Pinebook Pro Software Releases

Linux OS Image Releases

For information on how to install these images onto your device, please see the NOOB Page, which includes information on writing images to the device eMMC or an SD card

Manjaro ARM

File:Manjaro.png

The Manjaro project offers a mainline kernel with patches and modules to support PBPro hardware. To learn more about Manjaro please visit Manjaro Forum. You can follow the ongoing discussion about Manjaro on the PINE64 forum. All images boot from both SD card and the internal eMMC module.

Manjaro ARM with KDE Plasma

• Direct download from Manjaro

Manjaro ARM with Xfce

• Direct download from Manjaro

Manjaro ARM with Gnome

• Direct download from Manjaro

Manjaro ARM with Sway

• Direct download from Manjaro

Manjaro ARM with no desktop

• Direct download from Manjaro

Armbian

As of Nov. 3rd, 2021, Pinebook Pro has No official support (CSC) from Armbian.

To find out more about Armbian and available options please visit their site.

Armbian Ubuntu Focal with Xfce (mainline kernel)

Armbian provides a mainline kernel build images for Ubuntu Focal with Xfce Desktop. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Armbian's Pinebook Pro Ubuntu Focal Xfce

Armbian Ubuntu Focal with Gnome (mainline kernel)

Armbian provides a mainline kernel build images for Ubuntu Focal with GNOME Desktop. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: [1]

Armbian Ubuntu Focal with Xfce (legacy kernel)

Armbian provides a legacy kernel 4.4 build images for Ubuntu Focal with Xfce Desktop. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Armbian's Pinebook Pro Ubuntu Focal Xfce

Armbian Debian Buster with Xfce (legacy kernel)

Armbian provides a legacy kernel 4.4 build images for Debian Buster with Xfce Desktop. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Armbian's Pinebook Pro Debian Buster Xfce

Armbian Ubuntu Bionic with Xfce (legacy kernel)

Armbian provides a legacy kernel 4.4 build images for Ubuntu Bionic with Xfce Desktop. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Armbian's Pinebook Pro Ubuntu Bionic Xfce Desktop download site

Twister OS

Twister OS Armbian-Reforged with Xfce. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. For more information on Twister OS, please visit this official site. You can follow the ongoing discussion about Twister OS on the PINE64 forum.

Installation

• After flashing image, edit /boot/armbianEnv.txt, replace the dtb name with rk3399-pinebook-pro.dtb

Download location

Get the latest image here: Direct download latest images from Twister OS's website (size: 2.8GB)

Password

asdasd

Fedora

Fedora Official

Using this blog post it is now possible to run Official Fedora on the Pinebook Pro.

Notes Upstream Fedora uses SPI flash on the Pinebook Pro to manage uboot.

Fedora 32 with Cinnamon

This image contains an install of Fedora with Cinnamon desktop environment. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about Fedora please visit the official website.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Fedora 32 Pinebook Pro Image

Username and password

root/fedora

Fedora 32 with KDE

This image contains an install of Fedora with KDE aka Plasma desktop environment. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about Fedora please visit the official website.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Fedora 32 Pinebook Pro Image

Username and password

root/fedora

Fedora 32 with Xfce

This image contains an install of Fedora with Xfce desktop environment. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about Fedora please visit the official website.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Fedora 32 Pinebook Pro Image

Username and password

root/fedora

Fedora 32 with Gnome

This image contains an install of Fedora with GNOME 3 desktop environment. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about Fedora please visit the official website.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Fedora 32 Pinebook Pro Image

Username and password

root/fedora

Arch Linux ARM

Official Installation

See Installing Arch Linux ARM On The Pinebook Pro for instructions on how to install the official Arch Linux ARM.

Customized Premade Image

Arch Linux ARM root filesystem customized for the Pinebook Pro using Manjaro kernel. Instructions are included for installation on microSD card, eMMC module and NVME SSD.

Download location

Get the latest image from GitHub (size: 591 MB).

Installation

Make sure to thoroughly read the readme, installation instructions and FAQ.

Username and password

The default Arch Linux ARM user credentials.

Username: alarm

Password: alarm

The password for the root account is 'root'.

postmarketOS

Official postmarketOS build with the GNOME desktop for the Pinebook Pro. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Direct download latest images from postmarketOS (size: 400 MB)

Username and password

demo/demo

or:

demo/147147

Kali Linux

File:Kali.jpeg

Kali Linux prebuilt OS images for Pinebook Pro

Official pre-built OS images of Kali Linux for the Pinebook Pro featuring all tools you'd expect from the distribution. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Direct download latest images from Offensive Security's website (size: 2.0 GB)

Username and password

kali/kali

Q4OS

Q4OS is advertised as a 'fast and powerful operating system based on the latest technologies while offering highly productive desktop environment'. It boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more please visit the PINE64 forum or official Q4OS website.

Download location

Get the latest image here: Direct download latest release build from SourceForge

Username and password

User account and password are created on first run.

DietPi

• DietPi is a lightweight, yet easy to setup and feature-rich Linux distribution, based on Debian.
• To find out more about DietPi, please visit the official documentation.
• Discuss the Pinebook build on the PINE64 forum thread.
• DD image (for 4 GiB micro SD card and above)
  • Direct download from dietpi.com
• Login with
  • Username: root
  • Password: dietpi

openSUSE

Download location

Get the latest openSUSE Tumbleweed images for Pinebook Pro here: [2]

Credits to [3] Step 1. Flash Tow-Boot[4] to SPI Step 2. Flash openSUSE image to sd card & insert it Step 3. When it loads grub, press e and add the following line:

devicetree /boot/dtb/rockchip/rk3399-pinebook-pro.dtb

Press ctrl + x to boot

Work : display, wifi Not tested : bluetooth Doesn't work : audio

You may build rpms and see if it fix issues from this repository: [5]

FydeOS

An operating system based on the Chromium Project

https://fydeos.io/download/device/pinebook-pro

BSD

NetBSD

The image boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about NetBSD please visit NetBSD main page

Download location

Get the latest image here: Direct download from NetBSD

Installation

Instructions concerning enabling SSH can be found here.

Username and password

root/(none)

OpenBSD

The image boots from microSD card and from eMMC. To learn more about OpenBSD, please visit OpenBSD main page

Download location

ARM64 images, (including support for Pinebook Pro), can be found here OpenBSD arm64

Linux Installer Releases

Manjaro ARM

File:Manjaro.png

The manjaro-arm-installer script is intended to install Manjaro ARM directly to SD/eMMC cards without the need for images (including LXQT, Mate & CuboCore editions, as well as full disk encryption). Running on a Linux x86 computer, it can install Manjaro ARM directly to an empty eMMC using an eMMC to USB adapter. The script can also be run from SD to install an image to the eMMC.

Debian

• Uses only the upstream kernel and firmware without special patches
• Display doesn't always work properly on first boot of installer, usually fixed after a couple tries
• Requires adding the non-free component to your /etc/apt/sources.list file and installing the "firmware-linux" package for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support
• Installer is loaded into RAM, can install onto the same media from which it’s booted
• Supports automatic partitioning and full disk encryption through LVM
• Installer currently doesn't install a functional bootloader, leaving the installed system in an unbootable state until it's manually added (if installed to eMMC, the system cannot be booted even to an SD card unless the eMMC is physically switched off or there is U-Boot in the SPI)

The relevant files are built daily here and may sometimes be unavailable if the build system is having issues. The "README.concatenateable_images" file provides instructions on how to combine the partition.img.gz file with the firmware.pinebook-pro.rk3399.img.gz file in order to create a DD-able image.

The official images are not recommended yet until the display begins working consistently and the installer properly installs the bootloader. Most users will want to see Daniel Thompson's Debian Installer instead.

Gentoo

There is a script that prepares a Gentoo arm64 stage 3 tarball for the Pinebook Pro. Unfortunately, this script is not currently functional, and requires extensive troubleshooting to make work. New instructions are currently being created and will be available here.

Word to the wise

Currently, following the instructions on the Pinebook pro gentoo github page will *not* result in a functional system. Therefore it is neccesary to follow the instructions given here. Please bear in mind that the Pinebook pro's six arm cores and 4gb of ram are extremely anemic. For example, emerging the package net-libs/webkit-gtk in order to build the minimalist web-browser "surf", a process which takes eighty minutes on an intel core i5-8250U with 8gb of ram, required eight hours of compile time, Basic installation alone can take 24 hours of compillation, dozens of reboots, and hours of troubleshooting. After that, even installing firefox would take 17 hours. Now that that's out of the way, we may begin the installation.

Preparing the bootloader

Installing a functional bootloader can be difficult. Luckily, the tow-boot project provides a UEFI-like experience for some arm-based devices. Furthermore, it is not neccesary install this bootloader manually, as it will continue to be useable even after the disk has been reformatted, as long as the bootloader remains unscathed.

https://manjaro.org/downloads/arm/pinebook-pro/arm8-pinebook-pro-minimal/

No-matter where you intend to install gentoo, the bootloader should always be installed on the eMMC flash, although technically the SD card slot could also be used. Either way, install any of the official Manjaro arm disk images to the internal eMMC (there's no reason not to use the minimal image, as you will not be using this OS for anything). You may use a second operating system installed on an SD-card, or the official Pine64 eMMC USB adapter. Boot into this operating system to ensure that the bootloader functions, but after that you have no further need of it.

Next, if you already have an OS on an SD card, you can use that for installing gentoo. If you don't, you may be pleasantly suprised to find that tow-boot is cabable of booting from a USB drive. Therefore, you may install the same Manjaro image to your USB drive or SD card, and select it from the boot menu. You should now have an unused but bootable OS on the eMMC, and another bootable, usable OS on your external storage.

Preparing the Disks

Log into your host device as root with the following command:

sudo su

Enter your password.

Let the device on which you intend to install gentoo be refered to hereafter as /dev/<gentoo>. Use the following command to prepare this disk for installation:

fdisk -B /dev/<gentoo>

Note: don't just copy these commands! You should substitute <gentoo> for mmcblk2 for the internal eMMC flash storage.

Note that the first block of the boot partition is block 62500. Delete all partitions, but *do not* re-format the disk. Create a new boot partition starting at 62500, and as it's size select "+1GB". Create a new swap partition. fdisk will try to start it at the beginning of the volume (before the boot partition) Instead, when it prompts you for the starting position, enter in the end sector of the boot partition. It should then tell you that this is within an existing partition, and recommend a slightly higher value. Press enter, and give for the size of the partition any value greater than "+4gb". You need this much ram to be able to suspend your system, and emerge large packages. Don't be stingey - you still have SD cards. I reccomend "+8gb". Finally, add a root partition starting at the end sector of the swap partition, and use the rest of the disk for it. That should be 50-60 GB depending on the size of your swap and boot partitions.

Lastly, press "t" to set the type of each partition. You may set partition 1 to type 6, 2 to type 82, and 3 to type 83.

to set the partition types of the three partitions.

lsblk

to remind yourself which disk is /dev/<gentoo> Write the filesystems to these three partitions with the commands:

mkfs.vfat /dev/<gentoo>p1

mkswap /dev/<gentoo>p2

mkfs.ext4 /dev/<gentoo>p3

This may be a slightly different format if you're installing to a usb stick.

Installation

make the directory for mounting the filesystem you just created. These should be made on the external OS.

mkdir /mnt/gentoo

mount /dev/<gentoo>p3 /mnt/gentoo

cd into this directory and fire up links. Navigate to gentoo.org/downloads and select the stage 3 minimal stage 3 tarball. Download it to your current directory, or move it to that directory from wherever it has been downloaded to. Once you are in the correct directory, unpack the tarball.

tar xpvf stage3-arm64-<blah blah blah>

Mount the boot partition.

mount /dev/<gentoo>p1 /mnt/gentoo/boot

Chroot into the mounted directory and Install the operating system as per the AMD64 manual [6]. Before you emerge anything, however, be sure to set your use flags as follows:

nano /etc/portage/make.conf

MAKEOPTS="-j4 -l4"

ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="* **"

ACCEPT_LICENSE="*"

USE="X gtk bluetooth pulseaudio"

You can use your own options instead of these if you know what you're doing. It's not super difficult.

Continue installing the operating system, but stop just before emerging the @world set. I don't know if this is necessary, but I haven't had the time to try without doing this. Clone Janikk2099's github repo. It doesn't matter where, and run the script. If it fails run it a couple more times.

git clone https://github.com/Jannik2099/gentoo-pinebookpro

./gentoo-pinebookpro/prepare.sh

Don't follow any of Janikk's other instructions. They appear to be out of date (no offense bro). Let me be clear: DO NOT INSTALL U-BOOT. I don't know what will happen, but it won't be an improvement over the existing boot-loader so don't worry about it.

Finish installing your system until you come to the kernel.

Custom Kernel

Use sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel-bin as your kernel. You will need to manually edit the kernel configuration. First, select it as your kernel.

eselect kernel list

This should list only one option. Otherwise, select the number matching linux-5.<whatever is latest>-gentoo-dist, and cd into the kernel source directory.

eselect kernel set <number>

cd /usr/src/linux

Begin the kernel configuration

make menuconfig

At this point, you're almost on your own. I don't know a strict cause-and-effect relationship between my kernel config and the behavior of my system. For starters, just go into platform selection and deselect everything except rockchip platforms. Once you're done save your configuration and exit. Make sure boot is mounted, and your fstab is set up with your swap mounted. Make sure dracut is installed.

make

make modules

make dtbs

make install

make modules install

make dtbs_install

ls /lib/modules

dracut -f --kver <name of directory in /lib/modules matching your kernel, *not* the kernel name from eselect>

emerge the package extlinux and run u-boot-update. Open the extlinux configuration file.

nano /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

And configure it as follows:

LABEL <label of your choice, for example GENTOO ARM>

KERNEL /<name of your vmlinuz kernel image. Include the slash, but be relative to boot, not root.>

FDT /dtbs/<kernel-version>/rockchip/rk3399-pinebook-pro.dtb

APPEND initrd=/<name of initramfs image> root=PARTUUID-<nboot partition's PARTUUID, no quotes> rw rootwait

You can use the blkid command to find the PARTUUID of every partition on the machine. None of this configuration is guaranteed to work, but it worked for me, and given enough fiddling you can get it to work as well.

Now you should reboot the machine and see if it boots into gentoo. If it does: congratulations! If not, too bad. Try again.

Kali Linux

File:Kali.jpeg

There is a script to create official Kali Linux OS images for the Pinebook Pro. The script carries out the build process in entirety and is Pinebook Pro specific.

Installation

• Please pull the latest Kali Linux install script from the project's GitLab.
• For more information regarding building the OS image please read the README instruction at https://gitlab.com/kalilinux/build-scripts/kali-arm/blob/master/README.md

K1ss OS

File:K1ss.png

There is a repository containing an unofficial port of KISS Linux to AARCH64. The tarball is built for generic aarch64, currently being tested on the Pinebook Pro. You can follow the ongoing discussion about K1ss Linux on the PINE64 forum.

Installation

• Please pull the latest K1ss Linux install script from the project's GitHub.

NixOS

File:Nixos.png

You can follow the ongoing discussion about NixOS on the PINE64 forum. There is a good chance we will see Tier 1 support for aarch64, including the Pinebook Pro, in 2021 (see https://github.com/NixOS/rfcs/pull/87).

Installation

• This is instructions to install NixOS on the Pinebook Pro: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/NixOS_on_ARM/PINE64_Pinebook_Pro
• Please pull the latest samueldr's repository from the project's GitHub.
• NixOS Tutorials

SkiffOS

Installation

• Instructions to build/install on the Pinebook Pro: https://github.com/skiffos/SkiffOS/tree/master/configs/pine64/book
• Please pull the latest version from the project's GitHub.
• Compiling the boot image takes approximately 30 minutes.
• Easily configure the kernel, compiler, etc with Buildroot.
• Pre-built ISOs will be available with the upcoming 2021.02 release.

Slackware

Slackware is the world's oldest actively developed Linux distribution, providing a modern user land (applications) and Linux Kernel, within a more classic Unix Operating System environment.

More information can be found about Slackware in this 20 minute video.

Installation instructions.

Installation guide video