mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/qemu-for-kernel-development

Claude Code and agent skill by mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

Trust tier 3
  • community
Source check pending

Checking that the SKILL.md file is still in the repository.

QEMU kernel development skill for driver and kernel testing. Use when booting custom kernels in QEMU, Buildroot/Yocto rootfs, virtio devices, or NFS root for driver iteration. Activates on queries about QEMU kernel dev, Buildroot QEMU, virtio block, kernel module test QEMU, or -append root=

Install

npx vskill@latest install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/qemu-for-kernel-development

SKILL.md

QEMU for Kernel Development

Purpose

Guide agents through QEMU-based kernel and driver development workflows: building/booting custom kernels, attaching virtio block/network, using Buildroot or minimal initramfs, and rapid module test cycles — focused on kernel dev vs general skills/virtualization/qemu-kvm.

When to Use

  • Test kernel patch without bare metal
  • Develop driver against virtio or emulated DT platform
  • CI kernel boot smoke test
  • NFS or 9p root for fast edit-compile-test

Workflow

1. Minimal direct kernel boot (arm64 virt)
bash
qemu-system-aarch64 \
  -machine virt -cpu cortex-a57 -smp 4 -m 2G \
  -kernel arch/arm64/boot/Image \
  -append "console=ttyAMA0 root=/dev/vda rw" \
  -drive if=virtio,file=rootfs.ext4,format=raw \
  -netdev user,id=net0 -device virtio-net-device,netdev=net0 \
  -nographic

x86_64:

bash
qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 4G -smp 4 \
  -kernel arch/x86/boot/bzImage \
  -append "console=ttyS0 root=/dev/vda rw" \
  -drive file=rootfs.img,format=raw,if=virtio \
  -nographic
2. Buildroot rootfs loop
bash
cd buildroot
make qemu_aarch64_virt_defconfig
make
# output/images/Image, rootfs.ext4

Integrate custom kernel: set BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_CUSTOM_VERSION or external tree.

3. Out-of-tree module test
bash
# on host — cross build
make -C $KERNEL_SRC M=$PWD modules
# in guest or via initramfs
insmod mydriver.ko
dmesg | tail

Share tree with 9p:

bash
-fsdev local,id=dev,path=$PWD,security_model=none \
-device virtio-9p-pci,fsdev=dev,mount_tag=hostshare
# guest: mount -t 9p -o trans=virtio hostshare /mnt
4. GDB stub for kernel
bash
qemu-system-aarch64 ... -s -S
gdb vmlinux
(gdb) target remote :1234
(gdb) break start_kernel

Use CONFIG_KGDB for live kernel debugging after boot.

5. Device tree overrides
bash
qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -dtb myboard.dtb ...

virt machine provides virtio devices; platform drivers can target QEMU -device models.

6. Agent usage
/qemu-for-kernel-development Boot arm64 virt with custom Image and virtio rootfs for driver CI

Common Problems

SymptomCauseFix
Kernel panic no rootWrong root=root=/dev/vda for virtio blk
No console outputMissing console= on cmdlineconsole=ttyAMA0 / ttyS0
Module vermagic errorBuilt against wrong treeSame KERNEL_SRC as booted image
Slow without KVMTCG emulation-enable-kvm on x86 host
DTB mismatchWrong machineUse virt DTB from kernel make dtbs

Related Skills

  • skills/virtualization/qemu-kvm — KVM, VFIO, libvirt
  • skills/qemu/qemu-embedded-simulation — bare-metal MCU QEMU
  • skills/kernel/kernel-testing — KUnit, kselftest
  • skills/kernel-dev/device-tree — DT for virt/platform
  • skills/debuggers/gdb — remote GDB basics

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 95 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

See the full security report

Quality evaluation

  • Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.

See evaluation results

Source

Popularity

Repository stars
237
Repository forks
28
7-day trend score
27

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Not refreshed yet.

Works with

Any agent vskill installs to: 56 targets in all. These 39 have a page on this site.

  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Windsurf
  • Codex
  • Gemini CLI
  • Cline
  • Amp
  • Roo Code
  • Goose
  • Continue
  • Kilo Code
  • Junie
  • Trae
  • OpenHands
  • Qwen Code
  • AI Agent
  • Tabnine Chat
  • Sourcegraph Cody
  • Amazon Q
  • Firebase Genkit
  • Sweep
  • Devin
  • Phind
  • Mentat
  • Claude Desktop
  • Aider
  • GPT Pilot
  • Plandex
  • bolt.new
  • v0
  • Replit Agent
  • Anse
  • TypingMind
  • BetterChatGPT
  • LibreChat
  • Warp AI
  • Pieces
  • Fig AI
Embed badge
vskill VERIFIED badge
[![vskill VERIFIED](https://verified-skill.com/api/v1/skills/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/qemu-for-kernel-development/badge)](https://verified-skill.com/skills/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/qemu-for-kernel-development)

Something wrong with this skill or its page? Tell us.