NordicPlayground nrf-docker instructions/code fail to build image on Apple Silicon

[jesmeister]

System Info:
Hardware: M3 Max
OS:  Sequoia 15.3

Following the instructions outlined in the readme of: github.com/.../nrf-docker Docker fails to build an image on Apple Silicon.

Build command:

docker build -t nrfconnect-sdk --build-arg sdk_nrf_version=v2.9-branch --build-arg arch=arm64 .

Docker error log shows:

+ wget -q https://developer.nordicsemi.com/.pc-tools/nrfutil/x64-linux/nrfutil
+ mv nrfutil /usr/local/bin
+ chmod +x /usr/local/bin/nrfutil
+ nrfutil install toolchain-manager
rosetta error: failed to open elf at /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2/bin/bash: line 4:    10 Trace/breakpoint trap   nrfutil install toolchain-manager 

I modified the Dockerfile to install the universal MacOs version of nrfutil by replacing line 30 of the Dockerfile with:

wget -q https://developer.nordicsemi.com/.pc-tools/nrfutil/universal-osx/nrfutil

which then produces the following error:

+ wget -q https://developer.nordicsemi.com/.pc-tools/nrfutil/universal-osx/nrfutil
+ mv nrfutil /usr/local/bin
+ chmod +x /usr/local/bin/nrfutil
+ nrfutil install toolchain-manager
/bin/bash: line 4: /usr/local/bin/nrfutil: cannot execute binary file: Exec format error 

Ensured rosetta was installed via the command line: softwareupdate --install-rosetta

[Hieu]

Hello jesmeister,

Could you please try this command to get nrfutil instead?

curl files.nordicsemi.com/.../nrfutil -o nrfutil
chmod +x nrfutil

Hieu

[Hieu]

Hello jesmeister,

My apology. The last link is for x86 x64 nrfutil executable. Please use this link instead.

curl files.nordicsemi.com/.../nrfutil -o nrfutil
chmod +x nrfutil

Hieu

[Hieu]

Hello jesmeister,

My apology once again. I just found that the Linux Aarch64 nrfutil doesn't support the toolchain-manager command that you need. Therefore, if you want to use Docker, you will need to run it in x86-64 mode, and use this instead:

curl https://files.nordicsemi.com/artifactory/swtools/external/nrfutil/executables/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/nrfutil -o nrfutil
chmod +x nrfutil

My colleague also noted that using Docker on MacOS can get complicated, and using a regular VM might be easier. Is there any particular reason you want to use Docker?

Hieu

[jesmeister]

Thank you Hieu, I will see if I can get this up and going. We are using docker in an attempt to setup CI/CD using bitbucket pipelines. If there is an easier or cleaner way to do it, I'm open to suggestions! 

[jesmeister]

Hieu, After looking at this some more we were able to resolve the issue. curl vs wget was not the issue. The instructions in the GitHub readme were wrong by suggesting I add the arch=arm64 parameter. Instead my command was:  

docker build -t nrfconnect-sdk --platform linux/amd64 --build-arg sdk_nrf_version=2.9-branch --platform linux/amd64 .

Additionally, line 34 of the Dockerfile had an "install" command that needs to be removed.

[Hieu]

Thank you for the update. I was going to create a GitHub issue for it, but found that the project has been archived, so there is nothing to do about it anymore.

I am sure you have seen it already, but on the readme file, it is recommended to look into Zephyr's Docker image instead. Please consider it for future work.

[Farhang]

Hi, 

I am also having issues with nRF ncs's socker image

Pulled it right from GitHub and it seems to be missing major dependencies such as gcc.

Is it now recommended to use Zephyr's docker image altogether?

[Hieu]

Yes, it's recommended to use Zephyr's Docker image instead.

Please note that the NCS Docker image is under NordicPlayground, which contains demo and pastime projects created by Nordic employee but are not officially supported.

In the case of the NCS Docker image, not only is it a NordicPlayground project, but it is also discontinued. There is very little we can do about it.

The reason we investigated this case is due to the issues with nrfutil, not the Docker image itself.

[Farhang]

 Hieu I was referring to this https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/tree/main/scripts/docker

if it is no longer applicable and not recommended, perhaps it should be removed from the main tree off nRF ncs?

also if you go to https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/pkgs/container/sdk-nrf-toolchain

new docker images are being created and released (10 days ago) - which lead me to believe it is active and recommended way.
Please note this is all in the current nRF NCS documentation as well:
https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/nrf/scripts/docker/README.html

[Hieu]

Farhang said:

I was referring to this https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/tree/main/scripts/docker

I am not aware of this Docker image before. This case is for the Docker image on NordicPlayground, and all my comments about discontinuation is based on the explicit notice on the top of that project's README. This is the repository, which is also linked in the opening post: NordicPlayground/nrf-docker: Dockerfile example for building nRF Connect SDK applications with GitHub Actions.

I am debating whether we should continue discussing the Docker image in NCS repository here. While this thread is focused on a build problem on the NordicPlayground image, we did touch the topic of which Docker image is the recommended one now...

I can't get that done now regardless though, because I am out of office. Let me follow-up further next week.

[Hieu]

Firstly, tagging also jesmeister , I got confirmation that the recommended Docker image would be the ones provided in this link: https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/pkgs/container/sdk-nrf-toolchain. My apologies for the misinformation.

Our developers however also feedbacked that gcc should be included in those images. After you setup the NCS repositories with west, you should be able to build.

Could you please check again?

Finally, as previously mentioned, the only reason I followed-up here regarding the sdk-nrf-toolchain Docker images is to find out which Docker image is the recommended one. As that open point is now resolved, please discuss issues regarding those images in a new DevZone ticket. You can refer to our brief conversation here on the new ticket if needed.