ScottW514
340132e520
The repo is public and the install path is fully written up, so a reader who finds it can follow INSTALL.md end to end without ever learning that the release it depends on does not exist. The banner sits directly under the title in both documents: no images are published, nothing here is installable, and anything found elsewhere claiming to be a ForgeFIRM image did not come from this project. Documentation only - no behavior change, so no acceptance-catalog consequence.
5.5 KiB
Installing OpenGlow/ForgeFIRM
⚠️ IN DEVELOPMENT — NOT YET RELEASED
ForgeFIRM has no public release yet. No images are published, nothing here is installable, and there is no supported way to put this on a machine. The documentation describes the firmware as it is being built and validated on the bench — it is here to be read, not followed.
If you come across a file claiming to be a ForgeFIRM image, it did not come from this project.
ForgeFIRM installs alongside the factory firmware on the stock eMMC,
using the factory's own A/B rootfs slot scheme: the installer writes
ForgeFIRM to the slot the factory firmware is not running from, and
switches the bootloader to it. Nothing is repartitioned, the factory
/data partition (settings, calibration, logs) is untouched, and the
booted factory firmware stays installed in the other slot.
Before anything is overwritten, the installer archives every factory
firmware version on the machine — both rootfs slots and the recovery
boot partitions — to /data/forgefirm/archive/, so a full offline
factory restore is always possible, no Glowforge cloud required.
Requires a ForgeFIRM release that ships the
forgefirm.fwasset (v0.1.0 or later).
Prerequisites
- Serial console access. Current factory firmware does not
offer SSH, so the install is run at the console (login
root, no password). - ~300 MB free on
/data(a factory machine has far more). - Internet access on the machine for the standard flow. For an offline
install, place a
forgefirm.fwon/databeforehand and pass its path to the installer.
A very important warning: this is experimental software. Use of this software could seriously maim or kill you or others, and voids your warranty. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Glowforge. Use it at your own risk.
Regulatory and legal
Installing ForgeFIRM replaces the firmware of a certified laser product. This is disclosure, not legal advice — but understand the categories before you install:
- Laser product certification (US). The factory machine is certified under FDA/CDRH 21 CFR 1040.10 and 1040.11. Modifying it makes you the manufacturer of a modified laser product for regulatory purposes; the original accession no longer describes the article you operate.
- CE/UKCA (EU/UK). The manufacturer's declaration of conformity no longer covers the modified machine.
- Safety listing. Any UL/ETL or equivalent listing applies to the product as shipped, not as modified.
- Insurance. Property and liability policies commonly exclude fire loss involving modified equipment. Check yours before running jobs.
The hardware safety interlocks (lid switches, interlock, power-fault chain) remain active under ForgeFIRM — but the regulatory status of the machine is yours to own once you flash it.
Install
Log in at the factory console and run:
curl -fL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/master/scripts/install-forgefirm.sh --output /tmp/install-forgefirm.sh
sh /tmp/install-forgefirm.sh
(For an offline install: sh /tmp/install-forgefirm.sh /data/forgefirm.fw)
One stage, no intermediate reboots. The installer:
- Confirms it is running on factory firmware, from a factory eMMC slot, with the factory partition layout.
- Stops the Glowforge services (including the updater).
- Archives every factory slot version and the recovery boot
partitions to
/data/forgefirm/archive/(manifest with checksums; a few minutes each, with progress). - Downloads the latest
forgefirm.fwrelease (or uses the local file you passed) and verifies its signature before touching anything. - Writes ForgeFIRM to the inactive slot with the factory's own
fwup, then verifies the written filesystem. - Installs
/data/ffboot(the boot-slot tool) and switches the saved U-Boot environment to the new slot — the switch is read-back verified; on any failure the machine keeps booting factory firmware. - Reboots into ForgeFIRM.
Login is root, no password (also via SSH). Change it.
Switching firmware
Both systems stay installed; ffboot switches between them (as
/data/ffboot on factory firmware, on the PATH in ForgeFIRM):
ffboot -l # inventory: what is in each slot, what boots next
ffboot -e # switch to the factory firmware (newest factory slot)
ffboot -e2 # switch to ForgeFIRM (slot 2 on a standard install)
Switch targets are probed first — ffboot refuses to select a slot
that does not look bootable (-f overrides). Reverting to factory
firmware and back requires no reinstall.
Routine updates do not use the installer. Update from the web
control panel's System page, which downloads (or accepts an upload of)
a signed forgefirm.fw release, verifies it, and applies it to the
inactive slot. Rerunning the installer is only for recovering a broken
ForgeFIRM install: switch to factory firmware and run it again — it
skips archives it already has and simply rewrites the ForgeFIRM slot.
Upgrading from a legacy dual-partition install
Machines installed with the previous (partition-carving) installer
migrate automatically: run this installer from the factory firmware;
on ForgeFIRM's first boot from its new slot, the legacy partition is
reclaimed and /data grows back to the full factory size. /data
contents are preserved throughout.
NOTE: This firmware is in beta. It mostly works. It is for experimentation purposes — not for production. Expect problems.