A workflow to automatically build an Android kernel

Security Policy

See Security.md for more details.

How to use?

• First, you need to determine the kernel source code and configuration files.
• Find your kernel source repository and configure the workflow file according to the following example and README.md:

name: CI

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  build-kernel:
    name: Build Kernel
    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
    steps:
      - name: Build
        uses: dabao1955/kernel_build_action@main
        with:
          kernel-url: https://github.com/AcmeUI-Devices/android_kernel_xiaomi_cas
          kernel-branch: taffy
          config: cas_defconfig
          arch: arm64
          aosp-gcc: true
          aosp-clang: true
          android-version: 12
          aosp-clang-version: r383902
          anykernel3: true
          release: true
          access-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Using Local Kernel Source

You can also use a local or relative path for the kernel source instead of cloning from a remote URL. This is useful when the kernel source is already checked out in the workflow.

name: CI

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  build-kernel:
    name: Build Kernel
    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
    steps:
      - name: Checkout kernel source
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          repository: username/kernel_repo
          ref: main
          path: kernel/source

      - name: Build
        uses: dabao1955/kernel_build_action@main
        with:
          kernel-url: ./kernel/source/
          config: defconfig
          arch: arm64
          aosp-clang: true
          anykernel3: true

Or use the preset workflow file to modify it.

• Finally, run the workflow you just wrote.

Inputs

input	required	description	example value
kernel-url	true	URL of the Android kernel source code, or local/relative path. Local paths must end with / (except .). Supports: ., ./, ./kernel/, ../kernel/, kernel/source/	https://github.com/username/project
kernel-dir	false	Directory name for kernel source. Useful for OnePlus kernel sources	kernel
depth	false	Use git clone depth to save time and storage space	1
vendor	false	Enable vendor kernel source code	false
vendor-url	false	URL of vendor kernel source code (used on OnePlus kernel)	https://github.com/username/project
vendor-dir	false	Directory name for vendor kernel source	vendor
kernel-branch	false	Branch name of kernel source code (default = main)	main
vendor-branch	false	Branch name of vendor kernel source code (default = main)	main
config	true	Specific kernel config file to compile (default = defconfig)	defconfig
arch	true	CPU architecture (default = arm64)	arm64
android-version	true	Android version for AOSP toolchain (Ignore if you want to use latest AOSP clang or use other clang)	12
ksu	false	Integrate KernelSU on kernel build	true
ksu-version	false	KernelSU version (default = v0.9.5)	v0.9.5
ksu-lkm	false	Build KernelSU as kernel module (may fail on non-GKI devices)	true
ksu-other	false	Use third-party KernelSU fork	false
ksu-url	false	URL of third-party KernelSU fork (if you enable ksu-other flag)	https://github.com/username/KernelSU/
rekernel	false	Enable Re-Kernel support	true
disable-lto	false	Disable Link Time Optimization support	false
lxc	false	Enable LXC/Docker support	false
lxc-patch	false	Apply patch to avoid boot issues with LXC	false
nethunter	false	Enable Kali NetHunter support	false
nethunter-patch	false	Apply patch for Kali NetHunter support	false
kvm	false	Enable KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) support	false
bbg	false	Enable BaseBandGuard support	false
ccache	false	Enable ccache (clang only) to speed up kernel compilation	false
aosp-gcc	false	Use AOSP GCC toolchain to compile the kernel (Enable when using AOSP clang toolchain)	false
other-gcc32-url	false	URL of custom GCC arm32 toolchain (Supports .tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, .gz, .xz, .bz2, .zip and .git formats)	https://github.com/username/gcc
other-gcc32-branch	false	Branch name of GCC arm32 toolchain	main
other-gcc64-url	false	URL of custom GCC arm64 toolchain (Supports .tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, .gz, .xz, .bz2, .zip and .git formats)	https://github.com/username/gcc
other-gcc64-branch	false	Branch name of GCC arm64 toolchain	main
aosp-clang	false	Use AOSP clang toolchain to compile the kernel	false
aosp-clang-version	false	AOSP clang version. See all AOSP clang versions. (default = r383902)	r383902
other-clang-url	false	URL of custom clang toolchain (Supports .tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.bz2, .gz, .xz, .bz2, .zip and .git formats)	https://github.com/username/clang
other-clang-branch	false	Branch name of clang toolchain	main
anykernel3	false	Use AnyKernel3 to package the compiled kernel. (if false, must provide bootimg-url)	false
anykernel3-url	false	URL for third-party AnyKernel3	https://github.com/username/AnyKernel3
release	false	Auto-publish kernel release after build	true
access-token	false	GitHub access token (needed for auto release)	ghp_xxxxxx
bootimg-url	false	URL to download local boot.img (required if anykernel3 = false)	https://127.0.0.1/boot.img
extra-make-args	false	Extra arguments for make, as a JSON array of strings support spaces and special characters	["LOCALVERSION= (CI)", "AS=llvm-as"]

FAQ

How to use 3rd clang？

You should disable aosp-clang and android-ndk options to use it.

Why KernelSU version built with this action is still v0.9.5？

See KernelSU 's release note for more details.

How to submit issue about features requests?

In principle, it only accepts Bug Reports and does not accept external Feature Requests; if you want new features, you are welcome to submit a Pull Request. We will still develop new features that we think are useful.

Why the workflow exits with a code with an error value of some number？

• If you get an error while downloading the toolchain or pulling the source code, please check whether your option or source code address is legitimate.
• If you encounter problems during compilation, consider replacing the source code or replacing the compiler.
• If the action has a typo problem, PR welcome!

Build failed while using third-party GCC ?

Try add LLVM=1 option with clang.

Credits

• KernelSU
• KernelSU_Action
• slimhub_actions