This is the RetroBSD source directory.

Source Roadmap

bin         User commands.
etc         Template files for /etc.
include     System include files.
lib         System libraries.
libexec     System binaries.
sbin        System administration commands.
share       Shared resources.
sys         Kernel sources.
tools       Build tools and simulators.

Supported hardware

• Olimex PIC32-RetroBSD board.
• Microchip Explorer 16 board, with PIC32 CAN-USB plug-in module and SD & MMC pictail.

Build

To compile everything from sources, you'll need some packages installed, namely: Clang compiler, LLVM linker, Berkeley YACC, GNU bison, flex, groff and ELF library. Under Ubuntu, for example, you can do it by command:

$ sudo apt-get install clang lld byacc bison flex groff-base libelf-dev

Under MacOS:

$ brew install llvm@18 lld@18 byacc bison flex groff libelf

Build everything with single-threaded make:

$ make -j1

A resulting root filesystem image is in file sdcard.img. A kernel is in file unix.hex in your target board subdirectory.

Filesystem image

You can put the file system image on the SD card using the balenaEtcher utility.

Install kernel

Kernel image should be written to PIC32 flash memory. The procedure depends on a board used.

Olimex PIC32-RetroBSD board:

Use the pic32prog utility and a USB cable to install the kernel:

$ pic32prog -d /dev/ttyUSB0 sys/pic32/olimex/unix.hex

Explorer 16 board:

Use Pickit2 clone and pic32prog utility to install the kernel:

$ pic32prog sys/pic32/explorer16/unix.hex

Simulate

RetroBSD can be simulated using QEMU for pic32. Use kernel for Explorer 16 board. For example:

$ qemu-pic32 -machine pic32mx7-explorer16 -nographic -monitor none \
    -serial vc -serial stdio -kernel unix.hex -sd sdcard.img
Board: Microchip Explorer16
Processor: M4K
RAM size: 128 kbytes
Load file: 'unix.hex', 166284 bytes
Card0 image 'sdcard.img', 102758 kbytes

2.11 BSD Unix for PIC32, revision G580 build 9:
     Compiled 2025-02-09 by vak@bumba:
     /home/vak/Project/BSD/retrobsd-clang/sys/pic32/explorer16
cpu: 795F512L 80 MHz, bus 80 MHz
oscillator: HS crystal, PLL div 1:2 mult x20
spi1: pins sdi=RC4/sdo=RD0/sck=RD10
uart2: pins rx=RF4/tx=RF5, interrupts 40/41/42, console
sd0: port SPI1, pin cs=RB1
gpio0: portA, pins ii---ii-iiiioooo
gpio1: portB, pins iiiiiiiiiiiiii-i
gpio2: portC, pins iiii--------iii-
gpio3: portD, pins iiiii-iiiiiiiii-
gpio4: portE, pins ------iiiiiiiiii
gpio5: portF, pins --ii---i----iiii
gpio6: portG, pins iiii--iiii--iiii
adc: 15 channels
pwm: 5 channels
sd0: type I, size 102400 kbytes, speed 10 Mbit/sec
sd0a: partition type b7, sector 2, size 102400 kbytes
sd0b: partition type b8, sector 204802, size 2048 kbytes
sd0c: partition type b7, sector 208898, size 102400 kbytes
phys mem  = 128 kbytes
user mem  = 96 kbytes
root dev  = (0,1)
swap dev  = (0,2)
root size = 102400 kbytes
swap size = 2048 kbytes
/dev/sd0a: 1438 files, 15410 used, 86589 free
Starting daemons: update cron


RetroBSD (pic32) (console)

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