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Jetson BSP Info Printer

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Quickly summarize Jetson BSP details before flashing.

by nvidia2.8k stars on nvidia/skills
Updated Aug 7, 2026
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Free · Opens the source repo

What Jetson BSP Info Printer does

The Jetson BSP Info Printer skill is designed for users working with NVIDIA's Jetson platform, specifically when dealing with the Linux_for_Tegra (L4T) Board Support Package (BSP). This skill allows you to quickly print a concise summary of essential information from the BSP directory on your host PC. It performs a read-only inspection of the BSP tree, ensuring that you can validate critical aspects like the L4T version, supported board configurations, and the state of the root filesystem before proceeding with any flashing operations.

When you unpack a Jetson BSP tarball, it is crucial to confirm that the contents are correct and complete. This skill helps you capture a baseline snapshot of the BSP tree, allowing you to detect potential issues early, such as an incorrect L4T version or an unpopulated root filesystem. By running this skill, you can ensure that the directory structure is valid and that the necessary files are present, which is essential for a successful flashing process.

To use the Jetson BSP Info Printer, you need to run it on a Linux host PC with a properly extracted Linux_for_Tegra/ directory. The skill checks for specific files and directories to validate the BSP root and extracts relevant information, which it then formats into a clear report. This report includes the L4T root path, the release version, the available board configurations, and the status of the root filesystem, making it easy to review before proceeding with further actions.

This skill is particularly useful for developers and engineers working with NVIDIA Jetson devices who need to ensure their BSP setup is correct before flashing. It saves time by providing quick feedback on the state of the BSP, allowing for faster troubleshooting and validation of the environment.

When to use it

Use this skill when you have unpacked a Jetson BSP tarball and need to verify the L4T version and root filesystem state.

When not to use it

This skill is not suitable for modifying files or performing write operations on the Jetson target or BSP.

What you can build with it

Verify BSP Contents Before Flashing

Run this skill after unpacking a Jetson BSP tarball to ensure all necessary files are present.

Check L4T Version

Use this skill to quickly confirm the L4T version before proceeding with any flashing operations.

Sanity Check for Jetson Setup

Perform a quick validation of the `Linux_for_Tegra/` directory structure to avoid flashing issues.

How to install Jetson BSP Info Printer

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add nvidia/skills/jetson-print-bsp-info --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by nvidia

jetson-print-bsp-info

Prints a concise summary of a Jetson Linux_for_Tegra (BSP) tree on the host PC.

This skill is intended as a reference example for the jetson-bsp-skills repo and the NVIDIA-wide skills CI. It performs read-only inspection — no flashing, no rootfs changes.

Purpose

Capture a baseline snapshot of a Linux_for_Tegra BSP tree (release, board configs, rootfs state) before flashing, so issues like "wrong L4T version" or "rootfs never populated" are caught early.

When to use

  • A user has unpacked a Jetson BSP tarball and wants to confirm the L4T version, supported boards, and rootfs state before flashing.
  • You need a quick sanity check that a Linux_for_Tegra/ directory looks valid (expected scripts and config files present).

Prerequisites

  • Running on the host PC (Linux), not on the Jetson target.
  • A Linux_for_Tegra/ directory extracted from a Jetson BSP tarball.
  • Standard CLIs available: ls, head, cat, paste, sed.

Inputs

  • L4T_ROOT (optional): absolute path to the Linux_for_Tegra/ directory. If unset, use the current working directory.

Instructions

Run each step in order and print the captured values into the report shown under Output format.

  1. Resolve L4T_ROOT and validate the directory is a Linux_for_Tegra root — exit early otherwise. flash.sh and nv_tegra/ are the two anchor artifacts that every BSP ships:
    L4T_ROOT="${L4T_ROOT:-$PWD}"
    if [ ! -f "$L4T_ROOT/flash.sh" ] || [ ! -d "$L4T_ROOT/nv_tegra" ]; then
      echo "Not a Linux_for_Tegra root: '$L4T_ROOT' (missing flash.sh or nv_tegra/)"
      exit 1
    fi
    echo "$L4T_ROOT"
    
  2. Extract the L4T release header line. The canonical host-side location is nv_tegra/nv_tegra_release; the same file is copied into the rootfs by apply_binaries.sh. Only the first line is useful — the rest is a long list of library SHAs:
    head -1 "$L4T_ROOT/nv_tegra/nv_tegra_release" 2>/dev/null \
      || head -1 "$L4T_ROOT/rootfs/etc/nv_tegra_release" 2>/dev/null \
      || echo "L4T release info not found"
    
  3. List supported board config files and join them onto one comma-separated line:
    (cd "$L4T_ROOT" && ls *.conf 2>/dev/null) | paste -sd, -
    
  4. Check whether the rootfs has been populated. An empty rootfs/ means apply_binaries.sh has not been run yet:
    if [ -f "$L4T_ROOT/rootfs/etc/passwd" ]; then
      echo "populated"
    else
      echo "empty"
    fi
    

Output format

Print a short report with these sections, one line each where possible:

L4T root:        <path>
L4T release:     <release header line>
Board configs:   <comma-separated list>
Rootfs:          populated | empty

Examples

Example output on an Orin AGX BSP (L4T R36):

L4T root:        $HOME/Linux_for_Tegra
L4T release:     # R36 (release), REVISION: 3.0
Board configs:   jetson-agx-orin-devkit.conf,jetson-orin-nano-devkit.conf
Rootfs:          populated

Example output on a freshly untarred BSP where apply_binaries.sh has not been run yet:

L4T root:        /tmp/Linux_for_Tegra
L4T release:     # R39 (release), REVISION: 0.0
Board configs:   jetson-agx-thor-devkit.conf
Rootfs:          empty

Error handling

Each command falls back to a clearly labeled "... not found" string if the underlying file is missing — the skill never errors out mid-report. If L4T_ROOT does not contain flash.sh and nv_tegra/, exit early with a clear "not a Linux_for_Tegra root" message rather than printing misleading info.

Limitations

  • Read-only inspection only — does not validate signatures, kernel images, or device-tree overlays.
  • Only checks the presence of rootfs/etc/passwd as a populated-rootfs proxy; will not detect a half-populated rootfs.
  • Lists all *.conf board configs in L4T_ROOT/; does not try to infer which one the user intends to flash.

Troubleshooting

  • Error: Not a Linux_for_Tegra root: '...' (missing flash.sh or nv_tegra/) Cause: L4T_ROOT points at a parent directory, an extracted rootfs, or an unrelated path. Solution: Point L4T_ROOT at the directory that contains flash.sh (typically Linux_for_Tegra/).

  • Error: L4T release info not found Cause: Neither nv_tegra/nv_tegra_release nor rootfs/etc/nv_tegra_release exists — the BSP tarball may be incomplete or apply_binaries.sh was never run. Solution: Re-extract the BSP tarball or run apply_binaries.sh to populate the rootfs.

Notes

  • Do not modify any files. This skill is read-only.
  • If multiple board config files exist, list all of them — do not try to guess which one the user intends to flash.

Frequently asked questions about Jetson BSP Info Printer

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