Lede is an embedded Linux build tool and firmware build system designed to generate bootable operating system images for routers and embedded network devices. It functions as a network device OS compiler that manages toolchains and target architectures to produce customizable firmware.
The system enables the creation of custom router operating systems by integrating external package feeds from remote Git repositories. This allows for the expansion of available software packages and the tailoring of network appliance features during the build process.
The build environment covers toolchain-based cross compilation and the integration of Linux kernels with root filesystems. It utilizes target-specific build profiles and a modular compilation pipeline to ensure consistent image generation for specific hardware processor architectures.
