14.2.18. How can I load and uncompress a compressed image

Question:

Can I use U-Boot to load and uncompress a compressed image from flash into RAM? And can I choose whether I want to automatically run it at that time, or wait until later?

Answer:

Yes to both questions. First, you should generate your image as type "standalone" (using "mkimage ... -T standalone ..."). When you use the bootm command for such an image, U-Boot will automatically uncompress the code while it is storing it at that image's load address in RAM (given by the -a option to the mkimage command).

As to the second question, by default, unless you say differently, U-Boot will automatically start the image by jumping to its entry point (given by the -e option to mkimage) after loading it. If you want to prevent automatic execution, just set the environment variable "autostart" to "no" ("setenv autostart no") before running bootm.