UART2]
  • The serial console operates at 1.5Mbaud with 8 data, 1 stop, and no parity bits.
  • Black(left)=GND, White(center)=TxD, Green(right)=RxD

If you have a recent board (revision >=1.3), you should add the following line to your /boot/armbianEnv.txt file to tune for the newer “BS” silicon:

overlays=bs bs@1.3ghz

Refer to /boot/dtb/rockchip/overlay/README.rockchip-overlays for more information.

Server and IOT images with Armbian Linux v6.6

Build Date: May 25, 2024

Distro Type Extensions Torrent Integrity Size
 
Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) Server / CLI SHA    ASC 451.9MB
Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) Minimal / IOT SHA    ASC 240.2MB
Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) Minimal / IOT SHA    ASC 229.8MB
 
* Minimal images have very small footprint. They come only with essential packages and build-in systemd-networkd.
* Server / CLI images comes with Network Manager and include packages like armbian-config, armbian-zsh etc.
Become a partner and support development!

Specifications

100tx 4 core 64bit bluetooth docker eMMC i2c i2s spi usb-c wifi wireguard Rockchip RK3308

* Specifications differ from hardware revision, model and software support level

FAQs

  • check previous images from archive
  • join community forums

Simple

BASH or ZSH shell, standard Debian/Ubuntu utilities. Features can be adjusted with menu-driven utility. Login is possible via serial, HDMI or SSH.

Universal

Minimal, server or Desktop. We work with XFCE, Gnome and Cinnamon but more is possible to build: Mate, KDE, Budgie, Deepin, i3, …

Light

No bloatware or spyware. Special utilities are completely optional. Suitable for newcomers and professionals.

Optimized

Distributed images are optimized for flash media (SD/eMMC/SSD) and compacted to real data size.

Fast

Armbian is optimized on kernel and userspace level. ZRAM & ZSWAP support, browser profile memory caching, garbage commit delay.

Secure

Security level can be adjusted with the armbian-config. OS is reviewed by professionals within the community.

Supported

Maintainers and community have deep understanding how HW work. We are seniors with 30+ years of experience in Linux + embedded Linux.

Open

Armbian provides open source build framework to build a distribution of optimised Linux hardware interface for armhf, aarch64 and x86.

We provide a selection of images that fits hardware best. If you need different image – use build framework and make whatever you need. Build framework relies on Debian and Ubuntu packages – you can build any combination – stable, old stable or rolling release.

Minimal images have very small footprint. They come only with essential packages and build-in systemd-networkd while CLI server images have Network Manager based networking, armbian-config utilities, option to select ZSH as default shell.

Make sure you have a good & reliable boot media (SD card / USB key) and a proper power supply. Archives can be flashed with Etcher (all OS) directly.

Insert the SD card into the slot, connect a cable to your network if possible or a display and power your board. (First) boot (with DHCP) takes a bit longer.

Support is provided in one of two ways:

Rolling releases from CI pipeline

Build Date: Jul 23, 2024

Distro VariantUser space Kernel TorrentIntegrity Size
 
Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) Minimal / IOT stable 6.6.41 SHA  ASC 242.2MB
Debian Testing (Trixie) Minimal / IOT stable 6.6.41 SHA  ASC 254.3MB


Rolling releases are suitable for Linux enthusiasts who want cutting edge packages and have the skills to fix damage that a bad update might cause. If you want stability in a production environment or low headaches as a novice user, skip rolling releases. They are only at, build and ship, Debian testing / Arch / Manjaro / Suse Tumbleweed / Kali / Gentoo support quality level!