### Frequently Asked Questions

This is a collection of some of the more frequently asked questions about BusyBox. Some of the questions even have answers. If you have additions to this FAQ document, we would love to add them,

1. Which Linux kernel versions are supported?
2. Which architectures does BusyBox run on?
3. Which C libraries are supported?
4. Can I include BusyBox as part of the software on my device?
5. I think I found a bug in BusyBox! What should I do?!
6. Why do I keep getting "sh: can't access tty; job control turned off" errors? Why doesn't Control-C work within my shell?
7. I demand that you to add <favorite feature> right now! How come you don't answer all my questions on the mailing list instantly? I demand that you help me with all of my problems Right Now!
8. How can I get started using BusyBox?
9. I need help with BusyBox! What should I do?
10. I need you to add <favorite feature>! Are the BusyBox developers willing to be paid in order to fix bugs or add in <favorite feature>? Are you willing to provide support contracts?
11. I think you guys are great and I want to help support your work!

## Which Linux kernel versions are supported?

Full functionality requires Linux 2.2.x or better. A large fraction of the code should run on just about anything. While the current code is fairly Linux specific, it should be fairly easy to port the majority of the code to support, say, FreeBSD or Solaris, or Mac OS X, or even Windows (if you are into that sort of thing).

## Which architectures does BusyBox run on?

BusyBox in general will build on any architecture supported by gcc. Kernel module loading for 2.2 and 2.4 Linux kernels is currently limited to ARM, CRIS, H8/300, x86, ia64, x86_64, m68k, MIPS, PowerPC, S390, SH3/4/5, Sparc, v850e, and x86_64 for 2.4.x kernels. With 2.6.x kernels, module loading support should work on all architectures.

## Which C libraries are supported?

uClibc and glibc are supported. People have been looking at newlib and dietlibc, but they are currently considered unsupported, untested, or worse. Linux-libc5 is no longer supported. If you require a small C library, you should probably use uClibc.

## Can I include BusyBox as part of the software on my device?

Yes. As long as you fully comply with the generous terms of the GPL BusyBox license you can ship BusyBox as part of the software on your device. Please consider sharing some of the money you make.

## I think I found a bug in BusyBox! What should I do?

If you find a problem with BusyBox, please submit a detailed bug report to the BusyBox mailing list at busybox@mail.busybox.net. Please do not send private email to Erik (the maintainer of BusyBox) asking for private help unless you are planning on paying for consulting services. When we answer questions on the BusyBox mailing list, it helps everyone, while private answers help only you...

If you find bugs, please submit a detailed bug report to the BusyBox mailing list at busybox@mail.busybox.net. A well-written bug report should include a transcript of a shell session that demonstrates the bad behavior and enables anyone else to duplicate the bug on their own machine. The following is such an example:

    	To: busybox@mail.busybox.net
    	From: diligent@testing.linux.org
    	Subject: /bin/date doesn't work

    	Package: BusyBox
    	Version: 1.00

    	When I execute BusyBox 'date' it produces unexpected results.
    	With GNU date I get the following output:

    		$ date
    		Fri Oct  8 14:19:41 MDT 2004

    	But when I use BusyBox date I get this instead:

    		$ date
    		illegal instruction

    	I am using Debian unstable, kernel version 2.4.27 on a x86 system,
    	and the latest uClibc from CVS.  Thanks for the wonderful program!

    	  -Diligent

Note the careful description and use of examples showing not only what BusyBox does, but also a counter example showing what an equivalent GNU app does. Bug reports lacking proper detail may never be fixed... Thanks for understanding.

## Why do I keep getting "sh: can't access tty; job control turned off" errors? Why doesn't Control-C work within my shell?

Job control will be turned off since your shell can not obtain a controlling terminal. This typically happens when you run your shell on /dev/console. The kernel will not provide a controlling terminal on the /dev/console device. Your should run your shell on a normal tty such as tty1 or ttyS0 and everything will work perfectly. If you REALLY want your shell to run on /dev/console, then you can hack your kernel (if you are into that sortof thing) by changing drivers/char/tty_io.c to change the lines where it sets "noctty = 1;" to instead set it to "0". I recommend you instead run your shell on a real console...

## How can I get started using BusyBox?

An easy method to build your own basic BusyBox based system, is to follow these simple steps:

- Point your web browser here
- Click on "Download tarball"
- Unpack the tarball on your Linux system somewhere
- run 'make' and configure things to taste.
- run 'unset CC'. Some Linux systems (i.e. Gentoo) set 'CC' in the system environment which messes up cross compiles.
- run 'make'
- go have lunch, drink a pop, call a friend, play a video game, etc till it finishes downloading software and compiling things.
- You should now have a shiny new BusyBox based system.

## I demand that you to add <favorite feature> right now! How come you don't answer all my questions on the mailing list instantly? I demand that you help me with all of my problems Right Now!

You have not paid us a single cent and yet you still have the product of many years of our work. We are not your slaves! We work on BusyBox because we find it useful and interesting. If you go off flaming us, we will ignore you.

## I need help with BusyBox! What should I do?

If you find that you need help with BusyBox, you can ask for help on the BusyBox mailing list at busybox@mail.busybox.net. In addition to the BusyBox mailing list, Erik (andersee), Manuel (mjn3) and others are known to hang out on the uClibc IRC channel: #uclibc on irc.freenode.net.

Please do not send private email to Erik, Manuel, or the other BusyBox contributors asking for private help unless you are planning on paying for consulting services.

When we answer questions on the BusyBox mailing list, it helps everyone since people with similar problems in the future will be able to get help by searching the mailing list archives. Private help is reserved as a paid service. If you need to use private communication, or if you are serious about getting timely assistance with BusyBox, you should seriously consider paying for consulting services.

## I need you to add <favorite feature>! Are the BusyBox developers willing to be paid in order to fix bugs or add in <favorite feature>? Are you willing to provide support contracts?

Sure! Now you have our attention! What you should do is contact Erik Andersen of CodePoet Consulting to bid on your project. If Erik is too busy to personally add your feature, there are many other active BusyBox contributors who will almost certainly be able to help you out. Erik can contact them privatly, and may even let you to post your request for services on the mailing list.

## I think you guys are great and I want to help support your work!

Wow, that would be great! Erik personally pays for all the bandwidth, and all servers used for busybox.net out of his own pocket. If you would like to make a donation to help support BusyBox, and/or request features, you can click here:

If you prefer to contact Erik directly to make a donation, donate hardware, request support, etc, you can contact CodePoet Consulting here. CodePoet Consulting can accept both Visa and MasterCard for those that do not trust PayPal...