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Speed up host-arm workflow via native execution on Arm64 runners #318

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Merged
jserv merged 3 commits into from
Feb 9, 2026
Merged

Speed up host-arm workflow via native execution on Arm64 runners #318

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b3a2f09
Adjust rules for enabling native execution
DrXiao Jan 24, 2026
3391d79
Add descriptions of native execution
DrXiao Feb 7, 2026
fa62d30
Use Arm64 runners to validate native bootstrapping and run test cases
DrXiao Jan 24, 2026
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55 changes: 31 additions & 24 deletions .github/workflows/main.yml
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -55,37 +55,44 @@ jobs:
make check DYNLINK=${{ steps.determine-mode.outputs.DYNLINK }} || exit 1

host-arm:
runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
strategy:
matrix:
link_mode: [static, dynamic]
steps:
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Determine static or dynamic linking mode
id: determine-mode
run: |
if [ "${{ matrix.link_mode }}" = "dynamic" ]; then
echo "Use dynamic linking mode"
echo "DYNLINK=1" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
else
echo "Use static linking mode"
echo "DYNLINK=0" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
fi
- name: Build artifacts
# The GitHub Action for non-x86 CPU
# https://github.com/uraimo/run-on-arch-action
uses: uraimo/run-on-arch-action@v3
with:
arch: armv7
distro: ubuntu24.04
githubToken: ${{ github.token }}
install: |
apt-get update -qq -y
apt-get install -yqq build-essential
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v4

- name: Download dependencies
run: |
sudo dpkg --add-architecture armhf
sudo apt-get update -q -y
sudo apt-get install -q -y graphviz jq
sudo apt-get install -q -y build-essential libc6:armhf
sudo wget https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/download/2.58.0/fastfetch-linux-aarch64.deb
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@cubic-dev-ai cubic-dev-ai bot Feb 7, 2026 •
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P2: Downloading and installing the fastfetch .deb without verifying a checksum or signature makes the CI job susceptible to supply‑chain tampering. Add a checksum verification (or install via a trusted package repository) before dpkg -i.

Prompt for AI agents 
Check if this issue is valid — if so, understand the root cause and fix it. At .github/workflows/main.yml, line 72:

<comment>Downloading and installing the fastfetch `.deb` without verifying a checksum or signature makes the CI job susceptible to supply‑chain tampering. Add a checksum verification (or install via a trusted package repository) before `dpkg -i`.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -55,37 +55,44 @@ jobs:
+          sudo apt-get update -q -y
+          sudo apt-get install -q -y graphviz jq
+          sudo apt-get install -q -y build-essential libc6:armhf
+          sudo wget https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/download/2.58.0/fastfetch-linux-aarch64.deb
+          sudo dpkg -i fastfetch-linux-aarch64.deb
+
</file context>
Fix with Cubic

sudo dpkg -i fastfetch-linux-aarch64.deb

- name: Determine static or dynamic linking mode
id: determine-mode
run: |
if [ "${{ matrix.link_mode }}" = "dynamic" ]; then
echo "Use dynamic linking mode"
echo "DYNLINK=1" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
else
echo "Use static linking mode"
echo "DYNLINK=0" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
fi

- name: Build artifacts
run: |
make ARCH=arm DYNLINK=${{ steps.determine-mode.outputs.DYNLINK }}

- name: Sanitizer-enabled stage 0 tests
run: |
make check-sanitizer DYNLINK=${{ steps.determine-mode.outputs.DYNLINK }} || exit 1

- name: Unit tests
run: |
make check DYNLINK=${{ steps.determine-mode.outputs.DYNLINK }} || exit 1

preprocessor-host:
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion Makefile
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ STAGE0 := shecc
STAGE1 := shecc-stage1.elf
STAGE2 := shecc-stage2.elf

USE_QEMU ?= 1
OUT ?= out
ARCHS = arm riscv
ARCH ?= $(firstword $(ARCHS))
HOST_ARCH = $(shell arch 2>/dev/null)
SRCDIR := $(shell find src -type d)
LIBDIR := $(shell find lib -type d)

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5 changes: 5 additions & 0 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ emulation on GNU/Linux:
$ sudo apt-get install qemu-user
```

The build system is able to verify whether the running machine can perform native
execution without QEMU. The host machine may install the prebuilt
[fastfetch](https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/), which allows the build
system to determine whether native execution can be enabled.

It is still possible to build `shecc` on macOS or Microsoft Windows. However,
the second stage bootstrapping would fail due to `qemu-arm` absence.

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43 changes: 41 additions & 2 deletions mk/arm.mk
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@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
ARCH_NAME = armv7l
# Allow the following machines to use native execution
#
# - Beaglebone Black (Cortex-A8)
# - Raspberry Pi 3 (Cortex-A53)
# - Raspberry Pi 4 (Cortex-A72)
# - Raspberry Pi 5 (Cortex-A76)
ALLOW_MACHINES = BeagleBone-Black Raspberry-Pi-3 Raspberry-Pi-4 Raspberry-Pi-5
ARCH_RUNNER = qemu-arm
ARCH_DEFS = \
"/* target: ARM */\n$\
Expand All @@ -14,6 +20,39 @@ ARCH_DEFS = \
\#define MAX_ARGS_IN_REG 4\n$\
"

# If the running machine has the "fastfetch" tool installed, the build
# system will verify whether native execution can be performed.
ifneq ($(shell which fastfetch),)
# 1. Replace whitespaces with hyphens after retrieving the host
# machine name via the "fastfetch" tool.
#
# 2. If at least one machine name in the allowlist is found in
# the host machine name, it can perform native execution.
#
# Therefore, set USE_QEMU to 0.
HOST_MACHINE = $(shell fastfetch --logo none --structure Host | sed 's/ /-/g')
USE_QEMU = $(if $(strip $(foreach MACHINE, $(ALLOW_MACHINES), $(findstring $(MACHINE),$(HOST_MACHINE)))),0,1)

# Special case: GitHub workflows on Arm64 runners
#
# When an Arm-hosted runner executes "fastfetch --logo none --structure Host",
# it produces the following output:
#
# Host: Virtual Machine (Hyper-V UEFI Release v4.1)
#
# Arm-hosted runners are also capable of performing native execution. However,
# directly adding "Virtual-Machine" to the allowlist would be ambiguous.
# Therefore, the build system instead checks the CPU name using the
# "fastfetch --logo none --structure CPU" command.
#
# If the detected CPU is "Neoverse-N2", the build system treats the running
# machine as an Arm-hosted runner and enable native execution.
ifeq ($(USE_QEMU),1)
HOST_CPU = $(shell fastfetch --logo none --structure CPU | sed 's/ /-/g')
USE_QEMU = $(if $(strip $(findstring Neoverse-N2,$(HOST_CPU))),0,1)
endif
endif

# Find the sysroot of the ARM GNU toolchain if using dynamic linking.
#
# Since developers may install the toolchain manually instead of
Expand All @@ -23,7 +62,7 @@ ARCH_DEFS = \
# Therefore, the following process first locates find the correct
# sysroot of the toolchain, and then generate the ELF interpreter
# prefix for later use.
ifneq ($(HOST_ARCH),$(ARCH_NAME))
ifeq ($(USE_QEMU),1)
ifeq ($(DYNLINK),1)
CROSS_COMPILE = arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-
ARM_CC = $(CROSS_COMPILE)gcc
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion mk/common.mk
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Expand Up @@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ pass = $(PRINTF) "$(PASS_COLOR)$1 Passed$(NO_COLOR)\n"
# Check the prerequisites
PREREQ_LIST := dot jq
TARGET_EXEC ?=
ifneq ($(HOST_ARCH),$(ARCH_NAME))
ifeq ($(USE_QEMU),1)
# Add qemu to the list if the host and target architectures differ
PREREQ_LIST += $(ARCH_RUNNER)
ifeq ($(filter $(ARCH_RUNNER),$(notdir $(shell which $(ARCH_RUNNER)))),)
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4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions mk/riscv.mk
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@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
# Enforce the use qemu of by setting the ARCH_NAME variable to empty
ARCH_NAME =
# Enforce the use qemu of by setting the ALLOW_MACHINES variable to empty
ALLOW_MACHINES =
ARCH_RUNNER = qemu-riscv32
ARCH_DEFS = \
"/* target: RISCV */\n$\
Expand Down