Issue building bladeRF FPGA (missing Nios II GNU toolchain / nios2-elf-gcc)

[aspx42]

I’m attempting to build the bladeRF FPGA image for bladeRF-micro A4 hosted using:

Code: Select all

./build_bladerf.sh -b bladeRF-micro -r hosted -s A4

Environment:
• Quartus Prime Lite 20.1 on Ubuntu (VM)
• SoC EDS 20.1 installed under intelFPGA_lite/20.1/nios2eds

The build initializes correctly, generates Qsys systems and PLLs, but fails at the BSP step with:

Code: Select all

nios2-elf-gcc: No such file or directory
make: *** [Makefile:566: obj/HAL/src/alt_alarm_start.o] Error 127

It looks like Quartus/SoC EDS no longer ships the Nios II GNU toolchain (nios2-elf-gcc). Intel’s old nios2-gnu-toolchain-2020.05-linux.tar.gz links are gone, and I can’t locate a current mirror.

What’s the recommended approach in 2025 to resolve this? Is there an updated/prebuilt Nios II GNU toolchain available for Linux?

[adamilton]

I’m attempting to build the bladeRF FPGA image for bladeRF-micro A4 hosted using:

Code: Select all

./build_bladerf.sh -b bladeRF-micro -r hosted -s A4

Environment:
• Quartus Prime Lite 20.1 on Ubuntu Grow A Garden (VM)
• SoC EDS 20.1 installed under intelFPGA_lite/20.1/nios2eds

The build initializes correctly, generates Qsys systems and PLLs, but fails at the BSP step with:

Code: Select all

nios2-elf-gcc: No such file or directory
make: *** [Makefile:566: obj/HAL/src/alt_alarm_start.o] Error 127

It looks like Quartus/SoC EDS no longer ships the Nios II GNU toolchain (nios2-elf-gcc). Intel’s old nios2-gnu-toolchain-2020.05-linux.tar.gz links are gone, and I can’t locate a current mirror.

What’s the recommended approach in 2025 to resolve this? Is there an updated/prebuilt Nios II GNU toolchain available for Linux?

As of 2025, Intel (formerly Altera) has transitioned towards more integrated and streamlined workflows for FPGA development, including the Nios II ecosystem. The traditional standalone toolchains like nios2-elf-gcc are increasingly deprecated or phased out in favor of more modern, containerized, or SDK-based solutions.

The old nios2-elf-gcc has been replaced with nios2-gcc as the primary compiler.
If your build scripts explicitly call nios2-elf-gcc, update them to call nios2-gcc instead.
The nios2-gcc should be in the SDK installation directory, typically under bin/.

Ensure your environment PATH includes the directory containing nios2-gcc.
Example:

Code: Select all

export PATH=/opt/intel/nios2eds/20.4/nios2/bin:$PATH