Install required packages:

qemu-user-static debootstrap binfmt-support 

Setup enviroment:

export targetdir=rootfs

For Debian 9:

export distro=stretch 

Or for Debian 10:

export distro=buster 

Or for Debian 11:

export distro=bullseye

sudo mkdir $targetdir

Ensure that $targetdir is owned by root:root.

Build the root file system: download the needed .deb packages and unpack it into $targetdir:

sudo debootstrap --arch=armhf --foreign $distro $targetdir
sudo cp /usr/bin/qemu-arm-static $targetdir/usr/bin
sudo cp /etc/resolv.conf $targetdir/etc
sudo chroot $targetdir

Configure and install the root filesystem by running the .deb configuration scripts inside the emulated armhf architecture (this is why qemu-arm-static is needed). For Debian 9:

export distro=stretch 

Or for Debian 10:

export distro=buster 

Or for Debian 11:

export distro=bullseye

export LANG=C
/debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage

Setup APT: For Debian 11:

cat << EOT > /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security $distro-security main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security $distro-security main contrib non-free
deb http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro-updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro-updates main contrib non-free
EOT

For older Debian:

cat << EOT > /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security $distro/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security $distro/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro-updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.ch.debian.org/debian/ $distro-updates main contrib non-free
EOT

Disable the recommended and suggested packages automatic installation to reduce the root file system size:

cat << EOT > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/71-no-recommends
APT::Install-Recommends "0";
APT::Install-Suggests "0";
EOT

Install required packages:

apt update
apt install locales dialog
dpkg-reconfigure locales
apt install openssh-server ntpdate resolvconf sudo less hwinfo ntp tcsh zsh vim 

Set root password:

passwd

Install really required packages (if you want to use non-static address):

apt install net-tools isc-dhcp-client

Install anything you need and customize your system. Some useful set:

apt install build-essential bash-completion time python python-pip python3 python3-pip i2c-tools gcc g++ 

In order to auto-close ssh session on powerdown, install:

apt install libpam-systemd dbus

and check if UsePAM yes is set in /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Configure interfaces:
– assign fixed address:

cat << EOT > /etc/network/interfaces.d/interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.0.100
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.0.1
dns-nameservers 192.168.0.1
EOT

cat << EOT >> /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 192.168.0.1
EOT

– or use dhcp:

cat << EOT > /etc/network/interfaces.d/interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
EOT

cat << EOT > /etc/resolv.conf
EOT

Turn on password authentication – uncomment PasswordAuthentication yes in

vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Add user

adduser username

and add it to sudo group:

usermod -a -G sudo <username>

Auto-mount SD card: add entry to /etc/fstab:

/dev/mmcblk0p1 /sdcard auto defaults 0 0

and make mount point

mkdir /sdcard

Set hostname:

echo <linux_name> > /etc/hostname
echo 127.0.0.1 <linux_name> >> /etc/hosts

Set debug UART console:

echo T0:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 115200 vt1000 >> /etc/inittab

Install kernel modules build by PetaLinux:
From different console:

cd <boot_project_path>/<boot_project_name>
sudo tar xvfp build/tmp/deploy/images/plnx-zynq7/modules-plnx-zynq7.tgz -C <rootfs_project_path>

or

sudo tar xvfp build/tmp/deploy/images/zynq-generic/modules-zynq-generic.tgz -C <rootfs_project_path>

The <rootfs_project_path> should point at the root of the rootfs, i.e. at $targetdir.
Please notice that the modules file may have different name depending on the architecture.

In the chroot enviroment – petalinux 2018.3:

chown -R root:root /lib
mv /lib/modules/4.14.0-xilinx-v2018.3/ /lib/modules/`uname -r`/
depmod
mv /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ /lib/modules/4.14.0-xilinx-v2018.3/

In the chroot enviroment – petalinux 2020.2:

chown -R root:root /lib
mv /lib/modules/5.4.0-xilinx-v2020.2/ /lib/modules/`uname -r`/
depmod
mv /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ /lib/modules/5.4.0-xilinx-v2020.2/

Load module for generic UIO with altered compatible property:

cat << EOT > /etc/modules-load.d/uio_pdrv_genirq.conf
uio_pdrv_genirq
EOT

cat << EOT > /etc/modprobe.d/uio_pdrv_genirq.conf
options uio_pdrv_genirq of_id=generic-uio
EOT

Create group uio_user (or any other name you want) and add user to it:

groupadd uio_user
usermod -a -G uio_user <username>

Make /dev/uio* devices accessible for group uio_user:

cat << EOT > /etc/udev/rules.d/90-uio.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="uio", KERNEL=="uio[0-9]*", GROUP="uio_user", MODE="0660"
EOT

Make i2c-tools command available for the user

usermod -a -G i2c <username>

and add path to /usr/sbin to user .bashrc

Exit and cleanup:

exit
sudo rm -f $targetdir/usr/bin/qemu-arm-static