OpenWrt is described as a Linux distribution for embedded devices.

The current stable branch is Backfire and the most recent release is OpenWrt 10.03 'Backfire'. Binaries and source code are available here:

• Images (Downloads)
• Release Notes
• Changelog
• SVN Tag

Please visit the version history page for an overview of previous releases.

The general method for picking the right image is visiting the old TableOfHardware (which will be replaced with an up-to-date version soonish), then matching the "Platform & Frequency" of your device with the image you're downloading. Sometimes, the "Status" column will have additional information for your device, such as building its image or device-specific installation instructions.

If there isn't a pre-built image for your device, follow the Compile OpenWrt instructions to build a custom image.

Any bugs in the firmware should be reported via the ticket system.

OpenWrt's central configuration is split into several files located in the /etc/config/ directory. Each file roughly relates to the part of the system it configures. Editing the configuration files is possible with a text editor, the "uci" utility program or various programming APIs (like Shell, Lua and C)

→ Read more...

The Image Builder is a precompiled OpenWrt build environment suitable to create custom images without compiling everything from scratch.

Reasons for using the Image Builder are:

• Building minimal images for example without the web interface
• Embedding packages directly into the squashfs to reduce space requirements on the target
• Preconfigure images by embedding configuration files directly into squashfs

Pre-compiled images of the current OpenWrt release are always available, and easily found and downloaded from the OpenWrt website. These pre-compiled images are based on a default configuration, and only targeted at supported platforms/devices. There are several good reasons for why it is practical to build one's own images:

• Custom configurations
• Experimental platforms
• Participation in testing and development
• Or, simply keeping up-to-date

The best of it all is; that it in reality is quite simple to build an OpenWrt image.