postmarketOS on the uConsole CM4
The mobile-Linux distribution has an upstream device package for the uConsole CM4, installed with pmbootstrap from another Linux machine.
What it takes
- Software only
Difficulty 1 of 3 — easy.
Details
mikeschnier's thread (February 2024) introduced postmarketOS as the first community-maintained distribution for the uConsole, on a 6.1.74 kernel at the time; by post 13 the device package had been merged upstream, so a pmbootstrap install no longer needs the merge-request files. Display, keyboard and WiFi worked; the volume buttons were flaky and Waydroid was not yet working.
The device wiki page (clockworkpi-uconsole-rpi) carries the current status; the OS directory lists the installer at kernel 6.12.30 for the CM4.
Links
Open at Forum threadRelated mods
The community's recommended OS: Debian 13 on Rex's patched Pi kernel, desktop and Lite variants, for CM3+, CM4, CM4S and CM5.
The previous Debian release of Rex's line, still rebuilt for the new screens in 2026 — the fallback when something on Trixie is not ready yet.
ClockworkPi's own images: CM4 v3.1 on Linux 6.12.62 (April 2026), the older XFCE build, and the A-06 and R-01 releases, with MD5s on GitHub.
Rex's Kali image for CM4 and CM5 on the uConsole kernel with the hardware presets; cuu's original CM4 build is documented on the ClockworkPi wiki.
Rex's Parrot OS build for CM3/CM4/CM5 in Home and Security editions, plus krokowitz's Security spin with RTL-SDR and ALFA drivers preinstalled.
Rex's build of DragonOS Pi64 — an Ubuntu 22.04 SDR distribution with the radio tools preinstalled — on the uConsole kernel for CM4 and CM5.