ci: self-provision python + cross toolchain in kernel-build job

Make the self-hosted kernel-build runnable with zero manual toolchain/python setup
on the runner host (docs/ci-cd.md steps 3-4 move into the workflow):

- build/build-kernel.sh: honor a caller-provided CROSS_COMPILE (default stays the
  Luckfox uclibc prefix). The kernel is freestanding, so a generic arm cross
  compiler links it.
- kernel-build job: set CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- (Debian
  gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf, already on 0640) instead of depending on the ephemeral
  SDK checkout path; symlink python->python3 into $RUNNER_TEMP/bin on $GITHUB_PATH
  for the bare-`python` SDK quirk.
- docs/ci-cd.md: only steps 1-2 (systemd service + cgroup cap) still need 0640 sudo.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_017wB8KB3MMQztRDXCMCkPrf

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -112,15 +112,25 @@ jobs:
 
   kernel-build:
     # Full hermetic build on the warden-sdk self-hosted runner (bfe-mpc-0640,
-    # ADR-0004). Gated on manual dispatch until that runner is registered.
+    # ADR-0004). Manual-dispatch by design — a full kernel build is too heavy to run
+    # on every push; trigger it via `gh workflow run ci.yml` / the Actions UI.
     if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: [self-hosted, warden-sdk]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: provision `python` (SDK quirk — build calls bare python)
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p "$RUNNER_TEMP/bin"
+          ln -sf "$(command -v python3)" "$RUNNER_TEMP/bin/python"
+          echo "$RUNNER_TEMP/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
       - name: build zImage + rv1106-warden.dtb
         env:
           WORK: ${{ github.workspace }}/kbuild-out
           JOBS: 4   # belt-and-braces bound in addition to the runner's cgroup cap
+          # The kernel is freestanding; use the stable generic arm cross toolchain
+          # (Debian gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf on the runner) rather than depending on
+          # the ephemeral Luckfox SDK checkout path.
+          CROSS_COMPILE: arm-linux-gnueabihf-
         run: bash build/build-kernel.sh
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:

build/build-kernel.sh

@@ -77,10 +77,15 @@ done
 # 4. configure
 log "configuring (warden_defconfig)"
 cp "$HERE/warden_defconfig" "$SRC/.config"
-export ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=arm-rockchip830-linux-uclibcgnueabihf-
+# CROSS_COMPILE defaults to the Luckfox SDK uclibc prefix (set SDK_TC to its bin/),
+# but the kernel is freestanding, so a caller may override with a generic arm cross
+# toolchain instead — e.g. CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- (in Debian's
+# gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf), which the CI runner already has on PATH.
+export ARCH=arm
+export CROSS_COMPILE="${CROSS_COMPILE:-arm-rockchip830-linux-uclibcgnueabihf-}"
 if [ -n "${SDK_TC:-}" ]; then export PATH="$SDK_TC:$PATH"; fi
 command -v "${CROSS_COMPILE}gcc" >/dev/null \
-  || { echo "cross toolchain ${CROSS_COMPILE}gcc not on PATH (set SDK_TC)" >&2; exit 1; }
+  || { echo "cross toolchain ${CROSS_COMPILE}gcc not on PATH (set SDK_TC, or CROSS_COMPILE to one that is)" >&2; exit 1; }
 make -C "$SRC" ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE="$CROSS_COMPILE" olddefconfig >/dev/null
 
 # 5. build zImage + the board dtb

docs/ci-cd.md

@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 A **third** repo-scoped runner instance on `bfe-mpc-0640` (alongside `flare` and
 `flare-edge`), registered with the label **`warden-sdk`** as
 `bfe-mpc-0640-warden-sdk`, in `~/actions-runner-warden-sdk`. The registration is
-done; the following steps need **`user`'s sudo on 0640** and are not automatable
-from the dev box:
+done. **Steps 1–2 below need `user`'s sudo on 0640** (systemd service + cgroup —
+not automatable from the dev box); **steps 3–4 are handled inside the workflow**, so
+the runner host needs no manual toolchain/python setup.
 
 1. **Install as a service** (persistence): `cd ~/actions-runner-warden-sdk &&
    sudo ./svc.sh install user && sudo ./svc.sh start`. Until then the runner is
@@ -29,15 +30,16 @@ from the dev box:
    `/etc/systemd/system/actions.runner.bfe-noah-warden-sdk.*.service.d/*.conf` with
    `CPUQuota=400%` + `MemoryMax=6G`, then `sudo systemctl daemon-reload`. The build
    inherits that cgroup. (The workflow also passes `JOBS=4` as a belt-and-braces bound.)
-3. **Kernel cross toolchain**: `build-kernel.sh` needs the arm cross compiler on
-   PATH — set `SDK_TC` to the dir holding `arm-rockchip830-linux-uclibcgnueabihf-*`
-   (the Luckfox SDK toolchain, as flare-edge's runner has), or install
-   `gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf` and pass `CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-` (the
-   kernel is freestanding, so a generic arm cross compiler links it).
-4. **`python`** (not python3): the kernel build calls bare `python`; provide a
-   project-local venv or a `python`→`python3` shim on the runner's PATH.
+3. **Kernel cross toolchain** — done in the workflow: the `kernel-build` job sets
+   `CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf-` (Debian `gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf`, already on
+   the runner) and `build-kernel.sh` honors it. The kernel is freestanding, so the
+   generic arm cross compiler links it — no Luckfox SDK toolchain path needed. (To use
+   the SDK uclibc toolchain instead, set `SDK_TC` to its `bin/` and drop the override.)
+4. **`python`** (not python3) — done in the workflow: the `kernel-build` job symlinks
+   `python`→`python3` into `$RUNNER_TEMP/bin` and prepends it to `$GITHUB_PATH`. No
+   host-side venv/shim needed.
 
-Host build deps (sudo): `dtc bc flex bison libssl-dev` (already present on 0640).
+Host build deps: `dtc bc flex bison libssl-dev` — already present on 0640.
 
 ## Badges