jetson-customize-usb
Enable/disable Jetson USB2/USB3 SS ports via kernel-DT overlay. Do NOT use for UPHY lane allocation or ODMDATA edits.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/nvidia/skills --skill jetson-customize-usbIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
This skill provides specialized functionality for configuring USB ports on NVIDIA Jetson platforms (Thor and Orin) by generating and applying Device Tree overlays. It follows standard Board Support Package (BSP) development workflows, utilizes signed signatures for integrity, and includes robust verification steps to ensure hardware safety.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykwarn
Risk: MEDIUM · 1 issue
What does this agent skill do?
Customize USB (per-port enable / disable / role)
Purpose
Enable, disable, or change the role of USB2 / USB3 SS ports on a
Jetson Thor (Tegra264) or Orin (Tegra234) custom carrier. Captures
per-port wiring (role, max speed, VBUS-EN / OC GPIOs, CC1/CC2 GPIOs
for Type-C, USB3 SS UPHY lane), resolves the SS to USB2 companion
graph from the in-tree DTB, then renders a self-contained kernel-DT
overlay that flips every port action in three places in lockstep
(lane status, port status, host xHCI phys + phy-names).
UPHY lane allocation belongs to jetson-customize-uphy. No ODMDATA
edit. Output is one commit to the composite custom overlay .dts in
the bsp_sources/ hardware repo.
Prerequisites
- Active profile with
reference_devkit:+custom_carrier:blocks. <source.root_path>/Linux_for_Tegra/.gitexists (/jetson-init-source)./jetson-derive-carrierhas run — carrier flash-conf fork in the overlay tracker./jetson-customize-uphyhas run when any enabled USB3 SS port needs a non-stock UPHY lane allocation. Its JSON sidecar at<workspace>/target-platform/<profile-stem>.jetson-customize-uphy.jsonis consulted for SS lane allocation.- Source-of-truth docs: Adaptation Guide §"Port the Universal Serial Bus", Module Design Guide §USB, SoC TRM (xusb block).
- When
custom_carrier:is present, bothdocuments.custom_carrier_schematicANDdocuments.custom_carrier_pinmux_xlsare REQUIRED. Refuse the run if either is missing — per-port routing (VBUS-EN / OC / CC GPIOs, SS lane wiring, hub fan-out) on a custom carrier cannot be guessed. Reference-devkit-only profiles skip this check. dtc,fdtoverlayon PATH.
Overview
USB on Tegra spans three IP surfaces: the xusb_padctl block (USB2
OTG + USB3 SS PHYs), the tegra-xusb xHCI host controller, and an
optional tegra-xudc device controller attached to the single
OTG-capable USB2 port (usb2-0).
A per-port flip MUST touch three kernel-DT places in lockstep.
Anything less crashes the host xHCI probe and leaves lsusb empty
on every port (collateral damage to stock-okay ports):
| # | Place | Path | What it controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lane (PHY provider) | xusb_padctl/pads/usb<2|3>/lanes/usb<2|3>-N | SS / OTG PHY hardware-binding. status="disabled" then lane stops providing a PHY. |
| 2 | Port (controller-binding) | xusb_padctl/ports/usb<2|3>-N | Per-port mode (host/device/otg), companion link, VBUS / OC / CC pin refs. status="disabled" then port removed from user-facing topology. |
| 3 | Host xHCI phys-list | bus@0/usb@<addr>.phys + .phy-names | Array of phandles + names the xHCI driver iterates. A ref to a disabled PHY returns -ENODEV and aborts the whole host probe. |
NVIDIA's stock-disabled usb3-3 in the Thor base DTB is the canonical
pattern — all three places flipped in lockstep.
Two extra rules ride on top of the three-place pattern:
- Rule A — lane + port pairing. Lane (place 1) and matching port (place 2) MUST flip together.
- Rule B — companion cascade.
xusb_padctl/ports/usb3-N.nvidia,usb2-companionreferences a USB2 port phandle. Disabling that USB2 without cascading to its SS companion thentegra-xusb: failed to enable PHYs: -19.
Agentic, not table-driven — every port, controller, lane,
companion link, phandle, and __symbols__ lookup is resolved at
runtime from docs + DTB + carrier pinmap + schematic.
When to invoke
- The user says "enable USB", "disable USB hub", "configure USB3 SS", "set USB role", "wire VBUS-EN", "tegra-xusb / xudc / dr_mode", or asks to bring up / take down a USB controller on a custom carrier.
- A USB receptacle on the carrier doesn't enumerate after flash, OR
collateral USB damage (
lsusbempty after a previous jetson-customize-usb attempt) needs to be fixed. jetson-customize-uphyre-allocated UPHY lanes affecting USB3 SS ports and per-port DT now needs to follow.
Procedure (summary)
The full step-by-step procedure lives in references/procedure.md.
- Step 1 — resolve active target + open source-of-truth docs.
- Step 2 — build the USB topology + companion graph from the in-tree DTB.
- Step 3 —
AskUserQuestionfor port(s) to enable / disable; surface companion cascade + on-carrier hub fan-out explicitly. - Step 4 — per-port verify (module + carrier + UPHY lane) and
capture wiring (VBUS-EN / OC / CC GPIOs via
pin_verifier.py). - Step 5 — render the kernel-DT overlay using the three-place
pattern, append fragments (
usb:padctl,usb:xhci, optionalusb:xudc) to the composite custom overlay.dts, runfdtoverlay+ the three post-merge invariants, commit tobsp_sources/. - Step 6 — write run-state JSON sidecar (shape in
references/run-state-sidecar.md), emit headline, then drive the downstream next-step chain via sequentialAskUserQuestionprompts perreferences/procedure.mdStep 6. Never substitute a printed "Next step: …" line for the prompts.
See references/gotchas.md for the load-bearing failure modes.
Limitations
- Owns kernel-DT overlay only. ODMDATA does not expose a per-port
USB
statusknob; do not edit it. - Does NOT allocate UPHY lanes —
jetson-customize-uphyowns that. Refuse to commit an SS-enable until uphy run-state shows the lane allocated. - Does NOT directly patch the pinmux DTSI — routes SFIO mismatches
to
/jetson-customize-pinmux set-pin. - Does NOT compile the
.dtboor registerOVERLAY_DTB_FILE+=—/jetson-build-sourceowns build + flash-conf registration. - Tegra platform invariant: only
usb2-0is OTG-capable;xudcattaches there only. All other USB2 ports and all USB3 SS ports are host-only.
Troubleshooting
- Empty
lsusbon every port, USB-eth at 192.168.55.1 still up: host xHCI bailed; three-place lockstep was broken. Inspect merged DTB; verify post-merge invariants inreferences/procedure.mdStep 5d. tegra-xusb: failed to enable PHYs: -19: companion cascade (Rule B) violated — a USB2 was disabled without its SS companion.no port foundorRequested PHY is disabled: Rule A violated — lane status and port status are mismatched.FDT_ERR_NOTFOUNDfromfdtoverlay: a fragment usedtarget = <&label>for a node whose label is not in__symbols__(typical for host xHCI /tegra-xudc). Switch totarget-path = "/bus@0/usb@<addr>".- dtc warning
phys_property: cell 0 is not a phandle reference: benign; expected when using raw integer phandles in the host phys override. - Port boots but VBUS never asserts:
vbus-supplyreferences a regulator parent node that does not exist. Ensure the fixed regulator node is present before referencing it. - xHCI binds the wrong port at boot: host
physelement order was not preserved. Only elide disabled entries; never reorder kept ones.
References
references/procedure.md— full step-by-step procedure.references/gotchas.md— load-bearing failure modes.references/run-state-sidecar.md— run-state JSON shape.references/usb-architecture.md— Tegra USB IP architecture notes (xusb_padctl,tegra-xusb,xudc).references/usb-dt-bindings.md— USB DT binding cheatsheet (lane / port / phys-list shapes).../../scripts/pin_verifier.py— shared HSIO pin verifier.../../references/platform_template.yaml—documents:block consumed by Step 1.../../context/bsp-customization-workflow.md— overlay edit protocol.../../references/bsp-customization-kernel-dtb.md— composite overlay append protocol.../jetson-customize-uphy/SKILL.md— sibling skill that owns UPHY lane allocation.../jetson-customize-pinmux/SKILL.md— sibling skill for VBUS-EN / OC / CC SFIO fixes.../jetson-derive-carrier/SKILL.md— must run first.../jetson-init-source/SKILL.md— produces the overlay trackerbsp_sourcesrepo.
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
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