MustardOS Frontend

This is where all the magic of the user interface of MustardOS (muOS) comes to life.

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Building

Prerequisites

You will need make, ccache, and a C compiler. Everything else depends on which target you are building for.

Cross-compiling for ARM devices (normal workflow)

A pre-built aarch64 toolchain is expected at ~/x-tools/aarch64-buildroot-linux-gnu/. Other toolchain roots can be pointed to by setting the XTOOL environment variable. The toolchain must include gcc, g++, ar, ld, and strip for the target host tuple.

Native builds for x86 / x86-64

A system gcc and the following development packages are required:

Package	Purpose
SDL2	Display and input
SDL2_mixer	Audio
SDL2_ttf	Font rendering
SDL2_image	Image loading
libcurl	Network requests
libpng	PNG support

On Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install SDL2-devel SDL2_mixer-devel SDL2_ttf-devel SDL2_image-devel libcurl-devel libpng-devel

On Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev libsdl2-image-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libpng-dev

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Cross-Compile Build (ARM Devices)

All cross-compile builds go through xtool.sh, which sets up the toolchain environment and then calls make.

# Standard release build (aarch64 Cortex-A53, the most common target)
BUILD=release ./xtool.sh make -j$(nproc)

# Verbose build (shows each compiler command and all error output)
DEBUG=1 BUILD=release ./xtool.sh make -j$(nproc)

DEVICE targets

DEVICE	Use for
ARM64_A53	H700, A133P — default if unset
ARM64_A53_CRYPTO	A53 with hardware AES/CRC
ARM64	Generic ARMv8-A
ARM32	Original 35x (ARMv7 hard-float)
ARM32_A9	Cortex-A9 with NEON

# Example: build for generic ARM64
DEVICE=ARM64 BUILD=release ./xtool.sh make -j$(nproc)

BUILD accepts release (production image) or test (development image with test flags). It defaults to test if unset.

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Native Build (x86 / x86-64)

Use DEVICE=NATIVE to build and run directly on the host machine. This is useful for quick iteration and debugging without hardware.

DEVICE=NATIVE BUILD=release ./xtool.sh make -j$(nproc)

Binaries and shared libraries land in bin/ just like a cross-compiled build.

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Dependency

• common: Common Libraries and Functions
• font: Common binary compiled fonts with individual language support
• lookup: Friendly name lookup table mainly for arcade content
• lvgl: LVGL Embedded Graphics Library
• module: Frontend menu system modules
• stage: Hardware overlay staging system

Independent

• mucredits: Supporter Credits
• mufbset: Customised framebuffer resolution switcher
• muhotkey: Global Hotkey System
• mulookup: Content Name Lookup
• muwarn: First Install Disclaimer Message
• muxcharge: Charging Information Screen
• muxfrontend: Main Frontend Specific Runner
• muxmessage: Information and Progress Screen

Modules

• muxactivity: Activity Tracker Information
• muxapp: Application List
• muxappcon: Application Control Manager
• muxarchive: Archive Manager
• muxassign: Assignable System/Core for Content
• muxbackup: Device Backup Menu
• muxchrony: System Clock Information
• muxcoladjust: Content Colour Adjustment Menu
• muxcoladjust: Content Colour Filter Menu
• muxcollect: Content Collection Manager
• muxconfig: Configuration Menu
• muxconnect: Connectivity Menu
• muxcontrol: Content Control Scheme Selector
• muxcustom: Customisation Menu
• muxdanger: Dangerous Settings
• muxdevice: Device Settings
• muxdownload: Archive Downloader
• muxgov: System Governor Selector
• muxhdmi: HDMI Configuration
• muxhistory: Content History Menu
• muxinfo: Information Menu
• muxinstall: First Time Install Menu
• muxkiosk: Kiosk Mode Management
• muxlanguage: Language Selector
• muxlaunch: Main Menu
• muxnetadv: Advanced Settings for Network
• muxnetinfo: Network Information
• muxnetprofile: Network Profile Manager
• muxnetscan: Network SSID Scanner
• muxnetwork: Network Configuration
• muxnews: Community News
• muxoption: Content Explorer Options
• muxoverlay: Content Overlay Settings
• muxpass: Passcode Screen
• muxpicker: Customisation Package Selector
• muxplore: Content Explorer
• muxpower: Power Settings
• muxrtc: Date and Time
• muxsearch: Content Search
• muxshare: Shared Frontend Variables
• muxshot: Screenshot Viewer
• muxsort: Sorting Settings
• muxspace: Disk Usage Information
• muxsplash: Simple PNG Based Splash Screen
• muxstorage: Storage Migrate/Sync Information
• muxsysinfo: System Information
• muxtag: Content Tag Manager
• muxtask: Task Toolkit
• muxtester: Input Tester
• muxtext: Basic Text File Viewer
• muxtheme: Theme Picker
• muxthemedown: Custom Theme Download
• muxthemefilter: Custom Theme Filter
• muxtimezone: Timezone Selector
• muxtweakadv: Advanced Settings
• muxtweakgen: General Settings
• muxvisual: Interface Options
• muxwebserv: Web Services