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stlink Tools Tutorial

Useful tool options

st-flash

--flash=n[k][m]

(since v1.4.0)

You can specify --flash=128k for example, to override the STM32F103C8T6 to assume 128k of flash instead of the default of 64k. This option accepts decimal (128k), octal 0200k, or hex 0x80k. Obviously leaving the multiplier out is equally valid, for example: --flash=0x20000. The size may be followed by an optional "k" or "m" to multiply the given value by 1k (1024) or 1M respectively.

Checksum for binary files

When flashing a file, a checksum is calculated for the binary file, both in md5 and the sum algorithm. The latter is also used by the official ST-Link utility tool from STMicroelectronics as described in the document: UM0892 - User manual - STM32 ST-LINK utility software description.

Solutions to common problems

a) STLINK/v1 driver: Issue with Kernel Extension (kext) (macOS 10.11 and later only)

Problem:

st-util fails to detect a STLINK/v1 device:

st-util -1
st-util $VERSION-STRING$
WARN src/sg.c: Failed to find an stlink v1 by VID:PID
ERROR src/sg.c: Could not open stlink device

Solution (clean setup):

Configure System Integrity Protection (SIP)

The root of this problem is a system security setting introduced by Apple with OS X El Capitan (10.11) in 2015. The so called System Integrity Protection (SIP) is active per default and prevents the operating system amongst other things to load unsigned Kernel Extension Modules (kext). Thus the STLINK/v1 driver supplied with the tools, which installs as a kext, remains not functional, while SIP is fully activated (as is per default).

Action needs to be taken here by booting into the recovery mode where a terminal console window needs to be opened.

For macOS 10.11 - 10.13 it is not recommended to disable SIP completely as with the command csrutil disable, because this leaves the system more vulnerable to common threats. Instead there is a more adequate and reasonable option implemented by Apple. Running csrutil enable --without kext, allows to load unsigned kernel extensions while leaving SIP active with all other security features. Unfortunately this option has been removed in macOS 10.14, which leaves the only option to disable SIP completely.

So who ever intends to run the STLINK/v1 programmer on macOS please take this into account.

Further details can be found here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/17452

Install the ST-Link-v1 driver from the subdirectory /stlinkv1_macosx_driver by referring to the instructions in the README file available there.
Move the OS_VERSION.kext file to /System/Library/Extensions.
Load the Kernel Extension (kext): $ sudo kextload -v /System/Library/Extensions/stlink_shield10_x.kext

Requesting load of /System/Library/Extensions/stlink_shield10_x.kext.
/System/Library/Extensions/stlink_shield10_x.kext loaded successfully (or already loaded).

Enter the command $ sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions
Verify correct detection of the STLINK/v1 device with the following input: st-util -1

You should then see a similar output like in this example:

INFO common.c: Loading device parameters....
INFO common.c: Device connected is: F1 High-density device, id 0x10036414
INFO common.c: SRAM size: 0x10000 bytes (64 KiB), Flash: 0x80000 bytes (512 KiB) in pages of 2048 bytes
INFO sg.c: Successfully opened a stlink v1 debugger
INFO gdb-server.c: Chip ID is 00000414, Core ID is  1ba01477.
INFO gdb-server.c: Listening at *:4242...

b) Verify if udev rules are set correctly (by Dave Hylands)

To investigate, start by plugging your STLINK device into the usb port. Then run lsusb. You should see an entry something like the following:

Bus 005 Device 017: ID 0483:374b STMicroelectronics ST-LINK/V2.1 (Nucleo-F103RB)

Note the bus number (005) and the Device (017). You should then do: ls -l /dev/bus/usb/005/017 (replacing 005 and 017 appropriately).

On my system I see the following:

crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 189, 528 Jan 24 17:52 /dev/bus/usb/005/017

which is world writable (this is from the MODE:="0666" below). I have several files in my /etc/udev/rules.d directory. In this particular case, the 49-stlinkv2-1.rules file contains the following:

# stm32 nucleo boards, with onboard st/linkv2-1
# ie, STM32F0, STM32F4.
# STM32VL has st/linkv1, which is quite different

SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0483", ATTRS{idProduct}=="374b", \
    MODE:="0666", \
    SYMLINK+="stlinkv2-1_%n"

# If you share your linux system with other users, or just don't like the
# idea of write permission for everybody, you can replace MODE:="0666" with
# OWNER:="yourusername" to create the device owned by you, or with
# GROUP:="somegroupname" and mange access using standard unix groups.

and the idVendor of 0483 and idProduct of 374b matches the vendor id from the lsusb output.

Make sure that you have all 3 files from here: https://github.com/stlink-org/stlink/tree/master/etc/udev/rules.d in your /etc/udev/rules.d directory. After copying new files or editing excisting files in /etc/udev/ruled.d you should run the following:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

to ensure that the rules actually take effect. Using the trigger command means that you shouldn't need to unplug and replug the device, but you might want to try that for good measure as well.

If the VID:PID of your device doesn't match those in any of the 3 files, then you may need to create a custom rule file to match your VID:PID.

( Content below is currently unrevised and may be outdated as of Apr 2020. )

Using STM32 discovery kits with open source tools

This guide details the use of STMicroelectronics STM32 discovery kits in an open source environment.

Installing a GNU toolchain

Any toolchain supporting the cortex m3 should do. You can find the necessary to install such a toolchain here:

https://github.com/esden/summon-arm-toolchain

Details for the installation are provided in the topmost README file. This documentation assumes the toolchains is installed in a $TOOLCHAIN_PATH.

Using the GDB server

This assumes you have got the libopencm3 project downloaded in ocm3. The libopencm3 project has some good, reliable examples for each of the Discovery boards.

Even if you don’t plan on using libopencm3, the examples they provide will help you verify that:

Your installed toolchain is capable of compiling for cortex M3/M4 targets
stlink is functional
Your arm-none-eabi-gdb is functional
Your board is functional

A GDB server must be started to interact with the STM32. Depending on the discovery kit you are using, you must run one of the 2 commands:

# STM32VL discovery kit (onboard ST-link)
$> ./st-util --stlinkv1

# STM32L or STM32F4 discovery kit (onboard ST-link/V2)
$> ./st-util

# Full help for other options (listen port, version)
$> ./st-util --help

Then, GDB can be used to interact with the kit:

$> $TOOLCHAIN_PATH/bin/arm-none-eabi-gdb example_file.elf

From GDB, connect to the server using:

(gdb) target extended localhost:4242

GDB has memory maps for as many chips as it knows about, and will load your project into either flash or SRAM based on how the project was linked. Linking projects to boot from SRAM is beyond the scope of this document.

Because of these built in memory maps, after specifying the .elf at the command line, now we can simply “load” the target:

(gdb) load

st-util will load all sections into their appropriate addresses, and “correctly” set the PC register. So, to run your freshly loaded program, simply “continue”

(gdb) continue

Your program should now be running, and, if you used one of the blinking examples from libopencm3, the LEDs on the board should be blinking for you.

Building and flashing a program

If you want to simply flash binary files to arbitrary sections of memory, or read arbitary addresses of memory out to a binary file, use the st-flash tool, as shown below:

# stlinkv1 command to read 4096 from flash into out.bin
$> ./st-flash read out.bin 0x8000000 4096

# stlinkv2 command
$> ./st-flash read out.bin 0x8000000 4096

# stlinkv1 command to write the file in.bin into flash
$> ./st-flash write in.bin 0x8000000

# stlinkv2 command
$> ./st-flash write in.bin 0x8000000

It is also possible to write a hexfile which is more convinient:

$> ./st-flash --format ihex write myapp.hex

Of course, you can use this instead of the gdb server, if you prefer. Just remember to use the “.bin” image, rather than the .elf file.


# write blink.bin into FLASH
$> [sudo] ./st-flash write fancy_blink.bin 0x08000000

Upon reset, the board LEDs should be blinking.

Using the gdb server

To run the gdb server:

$ make && [sudo] ./st-util

There are a few options:

./st-util - usage:

  -h, --help		Print this help
  -vXX, --verbose=XX	Specify a specific verbosity level (0..99)
  -v, --verbose		Specify generally verbose logging
  -s X, --stlink_version=X
			Choose what version of stlink to use, (defaults to 2)
  -1, --stlinkv1	Force stlink version 1
  -p 4242, --listen_port=1234
			Set the gdb server listen port. (default port: 4242)
  -m, --multi
			Set gdb server to extended mode.
			st-util will continue listening for connections after disconnect.
  -n, --no-reset
			Do not reset board on connection.

The STLINKv2 device to use can be specified in the environment variable STLINK_DEVICE in the format <USB_BUS>:<USB_ADDR>.

Then, in your project directory, someting like this... (remember, you need to run an ARM gdb, not an x86 gdb)

$ arm-none-eabi-gdb fancyblink.elf
...
(gdb) tar extended-remote :4242
...
(gdb) load
Loading section .text, size 0x458 lma 0x8000000
Loading section .data, size 0x8 lma 0x8000458
Start address 0x80001c1, load size 1120
Transfer rate: 1 KB/sec, 560 bytes/write.
(gdb)
...
(gdb) continue

Resetting the chip from GDB

You may reset the chip using GDB if you want. You'll need to use `target extended-remote' command like in this session:

(gdb) target extended-remote localhost:4242
Remote debugging using localhost:4242
0x080007a8 in _startup ()
(gdb) kill
Kill the program being debugged? (y or n) y
(gdb) run
Starting program: /home/whitequark/ST/apps/bally/firmware.elf

Remember that you can shorten the commands. tar ext :4242 is good enough for GDB.

If you need to send a hard reset signal through NRST pin, you can use the following command:

(gdb) monitor jtag_reset

Disassembling THUMB code in GDB

By default, the disassemble command in GDB operates in ARM mode. The programs running on CORTEX-M3 are compiled in THUMB mode. To correctly disassemble them under GDB, uses an odd address. For instance, if you want to disassemble the code at 0x20000000, use:

(gdb) disassemble 0x20000001

Running programs from SRAM

You can run your firmware directly from SRAM if you want to. Just link it at 0x20000000 and do

(gdb) load firmware.elf

It will be loaded, and pc will be adjusted to point to start of the code, if it is linked correctly (i.e. ELF has correct entry point).

Writing to flash

The GDB stub ships with a correct memory map, including the flash area. If you would link your executable to 0x08000000 and then do

(gdb) load firmware.elf

then it would be written to the memory.

Writing Option Bytes

Example to read and write option bytes (currently writing only supported for STM32G0 and STM32L0)

./st-flash --debug --reset --format binary --flash=128k read option_bytes_dump.bin 0x1FFF7800 4
./st-flash --debug --reset --format binary --flash=128k write option_bytes_dump.bin 0x1FFF7800

Installation of openOCD on Mac OS X with STlink-v2:

sudo port install openocd +jlink +stlink +ft2232

/opt/local/bin/openocd --version

Open On-Chip Debugger 0.7.0 (2014-08-11-22:12)

openocd -f /opt/local/share/openocd/scripts/interface/stlink-v2.cfg -f /opt/local/share/openocd/scripts/target/stm32f1x_stlink.cfg

Open On-Chip Debugger 0.8.0 (2014-08-11-15:36)

Licensed under GNU GPL v2

For bug reports, read http://openocd.sourceforge.net/doc/doxygen/bugs.html

Info : This adapter doesn't support configurable speed

Info : STLINK v2 JTAG v21 API v2 SWIM v4 VID 0x0483 PID 0x3748

Info : using stlink api v2

Info : Target voltage: 3.244269

Info : stm32f1x.cpu: hardware has 6 breakpoints, 4 watchpoints

and connecting to the server through telnet yields a successful installation

telnet localhost 4444

Connected to localhost.

Escape character is '^]'.

Open On-Chip Debugger

FAQ

Q: My breakpoints do not work at all or only work once.

A: Optimizations can cause severe instruction reordering. For example, if you are doing something like `REG = 0x100;' in a loop, the code may be split into two parts: loading 0x100 into some intermediate register and moving that value to REG. When you set up a breakpoint, GDB will hook to the first instruction, which may be called only once if there are enough unused registers. In my experience, -O3 causes that frequently.

Q: At some point I use GDB command `next', and it hangs.

A: Sometimes when you will try to use GDB next command to skip a loop, it will use a rather inefficient single-stepping way of doing that. Set up a breakpoint manually in that case and do continue.

Q: Load command does not work in GDB.

A: Some people report XML/EXPAT is not enabled by default when compiling GDB. Memory map parsing thus fail. Use --enable-expat.

Q: How can I install stlink and flash binaries on Mac OS X ?

A: Installed on Mac OS X 10.9.4 with ports method, however STlink v2 does not seem to work with libusb if you upgrade to the newest firmware !! Only older firmware on STlink v2 works.

https://coderwall.com/p/oznj_q

sudo port install libusb automake autoconf pkgconfig
aclocal --force -I /opt/local/share/aclocal
git clone https://github.com/stlink-org/stlink.git stlink-utility
cd stlink-utility
./autogen.sh
./configure
make

Then trying to flash the image with STLINK v2 :

./st-flash write ~/Downloads/irq.bin 0x8000000

libusb_handle_events() timeout

[!] send_recv

ST-Link/V2 debugger with downgraded V2.14.3 firmware:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bzv7UpKpOQhnbXJVVEg4VUo2M1k

After downgrading the firmware, flashing works as described here:

http://community.spark.io/t/how-to-flash-a-brand-new-freshly-soldered-stm32f103-chip/3906