### 5.1.1. `bitbake/`

The Source Directory includes a copy of BitBake for ease of use. The copy usually matches the current stable BitBake release from the BitBake project. BitBake, a metadata interpreter, reads the Yocto Project metadata and runs the tasks defined by that data. Failures are usually from the metadata and not from BitBake itself. Consequently, most users do not need to worry about BitBake.

When you run the `bitbake` command, the wrapper script in `scripts/` is executed to run the main BitBake executable, which resides in the `bitbake/bin/` directory. Sourcing the oe-init-build-env script places the `scripts` and `bitbake/bin` directories (in that order) into the shell's `PATH` environment variable.

For more information on BitBake, see the BitBake documentation inculded in the `bitbake/doc/manual` directory of the Source Directory.