Jetson Customize Mgbe
NVIDIAOfficialCreated by Jetson TeamDistributed by NVIDIA
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Cloud and DevOps
- Apache-2.0
- Medium risk
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured workflow for enabling MGBE (Multi-Gigabit Ethernet) controllers on Jetson Thor platforms. It handles the creation of kernel-DT overlays to configure MGBE interfaces for 25G, 10G, or 1G fiber paths, including PHY plumbing. It is designed to work in conjunction with UPHY lane allocation and pinmux customization skills, ensuring that the hardware configuration is correctly represented in the device tree without interfering with ODMDATA or UPHY lane settings.
What it does
- Generates kernel-DT overlay fragments to enable MGBE controllers.
- Configures PHY modes and MDIO/I2C settings for external PHYs.
- Validates HSIO pin configurations for MGBE signals.
- Ensures correct device tree compatibility matching for UEFI plugin-manager.
- Provides a structured audit trail for hardware configuration changes.
- Integrates with existing BSP source repositories and overlay trackers.
When to use it
- When enabling 25G, 10G, or 1G Ethernet on a custom carrier board.
- When an MGBE controller is configured but reports state DOWN or NO-CARRIER.
- After successfully running jetson-customize-uphy for lane allocation.
- When integrating an external MDIO PHY with a QSFP cage.
Advantages
- Prevents common configuration errors by enforcing prerequisite checks.
- Maintains clean separation between UPHY, pinmux, and MGBE configurations.
- Automates the complex process of device tree overlay generation.
- Ensures compatibility with the Jetson BSP build system.
Usage examples
- “Enable 25G QSFP on mgbe0 for my custom Thor carrier.”
- The agent initiates the MGBE configuration workflow, validates the UPHY allocation, and generates the necessary kernel-DT overlay for the 25G interface.
- “My 10G fiber link is not coming up on mgbe1.”
- The agent checks the current device tree status, verifies the PHY mode and MDIO settings, and helps identify if the issue is in the overlay or pinmux.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/nvidia/jetson-customize-mgbe/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip jetson-customize-mgbe.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Jetson Team
Customize MGBE / 25G QSFP
Overview
Thor T264 exposes mgbe0..mgbe3. On a custom carrier, the 25G QSFP cage
(or 10G / 1G fiber path) is wired to one of them through SerDes — with
or without an external MDIO PHY in front of the cage. This skill
renders the kernel-DT overlay that pairs the BPMP allocation with
kernel-side status="okay" + PHY plumbing on &mgbeN.
Out of scope:
UPHY lane allocation — owned by
/jetson-customize-uphy. Refuse if the chosenuphy1-config-Ndoesn't allocate the target MGBE.All ODMDATA tokens (
mgbeN-speed-*, sub-nodemgbeN_status=*) — owned by/jetson-customize-uphyin its single atomic ODMDATA commit. This skill MUST NOT touchODMDATA=.
Output is one commit to the composite custom overlay .dts in the
bsp_sources/ hardware repo. /jetson-build-source compiles the
composite to .dtbo and owns its Makefile + flash-conf registration.
When to invoke
The user says "enable 25G", "configure QSFP", "set MGBE PHY mode", "wire MGBE to QSFP", or asks to bring up a 10G / 1G fiber path.
Cold boot succeeds but
ip link show mgbe<N>reportsstate DOWNorNO-CARRIERon the configured controller, OR the controller never appears at all.jetson-customize-uphyran withuphy1-config-8(or another config allocating MGBE) and you now need to bring up the per-controller side.
Prerequisites:
Active profile selected with
reference_devkit:(Thor) +custom_carrier:blocks.<source.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/.gitexists (/jetson-init-source)./jetson-derive-carrierhas run — carrier flash-conf fork is in the overlay tracker./jetson-customize-uphychose a UPHY config that allocates the target MGBE controller's lanes (uphy1-config-8on Thor for MGBE0..3 25G).Source-of-truth docs registered or supplied at prompt: Adaptation Guide, Module Design Guide, SoC TRM.
When
custom_carrier:is present, bothdocuments.custom_carrier_schematicANDdocuments.custom_carrier_pinmux_xlsare REQUIRED. Refuse the run if either is missing — MGBE routing on a custom carrier cannot be guessed. Reference-devkit-only profiles skip this check.dtcon PATH.
Procedure
See references/procedure.md for the full step-by-step procedure (Steps 1–8). Summary:
Resolve active target + documents. Validate active profile, custom_carrier, overlay tracker; locate the relevant Adaptation Guide chapter and pinmap.
Per-controller question loop. AskUserQuestion driven by
questions.json(controller, phy_mode, attach kind, I²C bus/addr, reset GPIO, compatible_list).Derive max-speed from phy_mode. Decompile the BPMP DTB to pick sub-node vs top-level token grammar; cite the inspection in notes.
Verify HSIO pins + auto-fix. Run
pin_verifier.pyfor MDC/MDIO/RESET/INT; surface mismatches and route to/jetson-customize-pinmux.(no ODMDATA edits.) MGBE ODMDATA tokens are emitted by
/jetson-customize-uphy. Step 5 only records the BPMP DTB token-form inspection (sub-node vs top-level) innotes[]for audit.Append composite-overlay fragments. Write one fragment per controller into the composite custom overlay
.dts; obey the/* custom-bsp: mgbe:mgbe... */marker contract; run the cpp/dtc/fdtoverlay pre-flight.(Reserved.) Sibling-skill ordering / cross-cutting validation.
Run-state sidecar + summary + next-step chain. Write
<profile-stem>.jetson-customize-mgbe.jsonand emit the one-line + table summary, then drive the downstream chain via sequentialAskUserQuestionprompts perreferences/procedure.mdStep 8. Never substitute a printed "Next step: …" line for the prompts.
Gotchas
Stock Thor BPMP DTB has no
/mgbe/mgbe@Nsubtree — onlymgbe<N>-speedunder/uphy. Themgbe<N>_status=disabledsub-node token is silently rejected on these releases; the whole ODMDATA line is then dropped at flash time. Always decompile BPMP DTB (Step 3) before emitting; use the top-level dashed form (mgbe<N>-speed-delto remove,mgbe<N>-speed-25Gto set) when the sub-node isn't there. Same wrong-form failure surface asjetson-customize-uphy.mdiochild needs both#address-cells = <1>AND#size-cells = <0>whenphy_attach_kind=="phy". Missing either → kernel rejectsphy@<addr>reg property at probe; MGBE never comes up.Overlay root
compatiblemust intersect live DT compatible. UEFI plugin-manager filters by compatible match. A mismatched overlay is silently skipped — flash succeeds, MGBE stays disabled, no error in dmesg. Always sanity-check against/proc/device-tree/compatibleon a booted reference DUT.OVERLAY_DTB_FILEordering isjetson-build-source's problem, not this skill's. This skill never touches the carrier flash conf. The composite custom overlay is registered (by/jetson-build-sourceStep 5.0a) AFTER the platform*-dynamic.dtbo, which is the correct ordering. If you find yourself appendingOVERLAY_DTB_FILE+=in this skill, you're duplicating ownership — stop, and let the build skill do it.UPHY lane allocation is
jetson-customize-uphy's job. If the chosenuphy1-config-Ndoesn't allocate lanes for the target MGBE controller, BL31 SError (fmon_update_config: detected fault 0x80) on cold boot. Always run/jetson-customize-uphyfirst; cite the chosenuphy1-config-Nin this skill's run-summarynotes[].Don't disable a stock-okay controller via ODMDATA alone. Same rule as
jetson-customize-uphy:mgbe<N>_status=disabledfor a controller that's already disabled in BPMP DTB is a no-op the parser may treat as ambiguous → drops the rest of the ODMDATA line. Disable via the kernel-DT overlay (status="disabled") only.Don't touch the upstream BSP at
<bsp_image.root_path>. All edits land in the overlay tracker /bsp_sourcesmono-repo under the pristine + customization commit pattern.JSON sidecar is structured state, not authoritative. Same caveat as
jetson-customize-uphy: ODMDATA + overlay.dts+ two git commits are the device-facing outputs; the sidecar is for tooling and idempotency only.
References
questions.json— Q-1..Q-8 prompt schema consumed by Step 2.../../scripts/pin_verifier.py— shared HSIO pin verifier (Step 4).../../references/platform_template.yaml—documents:block consumed by Step 1.../../context/bsp-customization-workflow.md— overlay edit protocol (batched pristine + customization commit).../jetson-customize-uphy/SKILL.md— sibling skill that owns UPHY lane allocation. Must run before this skill to setuphy1-config-Nfor MGBE-allocated configurations.../jetson-customize-pinmux/SKILL.md— sibling skill invoked by Step 4 (with operator confirmation) to fix pin SFIO mismatches.../jetson-derive-carrier/SKILL.md— must run first; produces the carrier flash-conf fork edited in Step 5 and the carrier base overlay this skill orders after.../jetson-init-source/SKILL.md— produces the overlay tracker + bsp_sources repo this skill commits into.
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer926 B
- BENCHMARK.md3.7 KiB
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer11.2 KiB
- SKILL.md8.1 KiB
- assets/questions.json5.7 KiB
- evals/evals.json6.2 KiB
- references/procedure.md13.6 KiB
- references/questions.json5.7 KiB
- skill-card.md3.6 KiB
- skill.oms.sig5.2 KiB
ATTRIBUTION.md
Attribution
This folder is an unmodified copy of the Agent Skill "jetson-customize-mgbe", distributed by AutoGineer (https://autogineer.com/agent-skills).
Commit: fce3cca4170be75e82c64920654d56ee2811b005
Created by: Jetson Team (https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills/tree/fce3cca4170be75e82c64920654d56ee2811b005/skills/jetson-customize-mgbe)
Publisher: NVIDIA (https://github.com/NVIDIA)
Licence: Apache License 2.0 (https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html)
Licence evidence: declared in the frontmatter ("license: Apache-2.0")
Retrieved: 2026-11-07
The skill's own files are unmodified copies. AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or the publisher.
Files added by AutoGineer
ATTRIBUTION.md: this file, written by AutoGineer
LICENSE: copied from LICENSE-APACHE
Requirements and compatibility
Written for: Claude Code
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Names Claude Code tools, Needs Node.js
Security
What our scanner noticed· Medium risk
- Large base64-encoded blobs
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Created by
- Jetson Team
- Publisher
- NVIDIA (Official)
- Distributed by
- NVIDIA
- Source
- NVIDIA/skills · skills/jetson-customize-mgbe · commit fce3cca
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE-APACHE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jetson Team or NVIDIA.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download jetson-customize-mgbe.zip