NixOS VisionFive 2 Test Report

Test Environment

Operating System Information

System version: 25.05.20241121
Source code link: https://github.com/NickCao/nixos-riscv
Reference Installation Document: https://github.com/NickCao/nixos-riscv/README.md

Hardware Information

StarFive VisionFive 2
A USB-A Power Adapter
A USB-A to C Cable
A microSD Card
A microSD Card Reader
A USB to UART Debugger (e.g., CH340, CH341, FT2232, etc.)
Three DuPont Wires

Installation Steps

Compiling Image

Run nix build ".#hydraJobs.visionfive2" if you happen to be using NixOS on your host.

It is not recommended to install and use the nix package manager on other distributions. Try using e.g. the official Docker image instead:

docker run -ti -v $(pwd):/work ghcr.io/nixos/nix

Inside the Docker container:

echo "max-jobs = auto" >> /etc/nix/nix.conf # Enable multi-threaded compilation
echo "substituters = https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/nix-channels/store https://cache.nixos.org/" >> /etc/nix/nix.conf # Switch to another mirror
cd /work
nix build ".#hydraJobs.visionfive2" --extra-experimental-features nix-command --extra-experimental-features flakes

The resulting image will reside at ./result/sd-image/, with a filename similar to nixos-sd-image-25.05.20241121.0039986-riscv64-linux-starfive-visionfive2.img.zst。

Flashing Image to microSD Card

Use dd to flash the image to the microSD card.

Logging into the System

Logging into the system via the serial port.

No password are set and will automatically login by default.

Expected Results

The system should boot normally and allow login via the onboard serial port.

Actual Results

The system booted successfully and login via the onboard serial port was also successful.

Boot Log

<<< Welcome to NixOS 25.05.20241121.0039986 (riscv64) - ttyS0 >>>
The "nixos" and "root" accounts have empty passwords.

To log in over ssh you must set a password for either "nixos" or "root"
with `passwd` (prefix with `sudo` for "root"), or add your public key to
/home/nixos/.ssh/authorized_keys or /root/.ssh/authorized_keys.

If you need a wireless connection, type
`sudo systemctl start wpa_supplicant` and configure a
network using `wpa_cli`. See the NixOS manual for details.


Run 'nixos-help' for the NixOS manual.

nixos login: nixos (automatic login)


[nixos@nixos:~]$ uname -a
Linux nixos 6.12.0 #1-NixOS SMP Sun Nov 17 22:15:08 UTC 2024 riscv64 GNU/Linux

[nixos@nixos:~]$ cat /etc/os-release 
ANSI_COLOR="1;34"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues"
BUILD_ID="25.05.20241121.0039986"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:nixos:nixos:25.05"
DEFAULT_HOSTNAME=nixos
DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://nixos.org/learn.html"
HOME_URL="https://nixos.org/"
ID=nixos
ID_LIKE=""
IMAGE_ID=""
IMAGE_VERSION=""
LOGO="nix-snowflake"
NAME=NixOS
PRETTY_NAME="NixOS 25.05 (Warbler)"
SUPPORT_END="2025-06-30"
SUPPORT_URL="https://nixos.org/community.html"
VARIANT=""
VARIANT_ID=installer
VENDOR_NAME=NixOS
VENDOR_URL="https://nixos.org/"
VERSION="25.05 (Warbler)"
VERSION_CODENAME=warbler
VERSION_ID="25.05"

[nixos@nixos:~]$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
hart            : 2
isa             : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb
mmu             : sv39
uarch           : sifive,u74-mc
mvendorid       : 0x489
marchid         : 0x8000000000000007
mimpid          : 0x4210427
hart isa        : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb

processor       : 1
hart            : 1
isa             : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb
mmu             : sv39
uarch           : sifive,u74-mc
mvendorid       : 0x489
marchid         : 0x8000000000000007
mimpid          : 0x4210427
hart isa        : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb

processor       : 2
hart            : 3
isa             : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb
mmu             : sv39
uarch           : sifive,u74-mc
mvendorid       : 0x489
marchid         : 0x8000000000000007
mimpid          : 0x4210427
hart isa        : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb

processor       : 3
hart            : 4
isa             : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb
mmu             : sv39
uarch           : sifive,u74-mc
mvendorid       : 0x489
marchid         : 0x8000000000000007
mimpid          : 0x4210427
hart isa        : rv64imafdc_zicntr_zicsr_zifencei_zihpm_zca_zcd_zba_zbb

[nixos@nixos:~]$

USB driver also works, despite what is written in the original README:

[nixos@nixos:~]$ [  681.045954] usb 2-4: new SuperSpeed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd
[  681.068527] usb-storage 2-4:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[  681.079456] scsi host0: usb-storage 2-4:1.0
[  682.110860] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access      USB      SanDisk 3.2Gen1 1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[  682.124874] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 60088320 512-byte logical blocks: (30.8 GB/28.7 GiB)
[  682.133356] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[  682.138907] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[  682.182460]  sda: sda1
[  682.185238] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk

Test Criteria

Successful: The actual result matches the expected result.

Failed: The actual result does not match the expected result.

Test Conclusion

Test successful.

System Version

Status

Last Update