BSP Installation#

BSP Installation Options#

For using NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit as it is, you can complete the initial software setup in a stand-alone manner.

Besides the default stand-alone software setup flow, there are optional setup flows in which you use a Linux host PC to run NVIDIA SDK Manager or the L4T flash script.

graph TD A(Start) --> O1 A --> O2 A --> O3 subgraph O1 ["Option 1: Start with eMMC"] E1[Boot from<br>pre-flashed eMMC] end subgraph O2 ["Option 2: SDK Manager"] S1[Flash L4T BSP<br>from host PC] end subgraph O3 ["Option 3: Flash Script"] F1[Flash L4T BSP<br>using flash.sh] end E1 --> C S1 --> C F1 --> C C[Install JetPack<br>components] --> D(All ready!) style O1 fill:#76B900,stroke:#76B900,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff style O2 fill:#1976D2,stroke:#1976D2,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff style O3 fill:#F57C00,stroke:#F57C00,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff style A fill:#333,stroke:#666,color:#fff style C fill:#444,stroke:#888,color:#fff style D fill:#76B900,stroke:#76B900,color:#fff

Comparison#

💾 Start with eMMC

🛠️ SDK Manager

📜 Flash script

📋 Short Summary

Boot from pre-flashed eMMC (default)

GUI software to flash BSP and install JetPack packages

Ubuntu script to flash BSP

🖥️ Ubuntu Host PC

❌ Not required

✅ Required

✅ Required

⏱️ Flash time

⚡ Immediate (pre-flashed)

⌛ About 30 min

⌛ About 30 min

🔧 Install BSP?

✅ Pre-installed

✅ Yes

✅ Yes

📦 Install JetPack components

💡 Via apt after boot

✅ Yes, when chosen in 2nd stage

💡 Via apt after boot

👥 Who is this for?

🌟 Everybody including beginner

🧑‍💻 Who has an Ubuntu PC

🛠️ Product Developers

Important

Jetson AGX Orin supports up to JetPack 6.x — latest is L4T r36.4.4 (JetPack 6.2.1). JetPack 7.0/7.1 is for Jetson Thor only. Upcoming JetPack 7.2 will support AGX Orin.

Download from JetPack 6.2.1 SDK page

Option 1. 💾 Start with eMMC (Default)#

Recommended for everybody.

Your NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit comes with its eMMC flash memory pre-flashed with L4T BSP image, so you can boot directly into Ubuntu desktop right out of the box.

Note

Your AGX Orin Developer Kit may come with an older L4T BSP version pre-flashed (e.g., L4T r35.x / JetPack 5.x). We recommend updating to the latest version — currently L4T r36.4.4 (JetPack 6.2.1 ) — using Option 2 (SDK Manager) or Option 3 (Flash Script) below.

This method is what’s illustrated in the Quick Start Guide.

Option 2. 🛠️ NVIDIA SDK Manager#

For more details, please check the NVIDIA SDK Manager - Install with SDKM.

You would need a separate Linux PC to run the NVIDIA SDK Manager.

You may choose to use SDK Manager when, for example:

  • You want to flash the base L4T BSP on a different storage medium than the default internal eMMC (such as NVMe SSD, USB thumb-drive, or microSD card)

  • You cannot give a direct Internet connection to your Jetson developer kits

How to install SDK Manager#

Note

To install SDK Manager you need:

  • Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 or 22.04 on x86_64 system (host machine)

    • System Memory 8GB

    • Free disk space: minimum of 25GB

Check NVIDIA SDK Manager - System Requirements for detail.

On your x86-64 PC, click here to download the Debian package file for the latest SDK Manager.

Attention

To download (and later run) SDK Manager, you need NVIDIA Developer Program Membership.

Log in or sign up for an NVIDIA account.

The Debian package file is named as sdkmanager_[version]-[build#]_amd64.deb, like sdkmanager_2.2.0-12028_amd64.deb.

In the directory where you downloaded the file, issue the following command to install the Debian package.

sudo apt install ./sdkmanager_*-*_amd64.deb

Login and Run SDK Manager#

You can launch the SDK Manager either by clicking the icon from Ubuntu launcher, or type the following command in the terminal.

sdkmanager
SDK Manager Login Screen

On the initial login screen, click NVIDIA DEVELOPER tab and press LOGIN button. Complete the login process on a web page, then come back to SDK Manager.

Note

For the detail instruction, see NVIDIA SDK Manager - Login and Run

How to use SDK Manager to Flash L4T BSP#

Hardware Setup#

Connect NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit to the PC with the bundled USB Type-A to Type-C cable.

Make sure you put the Type-C plug of the cable into the USB Type-C port ( 10 ) next to 40-pin connector for flashing.

While holding the middle Force Recovery button ( 2 ), insert the USB Type-C power supply plug into the USB Type-C port above the DC jack.

This will turn on the Jetson dev kit in Force Recovery Mode.

Steps#

  1. Launch SDK Manager

  2. On the Step 01 Development Environment window;

    • From the Product Category panel, select Jetson.

    • From the Hardware Configuration panel, de-select “Host Machine” and select Jetson AGX Orin module for Target Hardware.

    • Click “CONTINUE” button.

  3. On the Step 02 Details and License window;

    • From the Target Components panel, just select “Jetson OS” to install the base L4T BSP, and deselect “Jetson SDK Components”.

    • Review the license.

    • Enable the checkbox to accept the license agreements.

    • Click CONTINUE button.

    Before the installation begins, SDK Manager prompts you to enter your sudo password.

  4. Step 03 Setup Process window shows the download progress.

    SDK Manager opens a dialog when it is ready to flash your target device. A prompt provides instructions for preparing your device to get it ready for flashing.

  5. On the flashing prompt;

    • Select “Manual Setup - Jetson AGX Orin” for 1.

    • Ignore 7, OEM configuration.

    • Select your desired storage device to flash the L4T BSP to for 8, Storage Device.

    • Click Flash button.

When flashing is done, the Jetson developer kit will reboot and boot into the L4T BSP.

You can complete the OEM Config.

Now you can install the JetPack components using JetPack SDK Setup.

Option 3. 📜 “Linux_for_Tegra” flash script#

For advanced users and product developers, you can use the flash.sh script from the Jetson Linux (L4T) package to flash a Jetson device.

See Flashing Support in the Jetson Linux Developer Guide for details.