Embedded Linux — Fundamentals
Curated: learn the fundamentals of embedded Linux from a top free video series — the shell, cross-compilation, the boot chain, device tree, and build systems (Buildroot/Yocto) — then get certified.
Introduction to Embedded Linux
Digi-Key Electronics (Shawn Hymel) · video · ~4h · Free · English
Why we picked it: The most widely-cited free video introduction to embedded Linux — a Digi-Key series by Shawn Hymel (a well-known embedded educator), with the Buildroot and Yocto episodes each drawing hundreds of thousands of views and consistently linked as the go-to beginner starting point across Class Central, forums and Reddit. It teaches the whole chain hands-on on a real board (STM32MP1) instead of only slides, so the fundamentals stick.
- why (and when) to use embedded Linux vs a bare-metal microcontroller
- the Linux shell and root filesystem on an embedded target
- cross-compilation: building on a host for a different target CPU
- the boot chain — bootloader (U-Boot) → kernel → root filesystem
- building a custom image with Buildroot
- building a custom image with the Yocto Project
- the device tree: describing hardware to the kernel
- deploying and running your image on real hardware
Study guide
Open the study guide →1 study section · what to focus on + prove it in Forge, then take the check.