What is QEMU?
Quick EMUlator (QEMU) is a free, open source software tool that allows users to run multiple architectures on the same physical machine. It is a system emulator that can virtualize complete device hardware, including the CPU, memory, storage, and peripherals.
Using QEMU for testing and debugging can save time and effort during development. It allows developers to test their code in various simulated environments.
Among other things, the Yocto Project uses QEMU to run automated Quality Assurance (QA) tests on final images shipped with each release. Within the context of the Yocto Project, QEMU allows you to run a complete image you have built using the Yocto Project as another task on your build system. In addition, QEMU helps to run and test images and applications on supported Yocto Project architectures without having actual hardware.