building uxngba with docker

The uxngba project uses DevKitPro, which can be a pain to install on systems that aren't ArchLinux. Luckily, there is a Docker image for DevKitPro which can ease the process.

In a freshly cloned uxngba repo, add a Dockerfile:

FROM devkitpro/devkitarm

RUN apt-get update && apt install -y gcc binutils python3

RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/uxngba
WORKDIR /usr/src/uxngba
COPY . /usr/src/uxngba

# if you want to play with heavier duty C code/libraries
# in the uxngba source get this linker script:
# https://github.com/AnthonyCalandra/gba-js/blob/master/gba_cart.ld
# and uncomment the following line
# COPY ./gba_cart.ld /opt/devkitpro/devkitARM/arm-none-eabi/lib/gba_cart.ld

# we add a sleep command to keep the container running
# so we can copy the GBA ROM
CMD make clean; make ROM_SRC=./roms/${UXN_ROM}.rom && sleep 20

And this build.sh script:

#!/bin/sh

# so we can change ownership of the GBA ROM after copying it
ogusr=$(whoami)

# delete the volume to ensure our data copies cleanly
docker volume rm uxngba

# so we can enter our password now and not race against the clock
# while the container is running; delete the ROM from last time
sudo rm uxngba.gba

docker build -t uxngba ./
docker run --rm -v uxngba:/usr/src/uxngba  -e UXN_ROM=$1 --name uxngba uxngba & sleep 7;

# here is where we actually move the GBA ROM from the container
sudo su root -c "cp /var/lib/docker/volumes/uxngba/_data/build/uxngba.gba  ./ ; chown ${ogusr}:${ogusr} uxngba.gba"

# kill the container to clean up after ourselves
docker kill uxngba

Then run like so:

$ ./build.sh ROMNAME

Where ROMNAME is the name of the ROM you want to build inside of the roms/ directory, minus its .rom extension. You will then have a uxngba.gba file in the base directory of the repo that you can run in an emluator or load on a GBA flash cartridge!