Using GitHub Actions to Build Linux Kernels – 萌え豚's Blog
This blog post details how to use GitHub Actions to automate building custom Linux kernels. It provides step-by-step instructions for setting up a workflow to compile kernels, generate Debian packages, and create release artifacts directly from GitHub's infrastructure.
Background
- The author runs a personal blog under the handle "萌え豚" (Moebuta). The post is a technical how-to aimed at hobbyist kernel builders.
- Linux kernel: the core of most Linux-based systems (Android, servers, embedded devices). Most users run a pre-built "stock" kernel; building a custom one is an advanced, time-consuming task for performance tuning, hardware support, or security research.
- GitHub Actions: a free (within limits) CI/CD automation service built into GitHub. It runs arbitrary commands inside temporary cloud VMs triggered by code pushes. Meant for testing, but often repurposed as free compute.
- The post shows how to use GitHub Actions to cross-compile a Linux kernel for another CPU architecture (e.g., ARM) entirely in the cloud, without using personal hardware — a classic "CI as free compute" trick.