nRF Development in Linux

If you need/want to have nRF development environment in Linux...

Environment

Ubuntu 21.04 x86_64
nRF52832 DK board

Index

Getting the SDK and tools
- 1.1 Get basic tools
- 1.2 Get ARM-GCC Compiler
- 1.3 Get nRF SDK and docs
- 1.4 Get command line JTAG tools
- 1.5 Flash SoftDevice
Building the example
- 2.1 Modify Makefile.Posix for SDK
- 2.2 Compile an Example
- 2.3 Simplify the example
- 2.4 Edit Makefile for the simplified project
Setting VSCODE as the IDE
- 3.1 Get VSCODE and some extensions
- 3.2 Set Tasks.json for make/clean
- 3.3 Set Launch.json for debugging
- 3.4 Get Python tools
Conclusion

1. Getting the SDK and tools

1.1 Get Basic Tools

Install some packages:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install -y \
    git \
    libncurses5 \
    gdb-multiarch \
    build-essential

If libncurses5 installation fails:

$ sudo apt --fix-broken install

1.2 Get ARM-GCC Compiler

ARM provides the ARM-GCC compiler To install the latest release:

# Prep the directory
$ mkdir -p ~/nRF52
$ cd ~/nRF52

# Download and extract
$ wget https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-rm/10.3-2021.07/gcc-arm-none-eabi-10.3-2021.07-x86_64-linux.tar.bz2
$ tar jxf gcc-arm-none-eabi-10.3-2021.07-x86_64-linux.tar.bz2 # take ~30 Sec.
$ mv gcc-arm-none-eabi-10.3-2021.07 gcc-arm 

# Check
$ ./gcc-arm/bin/arm-none-eabi-gcc -v
...
gcc version 10.3.1 20210621 (release) (GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 10.3-2021.07)

Don't forget adding ~/nRF52/gcc-arm/bin to your PATH!!

$ echo "export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/nRF52/gcc-arm/bin" >> ~/.bashrc

1.3 Get nRF52 SDK and documents

Download the SDK and install:

$ cd ~/nRF52
$ wget https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF51_SDK/nRF5_SDK_v17.x.x/nRF5_SDK_17.0.2_d674dde.zip
$ unzip nRF5_SDK_17*.zip
$ mv nRF5_SDK_17.0.2_d674dde nRF5_SDK

Downloads the documents and install:

$ cd ~/nRF52
$ wget https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF51_SDK/nRF5_SDK_v17.x.x/nRF5_SDK_17.0.2_offline_doc.zip
$ unzip nRF5_*doc.zip -d docs

1.4 Get command line JTAG tools

Download nRF5x-Command-Line-Tools for Linux 64 bit from:

https://www.nordicsemi.com

Run these commands to install the tools:

$ cd ~/nRF52
$ wget https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Software-and-other-downloads/Desktop-software/nRF-command-line-tools/sw/Versions-10-x-x/10-13-0/nRF-Command-Line-Tools_10_13_0_Linux64.zip
$ unzip nRF-Command-Line-Tools_10_13_0_Linux-amd64.zip -d tools

$ cd tools/nRF-Command-Line-Tools_10_13_0_Linux64
$ tar xvf nRF-Command-Line-Tools_10_13_0_Linux-amd64.tar.gz 
$ sudo dpkg -i JLink_Linux_V750b_x86_64.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i nRF-Command-Line-Tools_10_13_0_Linux-amd64.deb

To check the version of installed tools:

$ nrfjprog -v
nrfjprog version: 10.13.0 
JLinkARM.dll version: 7.50a

$ mergehex -v
mergehex version: 10.13.0

$ JLinkExe -v
SEGGER J-Link Commander V7.50a (Compiled Jul  8 2021 18:21:10)
DLL version V7.50a, compiled Jul  8 2021 18:20:53

1.5 Flash SoftDevice

To flash a softdevice to a connected nRF52832-DK (s132) board via JLink,

$ cd ~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/components/softdevice/s132/hex
$ ls -l
s132_nrf52_7.2.0_licence-agreement.txt
s132_nrf52_7.2.0_softdevice.hex

$ nrfjprog -f NRF52 --chiperase --program s132_nrf52_7.2.0_softdevice.hex

2. Building the example

2.1 Modify Makefile.Posix for SDK

Get the information of the installed compiler:

$ which arm-none-eabi-gcc
$HOME/nRF52/gcc-arm/bin/arm-none-eabi-gcc

$ arm-none-eabi-gcc -v
...
gcc version 10.3.1 20210621 (release) (GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 10.3-2021.07)

Edit Makefile:

$ cd ~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/components/toolchain/gcc
$ vi Makefile.posix

Then edit the Makefile looks like based on the information we got:

GNU_INSTALL_ROOT ?= ${HOME}/nRF52/gcc-arm/bin/
GNU_VERSION ?= 10.3.1
GNU_PREFIX ?= arm-none-eabi

2.2 Compile an Example

Now we can just compile an example:

$ cd ~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky/pca10040/s132/armgcc
$ ls -l
blinky_gcc_nrf52.ld 
Makefile

$ make
...
DONE nrf52832_xxaa

2.3 Simplify the example

nRF52 SDK comes with well organized files, but sometimes simplifying project hierarchy might be a good idea.

$ cd $HOME/nRF52/nRF5_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky
$ tree 
.
├── blinky_gcc_nrf52.ld
├── main.c
├── Makefile
├── sdk_config.h
└── include
    ├── arm_acle.h
    ├── arm_cmse.h
    ├── arm_fp16.h
    ├── arm_neon.h
    ├── float.h
    ├── gcov.h
    ├── iso646.h
    ├── mmintrin.h
    ├── stdalign.h
    ├── stdarg.h
    ├── stdatomic.h
    ├── stdbool.h
    ├── stddef.h
    ├── stdfix.h
    ├── stdint-gcc.h
    ├── stdint.h
    ├── stdnoreturn.h
    ├── tgmath.h
    ├── unwind-arm-common.h
    ├── unwind.h
    └── varargs.h

    1 directory, 25 files

To do so,

$ mkdir ~/example_blinky
$ cd ~/example_blinky

Scratch below items from each directory to the example_blinky:

~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky/main.c
~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky/pca10040/s132/config/sdk_config.h
~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky/pca10040/s132/armgcc/Makefile
~/nRF52/nRF52_SDK/examples/peripheral/blinky/pca10040/s132/armgcc/blinky_gcc_nrf52.ld
All other files in the pca10040 directory can be ignored

The include files might be located at

$HOME/nRF52/gcc-arm/arm-none-eabi/include

2.4 Edit Makefile for the simplified project

To adjust the Makefile for our project, which has the new and simple structure:

SDK_ROOT := $(HOME)/nRF52/nRF52_SDK
PROJECT_DIR := .
For INC_FOLDERS, remove the line of ../config
For OPT, Optimization level can be 0 (if you want)

Build again:

$ cd ~/example_blinky
$ make

...
DONE nrf52832_xxaa

Then the "_build" directory might have some image files newly generated (hex and bin) for debugging.

3. Setting VSCODE as the IDE

The details can be found from:

3.1 Get VSCODE and some extensions

Download the installer from:

https://code.visualstudio.com/download

Some extensions are required as well:

C/C++ (ms-vscode.cpptools)
Cortex-Debug (marus25.cortex-debug)

Once VSCODE and the extensions are ready:

$ cd example_blinky
$ code .

3.2 Set C/C++ Intellisense

To generate a c_cpp_properties.json,

Press CTRL+Shift+P.
Then run C/C++: Edit Configuration (JSON)

{
    "env": {
        "nRF_SDK": "${HOME}/nRF52/nRF5_SDK",
        "GNU_GCC": "${HOME}/nRF52/gcc-arm"
    },
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "nRF52832 DK",
            "includePath": [
                "${workspaceFolder}/**",
                "${env:GNU_GCC}/arm-none-eabi/include",
                "${env:nRF_SDK}/modules/**",
                "${env:nRF_SDK}/components/**"
            ],
            "defines": [
                "BOARD_PCA10040",
                "CONFIG_GPIO_AS_PINRESET",
                "INITIALIZE_USER_SECTIONS",
                "FLOAT_ABI_HARD",
                "NRF52",
                "NRF52832_XXAA",
                "NRF_SD_BLE_API_VERSION=6",
                "S132",
                "SOFTDEVICE_PRESENT",
                "SWI_DISABLE0"
            ],
            "cStandard": "c11",
            "cppStandard": "c++17",
            "intelliSenseMode": "linux-gcc-arm"
        }
    ],
    "version": 4
}

3.3 Set Tasks.json for make/clean

To generate a Tasks.json,

Press CTRL+Shift+P.
Then type task.
Lastly click Tasks: Configure Task.

Above action generates a file (Tasks.json) under .vscode.
By filling the json file, we can invoke make and make clean with shortcuts:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "make",
            "command": "make",
            "args": [
                "VERBOSE=1"
            ],
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc"
            },
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            },
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "clean",
            "command": "make",
            "args": [
                "clean"
            ],
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc"
            },
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            },
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "flash",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "make flash",
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc"
            },
            "group": "build",
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "flash_softdevice",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "make flash_softdevice",
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc"
            },
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "sdk_config",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "make sdk_config",
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc"
            },
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "serial",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "screen /dev/ttyACM0 115200",
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "erase",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "make erase",
            "options": {
                // This path should point the Makefile location
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10056/s140/armgcc"
            },
            "problemMatcher": []
        }
    ]
}

With this configuration, we can use CTRL+SHIFT+B to open the task dialog and run make or clean.

3.4 Set Launch.json for debugging

To generate a launch.json,

Press CTRL+Shift+P.
Then type launch.
Lastly click Debug: Open launch.json and Cortex Debug.

Above action generates a file (launch.json) under .vscode.
By filling the json file, we can invoke the arm-none-eabi-gdb and JLink GDB server.

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Cortex Debug",
            "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}",
            "executable": "./_build/nrf52832_xxaa.out",
            // Or
            // "executable": "${workspaceFolder}/pca10040/s132/armgcc/_build/nrf52832_xxaa.out",
            "request": "launch",
            "type": "cortex-debug",
            "servertype": "jlink",
            "device": "nrf52",
            "interface": "swd",
            // Only absolute path worked for me for some reason...
            "armToolchainPath": "/home/bus710/nRF52/gcc-arm/bin/", 
            "runToMain": true,
        }
    ]
}

With this configuration, we can use F5 to start a debugging session.

Two things need to be adjusted based on your project:

executable: THE_EXECUTABLE_NAME should ba updated.
device: the depends on the target MCU.

The detail can be found from the extension's website (>>>).

3.5 Get Python tools

To test nRF fimware there are well known python tools - nrfutil and pybluez.

Those should be used to update/test the firmware.

$ sudo apt install python-pip
$ sudo pip install --ignore-installed six nrfutil
$ sudo pip install pybluez

4. Conclusion

In this walkthrough,

Downloaded and installed the SDK, tools, and IDE
Learned how to make your own project by scratching
Compiled and debugged the project
Used VSCODE as the IDE

...and everything could be well done in Linux!

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 71 Commits
assets		assets
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
README.md		README.md

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Repository files navigation

nRF Development in Linux

Environment

Index

1. Getting the SDK and tools

1.1 Get Basic Tools

1.2 Get ARM-GCC Compiler

1.3 Get nRF52 SDK and documents

1.4 Get command line JTAG tools

1.5 Flash SoftDevice

2. Building the example

2.1 Modify Makefile.Posix for SDK

2.2 Compile an Example

2.3 Simplify the example

2.4 Edit Makefile for the simplified project

3. Setting VSCODE as the IDE

3.1 Get VSCODE and some extensions

3.2 Set C/C++ Intellisense

3.3 Set Tasks.json for make/clean

3.4 Set Launch.json for debugging

3.5 Get Python tools

4. Conclusion

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Repository files navigation

nRF Development in Linux

Environment

Index

1. Getting the SDK and tools

1.1 Get Basic Tools

1.2 Get ARM-GCC Compiler

1.3 Get nRF52 SDK and documents

1.4 Get command line JTAG tools

1.5 Flash SoftDevice

2. Building the example

2.1 Modify Makefile.Posix for SDK

2.2 Compile an Example

2.3 Simplify the example

2.4 Edit Makefile for the simplified project

3. Setting VSCODE as the IDE

3.1 Get VSCODE and some extensions

3.2 Set C/C++ Intellisense

3.3 Set Tasks.json for make/clean

3.4 Set Launch.json for debugging

3.5 Get Python tools

4. Conclusion

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