Sysbuild (System build)

Sysbuild is a higher-level build system that can be used to combine multiple other build systems together. For more details please follow the Zephyr Sysbuild (System build) documentation.

Note: Sysbuild is a notion that originates from Zephyr. However, it is currently also used by the west-based MCUXpresso SDK (SDK version 24.12 or newer), which relies on the same west/CMake build infrastructure. As a result, the Sysbuild enablement and behavior described here apply both to Zephyr projects and to west-based MCUXpresso SDK projects.

Enable or disable Sysbuild

To enable or disable Sysbuild, go to the context menu of the project, select “Set Sysbuild” under the “Configure” group and select the desired option.

Set Sysbuild command

Set Sysbuild options

Controlling Sysbuild from the Tasks Automation Framework

Sysbuild enablement can also be controlled programmatically through the Tasks Automation Framework. The "buildProject", "cleanProject", and "rebuildProject" task commands each expose an optional sysbuild boolean property inside their commandOptions.

When the sysbuild property is set, it overrides the enablement state for that task execution. By default, the enablement state is the one specified in the example/project definition at import/creation time.

For example, to disable Sysbuild when building a project:

{
    "type": "MCUXpresso",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "label": "Build without Sysbuild",
    "commandOptions": {
        "command": "buildProject",
        "projectName": "my_project",
        "buildConfigName": "debug",
        "sysbuild": false
    }
}

The same sysbuild property is available for the "cleanProject" and "rebuildProject" commands. Refer to the Tasks Definition documentation for the full list of properties supported by each command.

Known issues and workarounds

For some boards (e.g. EVK-MIMXRT595 and MIMXRT700-EVK), certain example projects (such as the DSP and eIQ examples) can only be built when the Xtensa development toolchain is available. As a result, these projects cannot be built with Sysbuild enabled in environments that provide only the Arm toolchain.

Workaround: Disable Sysbuild for the affected project before building, either from the UI (“Set Sysbuild” under the “Configure” contextual menu) or by setting the sysbuild property to false in the "buildProject", "cleanProject", or "rebuildProject" task definition.