rock-3a board config maintenance

[EvilOlaf]

Description

• bump uboot to latest stable
• simplify logic

Note: Tried to get rid of vendor uboot altogether but vendor kernel panics with mainline uboot

How Has This Been Tested?

• build/boot edge

Checklist:

• My code follows the style guidelines of this project
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• My changes generate no new warnings
• Any dependent changes have been merged and published in downstream modules

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

This PR updates the Rock 3A board configuration to modify the branch-specific handling for mainline U-Boot. The conditional logic that determines when mainline U-Boot is applied has been refined to check only for the vendor branch instead of a broader condition. Additionally, the U-Boot version references have been bumped from v2025.04 to v2025.10 for both BOOTBRANCH and BOOTPATCHDIR variables.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~5 minutes

This change is focused on a single configuration file with straightforward updates: a narrowed conditional check and two version number increments. The logic modification is minor and the overall scope is limited.

Possibly related PRs

• opi5plus - board config maintenance #8787: Makes identical code-level changes to rock-3a.conf, narrowing the BRANCH gate and updating BOOTBRANCH/BOOTPATCHDIR to v2025.10
• switch current u-boot to v2025.01 #8012: Modifies rock-3a.conf with branch-specific mainline U-Boot handling and bootloader version updates
• nanopi-r3s, radxa-zero3, rock-3a: board config cleanup & maint #8045: Adjusts branch-gating logic in the same rock-3a config function and updates BOOTBRANCH/BOOTPATCHDIR values

Suggested labels

Ready to merge, 05, size/medium, Hardware

Suggested reviewers

• amazingfate
• catalinii
• igorpecovnik

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

❌ Failed checks (1 inconclusive)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Title Check	❓ Inconclusive	The PR title "rock-3a board config maintenance" is related to the changeset as it identifies the board configuration being modified. However, the term "maintenance" is vague and generic, failing to convey the specific nature of the changes. The changeset primarily consists of bumping U-Boot to version v2025.10 and simplifying configuration logic, but the title does not communicate these concrete changes. A reader scanning PR history would not understand what was actually changed without reading the full description.

✅ Passed checks (2 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	The PR description is clearly related to the changeset, addressing the two main changes: bumping U-Boot to the latest stable version (v2025.10) and simplifying configuration logic. The description also provides valuable context explaining why vendor U-Boot was not removed and includes testing confirmation. While not extensive, the description adequately conveys the purpose and scope of the changes without being misleading or off-topic.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changes. Docstring coverage check skipped.

✨ Finishing touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment

---

📜 Recent review details

Configuration used: CodeRabbit UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Disabled knowledge base sources:

• Jira integration is disabled by default for public repositories

You can enable these sources in your CodeRabbit configuration.

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 7be3ce0 and 3a7b73d.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• config/boards/rock-3a.conf (1 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

🧠 Learnings (5)

📓 Common learnings

Learnt from: rpardini
PR: armbian/build#8044
File: patch/u-boot/v2025.04/cmd-fileenv-read-string-from-file-into-env.patch:73-75
Timestamp: 2025-03-31T22:20:41.849Z
Learning: When porting patches between U-Boot versions (like from 2025.01 to 2025.04), rpardini prefers to maintain patches as-is rather than introducing refactoring changes, even when potential improvements are identified. This approach prioritizes consistency and reduces the risk of introducing new issues.

Learnt from: rpardini
PR: armbian/build#8044
File: patch/u-boot/v2025.04/cmd-fileenv-read-string-from-file-into-env.patch:76-86
Timestamp: 2025-03-31T22:20:48.475Z
Learning: For the Armbian build project, maintaining consistency with existing patches across U-Boot versions (such as between 2025.01 and 2025.04) is prioritized over refactoring individual patches for code improvements.

📚 Learning: 2025-03-31T22:20:41.849Z

Learnt from: rpardini
PR: armbian/build#8044
File: patch/u-boot/v2025.04/cmd-fileenv-read-string-from-file-into-env.patch:73-75
Timestamp: 2025-03-31T22:20:41.849Z
Learning: When porting patches between U-Boot versions (like from 2025.01 to 2025.04), rpardini prefers to maintain patches as-is rather than introducing refactoring changes, even when potential improvements are identified. This approach prioritizes consistency and reduces the risk of introducing new issues.

Applied to files:

• config/boards/rock-3a.conf

📚 Learning: 2025-10-14T05:08:11.785Z

Learnt from: EvilOlaf
PR: armbian/build#8754
File: config/boards/bestv-r3300-l.csc:14-16
Timestamp: 2025-10-14T05:08:11.785Z
Learning: In the Armbian build system, BOOTBRANCH_BOARD is a valid framework variable used as a fallback when BOOTBRANCH is unset. The framework checks BOOTBRANCH_BOARD before applying the default bootloader branch value (see config/sources/common.conf). Board configuration files can use BOOTBRANCH_BOARD to specify the bootloader branch.

Applied to files:

• config/boards/rock-3a.conf

📚 Learning: 2025-09-14T06:29:18.958Z

Learnt from: amazingfate
PR: armbian/build#8619
File: config/sources/families/rockchip.conf:64-70
Timestamp: 2025-09-14T06:29:18.958Z
Learning: In the Armbian build system, vendor branch configurations in family files are designed to be shared across multiple SoCs within the same family that use the same vendor kernel tree. For example, rk35xx and rockchip-rk3588 families both use identical vendor branch settings (same KERNELSOURCE, KERNELBRANCH, and KERNELPATCHDIR), demonstrating that vendor branches are intentionally generic rather than SoC-specific.

Applied to files:

• config/boards/rock-3a.conf

📚 Learning: 2025-09-14T06:32:29.806Z

Learnt from: amazingfate
PR: armbian/build#8619
File: config/sources/families/rockchip.conf:222-230
Timestamp: 2025-09-14T06:32:29.806Z
Learning: In the Armbian build system, the write_uboot_platform() function implementations follow different patterns across Rockchip family files. The newer standard (used in rockchip64_common.inc and rk3506) includes 'status=none' parameter in dd commands, while older implementations (rk3288, rk322x) use an older pattern without this parameter. The rk3506 implementation correctly follows the current Rockchip family standard.

Applied to files:

• config/boards/rock-3a.conf

🔇 Additional comments (2)

config/boards/rock-3a.conf (2)

24-25: LGTM! Logic simplification is clearer and equivalent.

The condition change from [[ "${BRANCH}" != "current" && "${BRANCH}" != "edge" ]] to [[ "${BRANCH}" == "vendor" ]] is logically equivalent given the valid branch values (current, edge, vendor) and is easier to understand.

---

32-33: U-Boot v2025.10 was released on 6 October 2025. The shell script confirmed that the patch directory patch/u-boot/v2025.10/ exists in the repository. The version bump for Rock 3A is valid and the required resources are available.

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[github-actions]

✅ This PR has been reviewed and approved — all set for merge!