Install OBEX Tools on AGL Yocto

Add BlueZ OBEX support and the obexctl client to an AGL Yocto image.

obexctl is not installed on an AGL or Yocto Raspberry Pi image with apt. It must be included in the image at build time.

In OE-Core, bluez5-obex packages the OBEX daemon, systemd units, and D-Bus service files. The obexctl client is normally built as a BlueZ no-install tool, so include it explicitly in bluez5-noinst-tools when the target image needs PBAP, MAP, OPP, or other OBEX validation.

This guide is a build-time fix. Use it when the target image boots successfully but PBAP or MAP validation fails because obexctl or org.bluez.obex is missing.

Add a BlueZ bbappend#

Create a bbappend in your own layer:

mkdir -p meta-your-layer/recipes-connectivity/bluez5
nano meta-your-layer/recipes-connectivity/bluez5/bluez5_%.bbappend

Add the OBEX profile support, readline client support, and the obexctl no-install tool:

# Make sure OBEX support and readline client support are enabled.
PACKAGECONFIG:append = " obex-profiles readline"

# Install obexctl, which BlueZ normally builds as a no-install tool.
NOINST_TOOLS_READLINE:append = " tools/obexctl"

Add packages to the image#

For quick testing, add the packages in build/conf/local.conf. Keep the leading space inside the string; the :append operator does not add it automatically. 

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " bluez5 bluez5-obex bluez5-noinst-tools"

For a cleaner project setup, put the same package list in your custom image recipe or in a packagegroup instead of local.conf.

Rebuild#

From the AGL build environment, rebuild BlueZ and the target image:

bitbake bluez5 -c cleansstate
bitbake <your-agl-image>

Example image names:

bitbake agl-image-minimal
bitbake agl-image-weston

Use your custom image name if the project has one.

Verify before flashing#

After the build finishes, check which package owns obexctl:

oe-pkgdata-util find-path /usr/bin/obexctl

Expected result:

bluez5-noinst-tools: /usr/bin/obexctl

You can also inspect the package contents:

oe-pkgdata-util list-pkg-files bluez5-noinst-tools | grep obexctl

Verify on Raspberry Pi 5#

After flashing and booting the new AGL image, check that obexctl exists:

which obexctl
obexctl

Expected result:

/usr/bin/obexctl
[NEW] Client /org/bluez/obex
[obex]#

Check that Bluetooth and OBEX services are available:

systemctl status bluetooth
systemctl status obex

If obexctl exists but OBEX sessions do not work, the missing part is usually bluez5-obex, obexd, or phone-side permission, not the CLI itself.

Older AGL or Yocto syntax#

If the AGL branch is older and does not support :append, use the legacy override syntax: 

PACKAGECONFIG_append = " obex-profiles readline"
NOINST_TOOLS_READLINE_append = " tools/obexctl"
IMAGE_INSTALL_append = " bluez5 bluez5-obex bluez5-noinst-tools"

Keep the BlueZ recipe change in your layer:

# meta-your-layer/recipes-connectivity/bluez5/bluez5_%.bbappend

PACKAGECONFIG:append = " obex-profiles readline"
NOINST_TOOLS_READLINE:append = " tools/obexctl"

Then include the runtime packages from the image recipe or packagegroup:

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " bluez5 bluez5-obex bluez5-noinst-tools"

References#