Make download doesn't download the kernel file sources

[lioryb]

Hi.
I want to download the kernel source code, without building it, so I can push all kernel patches before compiling.
When I use

make download

it downloads all toolchain files and packages, but not the kernel source files.
Only after I run the full make command, the sources are downloaded and I can use the patches.

How can I download the sources to avoid double compiling?

Thanks

[hnyman]

make target/linux/prepare

Working with patches

How to create and apply a kernel patch for OpenWrt 18?

I am trying to write a new patch for the 4.14 kernel in OpenWRT using quilt and the instructions here. I use the following process. make target/linux/{clean,prepare} V=s QUILT=1 cd build_dir/target-*/linux-*/linux-4.14* quilt new generic/000-patch-name.patch quilt edit <files> quilt series to confirm that my patch is there. cd into the top level directory. make target/linux/{clean,prepare} V=s QUILT=1 In step 7, I have also tried it without the QUILT= option which shows …

[lioryb]

Thanks for your fast reply.
Yet, another question.
In order to use QUILT, I need to build the QUILT tool. I can run

make tools/compile

and it would compile all tools, with quilt included.
but, what if I want to only compile quilt? so I reach the point where I can push the patches ASAP, and then let the machine run with the entire process?
I tried

make tools/quilt/compile

but it compiles the entire tools directory.
any other way?

and... I couldn't find anywhere... what does make tools/install ?
do? is it required? should I use make tools/{compile,install} ?

[hnyman]

You can naturally place the patches into the correct directories manually, without using quilt at all in the patch creation/editing/copying phase. The advice in wiki gives give more "full-use of quilt approach" than I personally use for simple changes.

(quilt is then naturally needed for the compilation)

[jeff]

@lioryb

what does make tools/install [do]?

Builds and installs the build system's tooling, including what is needed for patching, code generation, and cross-compilation. It is a pre-req for later steps, so that it is generally not called out explicitly in the build instructions.

For all practical purposes, yes, it is required, either implicitly or explicitly.

Generally, the tool chain is not rebuilt (assuming no version change in the tooling), even after make clean. As a result, I find it difficult to see how delaying it saves any end-to-end time.