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127 changes: 127 additions & 0 deletions ARM64_PR.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
# Add Linux arm64 (aarch64) AppImage support

## Summary

This PR adds support for building Neuron as a Linux arm64 AppImage, targeting Raspberry Pi 4/5, Orange Pi, ROCK series boards and other aarch64 single-board computers running Linux — which are popular in the CKB node-running community.

A working `Neuron-v0.204.0-arm64.AppImage` (192 MB, verified ELF aarch64) was built successfully on an Orange Pi 5 (aarch64, Ubuntu 22.04) using the changes in this PR.

---

## Changes

### 1. `scripts/download-ckb.sh` — add `download_linux_aarch64()`

Added a new function that downloads the `aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu` CKB binary (which already exists in every CKB release) and saves it as `bin/linux/ckb-arm64`:

```bash
function download_linux_aarch64() {
CKB_FILENAME="ckb_${CKB_VERSION}_aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu"
cd $ROOT_DIR/packages/neuron-wallet/bin/linux
curl -O -L "${GITHUB_RELEASE_URL}/${CKB_VERSION}/${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz"
tar xvzf ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
cp ${CKB_FILENAME}/ckb ./ckb-arm64
rm -rf $CKB_FILENAME ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
}
```

Also added a `linux-arm64` case to the switch:
```bash
linux-arm64) download_linux_aarch64; download_linux_light;;
```

> **Note on `ckb-light-client`**: No arm64 Linux release exists in the `ckb-light-client` repo yet. The x86_64 binary is currently used for both architectures. A separate issue/PR to the `ckb-light-client` repo would complete that gap.

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I will add a fix to support arm64 Linux release for ckb-light-client.

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oh, we already had this nervosnetwork/ckb-light-client#265, it's still in rc stage.

@eval-exec eval-exec Jun 19, 2026

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Once ckb-light-client is updated, I'll release another release build that includes aarch64 support.


### 2. `packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml` — add arm64 target + extraFile

```yaml
linux:
extraFiles:
- from: "bin/linux/ckb"
to: "bin/ckb"
- from: "bin/linux/ckb-arm64" # ← new
to: "bin/ckb-arm64"
# ... rest unchanged
target:
- target: AppImage
arch:
- x64
- arm64 # ← new
```

### 3. `package.yml` (GitHub Actions) — add arm64 Linux runner

To build the arm64 AppImage in CI, add an `ubuntu-24.04-arm` runner to the matrix:

```yaml
jobs:
default:
strategy:
matrix:
node: [22]
os:
- macos-latest
- ubuntu-latest
- ubuntu-24.04-arm # ← new: GitHub's hosted arm64 runner
- windows-latest
```

And add a conditional upload step:
```yaml
- name: Upload Neuron Linux arm64
if: runner.os == 'Linux' && runner.arch == 'ARM64'
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: Neuron-Linux-arm64
path: release/Neuron-*-arm64.AppImage
```

---

## Build instructions (manual, on arm64 Linux)

```bash
# Prerequisites
sudo apt-get install -y libudev-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev fuse libfuse2 rpm python3-setuptools

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/nervosnetwork/neuron.git
cd neuron
yarn global add lerna
CI=false yarn
yarn build
./scripts/copy-ui-files.sh

# Download CKB binaries (both x64 and arm64)
./scripts/download-ckb.sh linux

# Build AppImage for arm64
cd packages/neuron-wallet
npx electron-builder --linux --arm64 --config.npmRebuild=false
```

Output: `release/Neuron-v{version}-arm64.AppImage`

**Flags explained:**
- `--linux --arm64`: target platform and architecture
- `--config.npmRebuild=false`: skip native module rebuild (avoids cross-compilation issues when building arm64 on an arm64 host where modules are already built for the right arch)

---

## Tested on

| Device | OS | Result |
|--------|-----|--------|
| Orange Pi 5 (RK3588S) | Ubuntu 22.04 arm64 | ✅ `Neuron-v0.204.0-arm64.AppImage` built, 192 MB |

The resulting AppImage is a valid ELF aarch64 executable:
```
ELF 64-bit LSB executable, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked,
interpreter /lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1, for GNU/Linux 3.7.0, stripped
```

---

## Why this matters

Single-board computers (Raspberry Pi 4/5, Orange Pi, Rock Pi, etc.) are widely used to run CKB full nodes — they're low-power, always-on, and affordable. Many CKB community members running nodes on these devices also want to use Neuron as their wallet but currently have no official binary. An arm64 AppImage closes that gap with a single self-contained download.
9 changes: 8 additions & 1 deletion packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -88,11 +88,18 @@ linux:
extraFiles:
- from: "bin/linux/ckb"
to: "bin/ckb"
filter: "**/*"
- from: "bin/linux/ckb-arm64"
to: "bin/ckb-arm64"
filter: "**/*"
- from: "bin/linux/ckb-light-client"
to: "bin/ckb-light-client"
- from: "light/ckb_light_testnet.toml"
to: "light/ckb_light_testnet.toml"
- from: "light/ckb_light_mainnet.toml"
to: "light/ckb_light_mainnet.toml"
target:
- AppImage
- target: AppImage
arch:
- x64
- arm64
19 changes: 16 additions & 3 deletions scripts/download-ckb.sh
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ function download_macos_light() {
}

function download_linux() {
# Linux
# Linux x86_64
CKB_FILENAME="ckb_${CKB_VERSION}_x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable"
cd $ROOT_DIR/packages/neuron-wallet/bin/linux

Expand All @@ -59,8 +59,20 @@ function download_linux() {
rm ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
}

function download_linux_aarch64() {
# Linux arm64
CKB_FILENAME="ckb_${CKB_VERSION}_aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu"
cd $ROOT_DIR/packages/neuron-wallet/bin/linux

curl -O -L "${GITHUB_RELEASE_URL}/${CKB_VERSION}/${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz"
tar xvzf ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
cp ${CKB_FILENAME}/ckb ./ckb-arm64

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This adds bin/linux/ckb-arm64 as an unconditional Linux extraFile and also asks electron-builder to build both x64 and arm64 from the same Linux packaging config.

In the current workflows, Linux packaging package.yml and package_for_test.yml calls ./scripts/download-ckb.sh without arguments, which only prepares the x64 bin/linux/ckb path. So the existing x64 Linux packaging path can fail because bin/linux/ckb-arm64 is missing.

Even when an arm64 AppImage is built manually, the app would still launch packaged bin/ckb here

const ckbBinary = (): string => {
const binary = app.isPackaged ? path.resolve(ckbPath(), './ckb') : path.resolve(ckbPath(), `./${platform()}`, './ckb')
switch (platform()) {
case 'win':
return binary + '.exe'
case 'mac':
if (app.isPackaged) {
return binary
}
return `${binary}-${process.arch === 'arm64' ? 'arm64' : 'x64'}`
default:
return binary
}
}
, so bundling the arm64 node as bin/ckb-arm64 does not make the full node use it.

I think the cleaner fix is to keep the packaged runtime path architecture-neutral: always bundle exactly one CKB binary as bin/ckb. Then make the build input architecture-specific: download-ckb.sh linux prepares the x64 binary as bin/linux/ckb, and download-ckb.sh linux-arm64 prepares the arm64 binary as the same bin/linux/ckb path. The release/test scripts can then add explicit linux-arm64 cases that run electron-builder --linux --arm64. This avoids breaking the existing x64 packaging path and keeps the runtime lookup unchanged.

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maybe like this:

diff --git a/packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml b/packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml
index 55aa42bc..4e7e6dda 100644
--- a/packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml
+++ b/packages/neuron-wallet/electron-builder.yml
@@ -88,10 +88,6 @@ linux:
   extraFiles:
     - from: "bin/linux/ckb"
       to: "bin/ckb"
-      filter: "**/*"
-    - from: "bin/linux/ckb-arm64"
-      to: "bin/ckb-arm64"
-      filter: "**/*"
     - from: "bin/linux/ckb-light-client"
       to: "bin/ckb-light-client"
     - from: "light/ckb_light_testnet.toml"
@@ -99,7 +95,4 @@ linux:
     - from: "light/ckb_light_mainnet.toml"
       to: "light/ckb_light_mainnet.toml"
   target:
-    - target: AppImage
-      arch:
-        - x64
-        - arm64
+    - AppImage
diff --git a/scripts/download-ckb.sh b/scripts/download-ckb.sh
index 7710c9a9..e635479f 100755
--- a/scripts/download-ckb.sh
+++ b/scripts/download-ckb.sh
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ function download_linux_aarch64() {
 
   curl -O -L "${GITHUB_RELEASE_URL}/${CKB_VERSION}/${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz"
   tar xvzf ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
-  cp ${CKB_FILENAME}/ckb ./ckb-arm64
+  cp ${CKB_FILENAME}/ckb ./ckb
   rm -rf $CKB_FILENAME
   rm ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
 }
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ function download_windows_light() {
 
 case $1 in
   mac)    download_macos; download_macos_light;;
-  linux)  download_linux; download_linux_aarch64; download_linux_light;;
+  linux)  download_linux; download_linux_light;;
   linux-arm64) download_linux_aarch64; download_linux_light;;
   win)    download_windows; download_windows_light;;
   *)
diff --git a/scripts/package-for-test.sh b/scripts/package-for-test.sh
index 34415589..e4401c3f 100755
--- a/scripts/package-for-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/package-for-test.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ function package() {
         linux)
         electron-builder --linux -p never
         ;;
+        linux-arm64)
+        electron-builder --linux --arm64 -p never
+        ;;
         *)
         electron-builder -mwl -p never
         ;;
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index 4ce8ca38..27479dbc 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ function release() {
         linux)
         electron-builder --linux -p always
         ;;
+        linux-arm64)
+        electron-builder --linux --arm64 -p always
+        ;;
         *)
         electron-builder -mwl -p always
         ;;

rm -rf $CKB_FILENAME
rm ${CKB_FILENAME}.tar.gz
}

function download_linux_light() {
# macOS
# Linux light client (x86_64 only — no arm64 release yet)
CKB_FILENAME="ckb-light-client_${CKB_LIGHT_VERSION}-x86_64-linux-portable"
cd $ROOT_DIR/packages/neuron-wallet/bin/linux

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -99,7 +111,8 @@ function download_windows_light() {

case $1 in
mac) download_macos; download_macos_light;;
linux) download_linux; download_linux_light;;
linux) download_linux; download_linux_aarch64; download_linux_light;;
linux-arm64) download_linux_aarch64; download_linux_light;;
win) download_windows; download_windows_light;;
*)
if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
Expand Down