[OE-core][whinlatter][PATCH] wic/engine: error on old host debugfs for standalone directory copy

Daniel Dragomir
2026-02-20T10:03:51Z

When wic is used in standalone mode, it relies on host tools such as
debugfs. For directory host->image copies into ext* partitions, wic
uses scripted debugfs "-f" input with multiple mkdir/write commands.

Older host debugfs versions (< 1.46.5) may behave unreliably in this
mode and can silently miss files. This does not affect builds using
debugfs from OE where the version is known to be sufficiently new.

Add a debugfs version check and emit an error when an older host
debugfs is detected. The error is shown once per run and halts execution.

Changes in v2:
- adjust the last working debugfs version to 1.46.5

Changes in v3:
- switch debugfs check from warning to error

Signed-off-by: Daniel Dragomir <daniel.dragomir@windriver.com>
Signed-off-by: Mathieu Dubois-Briand <mathieu.dubois-briand@bootlin.com>
Signed-off-by: Richard Purdie <richard.purdie@linuxfoundation.org>
---
scripts/lib/wic/engine.py | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 29 insertions(+)

diff --git a/scripts/lib/wic/engine.py b/scripts/lib/wic/engine.py
index 9d596be3a7..8682ca3176 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/wic/engine.py
+++ b/scripts/lib/wic/engine.py
@@ -222,6 +222,34 @@ def wic_list(args, scripts_path):

return False

+_DEBUGFS_VERSION = None
+
+def debugfs_version_check(debugfs_path, min_ver=(1, 46, 5)):
+ global _DEBUGFS_VERSION
+
+ if _DEBUGFS_VERSION is None:
+ out = ""
+ for flag in ("-V", "-v"):
+ try:
+ out = exec_cmd(f"{debugfs_path} {flag}")
+ break
+ except Exception:
+ continue
+
+ import re
+ m = re.search(r"(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)", out or "")
+ _DEBUGFS_VERSION = tuple(map(int, m.groups())) if m else None
+
+ ver = _DEBUGFS_VERSION
+
+ if ver is not None and ver < min_ver:
+ raise WicError(
+ "Sorry, debugfs 1.46.5 or later is required for this script. "
+ "Older versions of debugfs can make directory copies into ext* partitions "
+ "via scripted debugfs (-f) unreliable or broken. Detected version: %s"
+ % (".".join(map(str, ver)) if ver else "unknown")
+ )
+

class Disk:
def __init__(self, imagepath, native_sysroot, fstypes=('fat', 'ext')):
@@ -352,6 +380,7 @@ class Disk:
if self.partitions[pnum].fstype.startswith('ext'):
if isinstance(src, str): # host to image case
if os.path.isdir(src):
+ debugfs_version_check(self.debugfs)
base = os.path.abspath(src)
base_parent = os.path.dirname(base)
cmds = []
--
2.25.1