%poky; ] > Features provide a mechanism for working out which packages should be included in the generated images. Distributions can select which features they want to support through the DISTRO_FEATURES variable, which is set in the poky.conf distribution configuration file. Machine features are set in the MACHINE_FEATURES variable, which is set in the machine configuration file and specifies the hardware features for a given machine. These two variables combine to work out which kernel modules, utilities, and other packages to include. A given distribution can support a selected subset of features so some machine features might not be included if the distribution itself does not support them.

The items below are features you can use with DISTRO_FEATURES. This list only represents features as shipped with the Yocto Project metadata: alsa: ALSA support will be included (OSS compatibility kernel modules will be installed if available). bluetooth: Include bluetooth support (integrated BT only) ext2: Include tools for supporting for devices with internal HDD/Microdrive for storing files (instead of Flash only devices) irda: Include Irda support keyboard: Include keyboard support (e.g. keymaps will be loaded during boot). pci: Include PCI bus support pcmcia: Include PCMCIA/CompactFlash support usbgadget: USB Gadget Device support (for USB networking/serial/storage) usbhost: USB Host support (allows to connect external keyboard, mouse, storage, network etc) wifi: WiFi support (integrated only) cramfs: CramFS support ipsec: IPSec support ipv6: IPv6 support nfs: NFS client support (for mounting NFS exports on device) ppp: PPP dialup support smbfs: SMB networks client support (for mounting Samba/Microsoft Windows shares on device)

The items below are features you can use with MACHINE_FEATURES. This list only represents features as shipped with the Yocto Project metadata: acpi: Hardware has ACPI (x86/x86_64 only) alsa: Hardware has ALSA audio drivers apm: Hardware uses APM (or APM emulation) bluetooth: Hardware has integrated BT ext2: Hardware HDD or Microdrive irda: Hardware has Irda support keyboard: Hardware has a keyboard pci: Hardware has a PCI bus pcmcia: Hardware has PCMCIA or CompactFlash sockets screen: Hardware has a screen serial: Hardware has serial support (usually RS232) touchscreen: Hardware has a touchscreen usbgadget: Hardware is USB gadget device capable usbhost: Hardware is USB Host capable wifi: Hardware has integrated WiFi

The contents of images generated by the OpenEmbedded build system can be controlled by the IMAGE_FEATURES and EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variables that you typically configure in your image recipes. Through these variables you can add several different predefined packages such as development utilities or packages with debug information needed to investigate application problems or profile applications. Current list of IMAGE_FEATURES contains the following: splash: Enables showing a splash screen during boot. By default, this screen is provided by psplash, which does allow customization. If you prefer to use an alternative splash screen package, you can do so by setting the SPLASH variable to a different package name (or names) within the image recipe or at the distro configuration level. ssh-server-dropbear: Installs the Dropbear minimal SSH server. ssh-server-openssh: Installs the OpenSSH SSH server, which is more full-featured than Dropbear. Note that if both the OpenSSH SSH server and the Dropbear minimal SSH server are present in IMAGE_FEATURES, then OpenSSH will take precedence and Dropbear will not be installed. x11: Installs the X server x11-base: Installs the X server with a minimal environment. x11-sato: Installs the OpenedHand Sato environment. tools-sdk: Installs a full SDK that runs on the device. tools-debug: Installs debugging tools such as strace and gdb. tools-profile: Installs profiling tools such as oprofile, exmap, and LTTng. tools-testapps: Installs device testing tools (e.g. touchscreen debugging). nfs-server: Installs an NFS server. dev-pkgs: Installs development packages (headers and extra library links) for all packages installed in a given image. staticdev-pkgs: Installs static development packages (i.e. static libraries containing *.a files) for all packages installed in a given image. dbg-pkgs: Installs debug symbol packages for all packages installed in a given image. doc-pkgs: Installs documentation packages for all packages installed in a given image.

Sometimes it is necessary in the OpenEmbedded build system to extend MACHINE_FEATURES or DISTRO_FEATURES to control functionality that was previously enabled and not able to be disabled. For these cases, we need to add an additional feature item to appear in one of these variables, but we do not want to force developers who have existing values of the variables in their configuration to add the new feature in order to retain the same overall level of functionality. Thus, the OpenEmbedded build system has a mechanism to automatically "backfill" these added features into existing distro or machine configurations. You can see the list of features for which this is done by finding the DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL and MACHINE_FEATURES_BACKFILL variables in the meta/conf/bitbake.conf file. Because such features are backfilled by default into all configurations as described in the previous paragraph, developers who wish to disable the new features need to be able to selectively prevent the backfilling from occurring. They can do this by adding the undesired feature or features to the DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL_CONSIDERED or MACHINE_FEATURES_BACKFILL_CONSIDERED variables for distro features and machine features respectively. Here are two examples to help illustrate feature backfilling: The "pulseaudio" distro feature option: Previously, PulseAudio support was enabled within the Qt and GStreamer frameworks. Because of this, the feature is backfilled and thus enabled for all distros through the DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL variable in the meta/conf/bitbake.conf file. However, your distro needs to disable the feature. You can disable the feature without affecting other existing distro configurations that need PulseAudio support by adding "pulseaudio" to DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL_CONSIDERED in your distro's .conf file. Adding the feature to this variable when it also exists in the DISTRO_FEATURES_BACKFILL variable prevents the build system from adding the feature to your configuration's DISTRO_FEATURES, effectively disabling the feature for that particular distro. The "rtc" machine feature option: Previously, real time clock (RTC) support was enabled for all target devices. Because of this, the feature is backfilled and thus enabled for all machines through the MACHINE_FEATURES_BACKFILL variable in the meta/conf/bitbake.conf file. However, your target device does not have this capability. You can disable RTC support for your device without affecting other machines that need RTC support by adding the feature to your machine's MACHINE_FEATURES_BACKFILL_CONSIDERED list in the machine's .conf file. Adding the feature to this variable when it also exists in the MACHINE_FEATURES_BACKFILL variable prevents the build system from adding the feature to your configuration's MACHINE_FEATURES, effectively disabling RTC support for that particular machine.