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NVIDIA/skills/skills/jetson-derive-carrier/SKILL.md

jetson-derive-carrier

Bootstrap a custom carrier board by forking carrier files and scaffolding a DT overlay from the reference devkit. Use after jetson-init-source; not for module-level or kernel-DTB changes.

Source repository stars
3,106
Declared platforms
0
Static risk flags
0
Last source update
2026-08-25
Source checked
2026-08-26

Decision brief

What it does: where it fits

Customize first-run gate for any customize- skill on a custom carrier. Resolve the active target per target-platform-contract.md. Refuse if no customcarrier: block, or if /LinuxforTegra/.git is missing (jetson-init-source first). Template file create/copy rows land in a single o…

Best for

  • Customize the per-board fileset for a new carrier board so downstream customize- skills, nvpower.sh, and the boot chain land on the custom carrier instead of the reference devkit. Base DTB stays at the reference; carrie…

Not for

  • Kernel base DTB and its source DTS are not forked — carrier
  • BPMP DTB fork is opt-in (default OFF). Most carrier swaps share the

Compatibility matrix

Platform support, with evidence labels

PlatformStatusEvidenceWhat to check
CodexNot declaredNo explicit evidencePortability before use
Claude CodeNot declaredNo explicit evidencePortability before use
CursorNot declaredNo explicit evidencePortability before use
Gemini CLINot declaredNo explicit evidencePortability before use
Open the compatibility checker

Installation

Inspect first. Install second.

The source command is displayed only when detected. A safe inspection prompt is always available so your agent can explain every action before execution.

Source-detected install commandSource
npx skills add https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills --skill "skills/jetson-derive-carrier"
Safe inspection promptEditorial

Inspect the Agent Skill "jetson-derive-carrier" from https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills/blob/994b87022af46deada9fdb79fc560a77aaf931ce/skills/jetson-derive-carrier/SKILL.md at commit 994b87022af46deada9fdb79fc560a77aaf931ce. List every install step, command, network request, credential, file read/write, external action, and rollback step. Explain whether it fits my task. Do not install or execute anything until I approve.

Workflow

What the source asks the agent to do

  1. 01

    Instructions

    The fork plan below is the instruction set: one discovery pass, then a row-by-row fork of the per-board fileset, gated by the commit-message preview before each git commit.

    Flash-conf vars: DTBFILE / TBCDTBFILE / BPFDTBFILE /BCT .dts at bootloader/generic/BCT/; .dtsi siblings livenvpmodel: nvpmodel.conf. nvfancontrol:
  2. 02

    Edit verification

    Re-grep after every sed / patch. sed silently no-ops on miss; exit code 0 proves nothing. Multi-line replacements: use Python str.replace(old, new), not multi-line sed (brittle to whitespace drift, silent no-ops). Refuse to commit on verification miss.

    Re-grep after every sed / patch. sed silently no-ops on miss; exit code 0 proves nothing. Multi-line replacements: use Python str.replace(old, new), not multi-line sed (brittle to whitespace drift, silent no-ops). Refus…Summary. Print forks per repo (count + commit SHAs), BPMP-DTB decision, warn-and-skipped rows (mandatory source file missing on this BSP — don't fail the run), overlay path written.
  3. 03

    Fork plan

    Every git commit produced by this skill — in the overlay tracker (LinuxforTegra/) or the hardware/ source repo — runs through the commit message preview gate. Surface the staged file list + proposed message to the operator and require accept / edit / cancel before each git commi…

    Every git commit produced by this skill — in the overlay tracker (LinuxforTegra/) or the hardware/ source repo — runs through the commit message preview gate. Surface the staged file list + proposed message to the opera…Materialize renamed forks even when bytes do not change. For every accepted fork-plan row, create and track the custom-carrier target path; do not skip a missing target because the fork is only a rename/copy or is byte-…Template file create/copy rows squash into one overlay-tracker commit, and reference-named pristine files are never staged. All rows that materialize a new (template-derived) file in the overlay tracker — board flash-co…
  4. 04

    Discovery (single batched pass)

    Run one discovery pass; do not interleave with staging. Do not truncate listings — every candidate filename in each scanned directory must be visible to the matcher. head, tail, | head -N, | tail -N, and any other row-limiting filter are out of bounds for this step; use ls -1 /…

    Flash-conf vars: DTBFILE / TBCDTBFILE / BPFDTBFILE /BCT .dts at bootloader/generic/BCT/; .dtsi siblings livenvpmodel: nvpmodel.conf. nvfancontrol:
  5. 05

    Examples

    Trigger phrases the operator might use:

    Trigger phrases the operator might use:Minimal customcarrier: block in the active profile that the skill expects to find:

Permission review

Static risk signals and limitations

No configured static risk pattern was detected

This is not proof of safety. Runtime behavior, indirect dependencies, and hidden external systems are outside the static scan.

Evidence record

Why each signal appears

EvidenceSourceComputedTestedEditorial
SignalValueEvidence typeMeaning
Quality score90/100ComputedDocumentation, specificity, maintenance, and trust rules
Repository stars3,106SourceRepository attention, not individual Skill quality
Compatibility0 platformsSourceDeclared in the catalog source record
Usage guideautomated source guideEditorialGenerated or reviewed according to the visible evidence level

Pinned source

Provenance and original SKILL.md

Repository
NVIDIA/skills
Skill path
skills/jetson-derive-carrier/SKILL.md
Commit
994b87022af46deada9fdb79fc560a77aaf931ce
License
Apache-2.0
Collected
2026-08-26
Default branch
main
View the original SKILL.md

jetson-derive-carrier

Customize first-run gate for any customize-* skill on a custom carrier. Resolve the active target per target-platform-contract.md. Refuse if no custom_carrier: block, or if <source.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/.git is missing (jetson-init-source first). Template file create/copy rows land in a single overlay-tracker commit and copy directly to the custom-carrier-renamed target path — reference-named pristine files are never staged (see Fork plan for the local rule, which overrides the standard pristine + customization split from the workflow); conf-chain discovery follows per-board conf dispatch. Kernel base DTB is not forked — carrier deltas layer as a DT overlay wired via OVERLAY_DTB_FILE.

Identifiers (from active profile): <chip> from reference_devkit.module.id via catalogue (unknown → warn, fallback tegra234); <module-id>/<module-sku> from reference_devkit.module; <carrier-id>/<carrier-sku> from reference_devkit.carrier; <custom-id>/<custom-sku>/ <custom-flash-conf> from custom_carrier. <real-conf> = readlink <bsp_image.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/<reference_devkit.flash_config> (NVIDIA convention <devkit>.conf<carrier>-<module>-a<rev>.conf; warn + treat top-level as real + skip symlink-wrapper row if not a symlink).

<custom-id> is a custom carrier board token, not necessarily an NVIDIA-style pNNNN ID. Use it verbatim in dash-form filenames and DT compatible strings. When a target file family uses p-stripped numeric tokens, derive <custom-id-file-token> as NNNN only if <custom-id> matches ^p[0-9]{4}$; otherwise use <custom-id> unchanged. Do not reject custom carrier IDs merely because they do not start with p.

Instructions

The fork plan below is the instruction set: one discovery pass, then a row-by-row fork of the per-board fileset, gated by the commit-message preview before each git commit.

Fork plan

Every git commit produced by this skill — in the overlay tracker (Linux_for_Tegra/) or the hardware/ source repo — runs through the commit message preview gate. Surface the staged file list + proposed message to the operator and require accept / edit / cancel before each git commit; on cancel leave the index staged for manual resolution.

Materialize renamed forks even when bytes do not change. For every accepted fork-plan row, create and track the custom-carrier target path; do not skip a missing target because the fork is only a rename/copy or is byte-identical to the reference. This includes BCT forks such as pinmux, GPIO/GPIOINT, padvoltage/PMC, misc, and MB2 misc. Skip only when the Acceptance column allows it, the source is an explicit warn-and-skip miss, or the expected target path is already tracked; in the last case, report it as already derived and do not create an empty commit.

Template file create/copy rows squash into one overlay-tracker commit, and reference-named pristine files are never staged. All rows that materialize a new (template-derived) file in the overlay tracker — board flash-conf, flash-conf symlink, MB1 BCT (pinmux, GPIO/GPIOINT, padvoltage/PMC, misc), MB2 BCT (misc), BPMP DTB (when opted in), nvpmodel, nvfancontrol — copy directly from <bsp_image.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/<rel>/<reference-name> to <source.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/<rel>/<custom-name> with any content edits applied before staging. The reference-named (<carrier-id>-<carrier-sku>-keyed) filename is never staged or committed in the overlay tracker — only the custom-carrier-renamed file is tracked. This overrides the standard pristine + customization split from commit batching. All such rows land in a single overlay-tracker commit that adds: (i) the custom-carrier-named files at their target paths with content already applied, (ii) the flash-conf symlink, and (iii) the targeted flash-conf content rewrites inside the renamed flash-conf for PINMUX_CONFIG / GPIO_CONFIG / GPIOINT_CONFIG / PMC_CONFIG / MISC_CONFIG / MB2_BCT (plus BPFDTB_FILE when BPMP DTB is opted in). Rows that edit existing upstream files instead of creating templates — the nvpower.sh patch — and the overlay wire-up (OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+= append to the just-created flash-conf fork, treated as a temporally distinct phase per commit batching) remain separate commits per their own rows. The DT overlay skeleton commits in bsp_sources/hardware/, not the overlay tracker, so it is unaffected. The commit message preview gate fires once on the squashed commit; warn-and-skipped rows do not contribute, and if every row in the bundle is already tracked the commit is omitted entirely.

Discovery (single batched pass)

Run one discovery pass; do not interleave with staging. Do not truncate listings — every candidate filename in each scanned directory must be visible to the matcher. head, tail, | head -N, | tail -N, and any other row-limiting filter are out of bounds for this step; use ls -1 / find unclipped, or grep on the full output. Truncating risks false warn-and-skip calls when the matching file sits past the cutoff. Capture:

  • Flash-conf vars: DTB_FILE / TBCDTB_FILE / BPFDTB_FILE / PINMUX_CONFIG / PMC_CONFIG / GPIO_CONFIG / GPIOINT_CONFIG. DTB_FILE / TBCDTB_FILE are captured for reference only so the overlay wire-up can derive <dtb-stem> for the overlay filename — they are never rewritten by this skill.
  • BCT .dts at bootloader/generic/BCT/; .dtsi siblings live one level up at bootloader/ — NOT alongside.
  • nvpmodel: nvpmodel_<module-id>_<module-sku>*.conf. nvfancontrol: nvfancontrol_<module-id>_<module-sku>_<carrier-id>_<carrier-sku>.conf.
  • nvpower.sh anchors for (a)–(d): <carrier-id> cvb branch, <module-id>-<module-sku> SKU elif, tegra<chip> nvpmodel cascade, tegra<chip> nvfancontrol cascade.
File / categoryDiscoveryAcceptanceFork rule
Board flash conf<real-conf>AlwaysFilename sub <carrier-id>-<carrier-sku><custom-id>-<custom-sku>. Content sub is targeted, not blanket: rewrite RHS only for vars whose file this skill forks — PINMUX_CONFIG, PMC_CONFIG, GPIO_CONFIG / GPIOINT_CONFIG, MISC_CONFIG, MB2_BCT. Other carrier-keyed vars (DTB_FILE, TBCDTB_FILE, SCR_CONFIG, PMIC_CONFIG, DEVICEPROD_CONFIG, PROD_CONFIG, MINRATCHET_CONFIG, UPHY_CONFIG, dynamic OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+=) MUST stay at reference values — their files aren't forked here and a blanket sed would point them at nonexistent files. DTB_FILE / TBCDTB_FILE specifically: base DTB is not forked; the overlay row appends a new OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+= line instead. BPFDTB_FILE: opt-in extra commit. Never touch <chip>, <module-id>, xxxx.
Flash-conf symlinkUnconditionalAlways (skip if <real-conf> not a symlink)New symlink <custom-flash-conf> → flash-conf fork
MB1 BCT pinmuxPINMUX_CONFIG + #include follow ¶AlwaysRename rule †
MB1 BCT GPIOGPIO_CONFIG/GPIOINT_CONFIG + #include follow ¶AlwaysRename rule †
MB1 BCT padvoltagePMC_CONFIG + #include follow ¶AlwaysRename rule †
MB1 BCT miscMISC_CONFIG + #include follow ¶AlwaysRename rule †
MB2 BCT miscMB2_BCT + #include follow ¶AlwaysRename rule †
Kernel DTB + source DTS(reference only — see header)Never forkedBase DTB stays at reference. No pristine binary copy in the overlay tracker; no source DTS fork in bsp_sources/hardware/. Carrier deltas live entirely in the DT overlay (next row).
DT overlay skeleton (NEW)UnconditionalAlwaysCreate <source.root_path>/hardware/nvidia/<chip>/nv-public/overlay/<chip>-<custom-id>-<custom-sku>+<module-id>-<module-sku>.dts (skeleton ‡); commit in hardware/, push to origin
Per-dir Makefile registration<source.root_path>/bsp_sources/hardware/nvidia/<chip>/nv-public/overlay/MakefileAlwaysAppend dtbo-y += <chip>-<custom-id>-<custom-sku>+<module-id>-<module-sku>.dtbo after the last literal-named dtbo-y += entry (BEFORE the $(addprefix $(makefile-path)/,$(dtbo-y)) prefix block — inserting after dtbo-y += $(old-dtbo) silently drops the .dtbo). Same position-sensitive idiom and snippet as the composite slot's Makefile patch in ../jetson-build-source/references/composite-registration.md#makefile-patch-idempotent-position-sensitive. Commit in hardware/. Without this row, nvidia-dtbs never produces the .dtbo referenced by the next row's OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+= line and flash.sh aborts mid-flash on the missing file.
Overlay wire-upUnconditionalAlwaysAppend OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+=",<chip>-<custom-id>-<custom-sku>+<module-id>-<module-sku>.dtbo" to flash-conf fork (extra commit)
nvpmodel configrootfs/etc/nvpmodel/nvpmodel_<module-id-num>_<module-sku>.confAlwaysFilename: append _<custom-id-file-token>_<custom-sku>
nvfancontrol configrootfs/etc/nvpower/nvfancontrol/nvfancontrol_<module-id-num>_<module-sku>_<carrier-id-num>_<carrier-sku>.confAlwaysFilename: substitute carrier portion (append _<custom-id-file-token>_<custom-sku> if source is module-keyed only)
nvpower.sh patchrootfs/etc/systemd/nvpower.shAlwaysPristine + single customization commit with 4 insertions: (a) cvb cascade elif [[ "${machine}" =~ "<custom-id>" ]]; then cvb="<custom-id-file-token>" before reference; (b) inside module-SKU branch set machine="<module-id>-<module-sku>-<custom-id>-<custom-sku>"; (c) nvpmodel cascade branch for composite machine key → conf_file= nvpmodel fork; (d) cvb-keyed nvfancontrol cascade branch → conf_file= nvfancontrol fork
BPMP DTBprebuilt at bootloader/generic/<BPFDTB_FILE> (alt naming: no p prefix, xxxx SKU)Opt-in y/N, default N — module-level, usually shared with referenceFork binary: pristine + filename sub -<carrier-id-num>--<custom-id-file-token>- (content unchanged). Extra commit on flash-conf fork rewriting BPFDTB_FILE to the renamed binary.

#include follow. Scan each captured .dts for #include "..." directives anywhere in the file (NVIDIA BSPs put them inside BCT node bodies); carrier-keyed includes join the fork list. Stop at one level.

Rename rule. Carrier-keyed source (e.g. …-p3834-xxxx-p4071-0000.dts) → filename sub <carrier-id>-<carrier-sku><custom-id>-<custom-sku>; rewrite the flash-conf variable (e.g. PINMUX_CONFIG) to the renamed filename in the same customization commit. Module portion is preserved verbatim from pristine — if pristine has p3834-xxxx, fork keeps p3834-xxxx; if pristine has p3834-0008, fork keeps p3834-0008. Never pin module-SKU on your own. Same rule for any other xxxx wildcard in the carrier-SKU position when pristine uses it (e.g. p4071-xxxxp1234-xxxx). Module-keyed source (e.g. …-p3767-dp-a03.dtsi) → append _<custom-id-file-token>_<custom-sku> (underscore-form) or -<custom-id>-<custom-sku> (dash-form) plus an extra commit on flash-conf fork rewriting the variable (e.g. PINMUX_CONFIG) to the suffixed name. Content never substituted by default; prompt if content holds a literal carrier-id-sku self-reference.

Overlay skeleton. DT plugin overlay (/plugin/;) with one fragment@0 at target-path = "/"; inside __overlay__ set model = "<custom_carrier.name> carrier board" and compatible = "nvidia,<custom-id>-<custom-sku>+<module-id>-<module-sku>", "nvidia,<chip>". nvpower.sh machine narrowing reads compatible.

Edit verification

Re-grep after every sed / patch. sed silently no-ops on miss; exit code 0 proves nothing. Multi-line replacements: use Python str.replace(old, new), not multi-line sed (brittle to whitespace drift, silent no-ops). Refuse to commit on verification miss.

Summary. Print forks per repo (count + commit SHAs), BPMP-DTB decision, warn-and-skipped rows (mandatory source file missing on this BSP — don't fail the run), overlay path written.

Examples

Trigger phrases the operator might use:

derive custom carrier
bootstrap custom carrier
fork carrier board from reference devkit

Minimal custom_carrier: block in the active profile that the skill expects to find:

custom_carrier:
  id: p1234            # any token; need not be NVIDIA pNNNN style
  sku: 0000
  flash_config: p1234.conf
  name: Acme Custom Carrier

Purpose

Customize the per-board fileset for a new carrier board so downstream customize-* skills, nvpower.sh, and the boot chain land on the custom carrier instead of the reference devkit. Base DTB stays at the reference; carrier deltas live in a DT overlay so a re-derive against a new reference BSP only needs to re-run this skill.

Prerequisites

  • Active profile resolved per target-platform-contract.md with a custom_carrier: block (id, sku, flash-conf, friendly name).
  • source.root_path/Linux_for_Tegra/.git initialized — run /jetson-init-source first; this skill refuses if the overlay tracker is missing.
  • bsp_image.root_path populated by /jetson-init-image so the reference flash-conf symlink can be resolved.
  • reference_devkit: populated (module + carrier) so the rename rule has carrier-id/sku tokens to substitute away from.

Limitations

  • Kernel base DTB and its source DTS are not forked — carrier deltas must layer through the DT overlay wired via OVERLAY_DTB_FILE.
  • BPMP DTB fork is opt-in (default OFF). Most carrier swaps share the reference BPMP DTB; only opt in when board power/clock topology diverges.
  • Flash-conf content substitution is targeted, not blanket. Vars whose files this skill does not fork (DTB_FILE, TBCDTB_FILE, SCR_CONFIG, PMIC_CONFIG, DEVICEPROD_CONFIG, PROD_CONFIG, MINRATCHET_CONFIG, UPHY_CONFIG, dynamic OVERLAY_DTB_FILE+=) stay at reference values — rewriting them would point at files that do not exist.
  • Custom-carrier IDs need not follow NVIDIA pNNNN style; the p-stripped numeric token is derived only when the ID matches ^p[0-9]{4}$.
  • Does not customize module-level files. Use the relevant jetson-customize-* skill for pinmux, clocks, fan curves, nvpmodel, PCIe, UPHY, USB, MGBE, or camera deltas.

Troubleshooting

  • Refuses with "no custom_carrier: block" — declare the block in the active profile before re-running; the skill will not infer it.
  • Refuses with ".git missing in Linux_for_Tegra/" — overlay tracker not initialized. Run /jetson-init-source first.
  • "<real-conf> not a symlink" — NVIDIA convention is a <devkit>.conf symlink to <carrier>-<module>-a<rev>.conf; if the top-level is the real conf, the skill warns, treats it as real, and skips the symlink-wrapper row. Not an error.
  • sed reported success but the edit is missingsed silently no-ops on miss. The skill re-greps after every patch and refuses to commit on verification miss; for multi-line replacements switch to Python str.replace.
  • "chip: unknown" / fallback to tegra234 — module ID is not in the catalogue; update the catalogue rather than override in the profile.
  • Commit message preview prompt blocks the run — expected gate per commit-batching; accept, edit, or cancel. On cancel the index is left staged for manual resolution.
  • A mandatory source file is missing on this BSP — the row is recorded as warn-and-skipped in the summary; the rest of the run still completes.

Frequently asked questions

What to verify before installation and use

What does the jetson-derive-carrier source document cover?

Customize first-run gate for any customize- skill on a custom carrier. Resolve the active target per target-platform-contract.md. Refuse if no customcarrier: block, or if /LinuxforTegra/.git is missing (jetson-init-source first). Template file create/copy rows land in a single o…

How do I install jetson-derive-carrier?

The source record exposes this install command: npx skills add https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills --skill "skills/jetson-derive-carrier". Inspect the command and pinned source before running it.