FAQ:How do I set or change the root password

Q: How do I set / change the root password?

A: In the image.bb file (eg: core-image-minimal.bb), append this text:

ROOTFS_POSTPROCESS_COMMAND += "set_root_passwd;"
set_root_passwd() {
   sed 's%^root:[^:]*:%root:wYNffsf6sozwE:%' \
       < ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/etc/shadow \
       > ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/etc/shadow.new;
   mv ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/etc/shadow.new ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/etc/shadow ;
}

This will set the root password as "root" in the newly built image.

To choose a different password, use the command:

#passwd root 

and copy the corresponding part of "/etc/shadow" to this text:

eg:

# cat /etc/shadow
root:wYNffsf6sozwE:16122:0:99999:7:::
...