Shellchat Commands

This is a list of shellchat commands that are available in the stable v0.9.9 Xous release.

Legend:

• ⚠️ use command with caution (like rm -r)
• ❌ don't use the command (for internal testing only)
• 💀 does irreversible and bad things (like self destruct)

accel

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	(no options)	returns x/y/z + ID

backlight

This command will be deprecated soon.

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	on	backlight set to 100%
	off	backlight set to 0%
	0	backlight set to 0%
	1	backlight set to 12.5%
	2	backlight set to 37.6%
	3	backlight set to 50%
	4	backlight set to 76.5%
	5	backlight set to 100%

console

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	kernel	direct kernel output to serial port
	log	direct logging output to serial port
	app	direct app output to serial port

echo

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	(anything)	repeats (anything), up to 1024 UTF-8 bytes

ecup

This command will be deprecated soon, as EC updates are automatic now.

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
❌	fw	Update the firmware segment of the EC (do not use!)
❌	gw	Update the gateware segment of the EC (do not use!)
❌	wf200	Update the wf200 segment of the EC (do not use!)
	auto	Auto-update the EC

jtag

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	id	prints the JTAG ID code of the FPGA
	dna	prints the DNA of the FPGA
	efuse	prints the efuse (backup key) of the FPGA, if it is readable
	ir arg	sends arg to the JTAG ir. arg should be a binary number (e.g. 101101)
⚠️	burn0	burns the "0" key to eFuse. Can lead to bricking your device.

keys

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
⚠️	bbram	kicks off the BBRAM provisioning. To be run only from the helper script on a connected Rpi, do not run manually.
	aes	Test routine. Requests the data [0u8; 16] to be encrypted and decrypted by the rootkeys server.
💀	ppdbrecycle	Permanently erases the PDDB by deleting the page table. There is no way to recover from this.

net

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	tcpget short url	Gets data at a URL of the form bunniefoo.com/bunnie/test.txt (no http:// prefix)
	server	Starts a server on port 80 that responds with the uptime
	fountain	Starts a "fountain" that spews numbers to any host connecting on port 3333
	udp socket [dest]	For UDP testing. Starts a listener on socket. dest is optional. For example, run net udp 0.0.0.0:6502 and then use netcat -u <precursor ip address> 6502 to send data via UDP to Precursor
	dns host	Attempt to resolve the IP address of host
	ping host count	Sends count pings to host. Default to 1 if no count is specified

pddb

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	basislist	Lists open Bases
	default	Reports the current default Basis
	basiscreate	Triggers UX flow to create a new secret Basis. Does not mount the Basis.
	basisunlock	Mounts a secret Basis
	basislock	Unmounts a secret Basis
⚠️	basisdelete	Deletes a secret basis. Treat it like rm -r /*.
⚠️	dictdelete	Deletes a dictionary. Treat it like rm -r /*.
	query dictionary:key	Prints the contents of dictionary:key
⚠️	keydelete dictionary:key	Deletes dictionary:key. Like rm
	keylist dictionary	Lists the first 10 keys in dictionary
	dictlist	Lists the first 10 dictionaries known to the system
⚠️	churn	Churns the PDDB. This operation takes about 20-30 minutes. Will erase any un-enumerated secret Bases. Used to restore full deniability after a forensic imaging event.
	flush	Flushes the SpaceUpdate log, restoring deniability
	sync	Syncs any RAM buffers to disk. Useful if you're about to unceremoniously reset or power down the device

rtc

Slated to be deprecated

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	utc	Prints the UTC time. Time must be set for this to work.
	local	Prints the local time, if timezone is set.

sensors

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	(no args)	Prints the output of various system sensors.

sleep

Lexicon:

• suspend: SoC is off, EC is on, wifi is on, screen on. ~1-2 days battery life. Could "wake from LAN" in this state, if that code existed.
• ship: Battery is disconnected. Can store for "years". Requires external power to turn on again.

Several of these commands are slated for deprecation.

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
❌	crypton	Disables power management on the crypto functions. Don't run it.
❌	cryptoff	Forces crypto functions off. Don't run it.
	sus	Puts the device into "suspend" mode. Only works if the device is not plugged in.
❌	stress	Forces device into a stress-test loop for sleep/suspend. Don't run it.
	now	Identical to sus but using a different code path
	current	Reports the current consumption most recently measured while suspended
	ship	Disconnects internal battery for shipping and storage. Requires external power to reboot.
	coldboot	Attempts to perform a cold boot, e.g. reload the SoC without the paperclip
💀	kill	Self-destruct the device. Once this is run, you cannot use the device until the battery fully runs down and it turns off. The paperclip method won't recover the device. You have to unplug the battery to recover it. Destroys any BBRAM key if set.
💀	killbounce	Similar to kill but before doing it, calls ship. This causes the battery to disconnect after the kill, so you can "bounce" the device by just plugging power in after about 10 seconds
	wfioff	Disables clock gating and forces the CPU clock to run 100% of the time. May slightly improve performance/latency at the expense of much greater power draw.
	wfion	Re-enables clock gating
	debugwfi	Re-routes some WFI signals to the debug header inside the device so you can see the WFI patterns with an osciloscope

ssid

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	force	Forces the WF200 to do another SSID scan cycle
	scan	Reports the currently visible list of SSIDs

test

❌ Don't. None of these command are meant for you. They are run in the factory to make sure your device works and they can get the device into some hairy states.

trng

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	avnist	Reports the NIST test status for the avalanche generator
	ronist	Reports the NIST test status for the ring oscillator generator
	runs	Reports latest consecutive bit runs stats on the ring oscillator
	excur	Reports the noise excursion of the avalanche generator. This is an indirect measure of its health.
	pump	Pulls 16 x 1024 u32 values out of the generator and throws them away. Reports sample values at 0, 512, and 1023.
	errs	Reports TRNG error stats. It is normal to see some errors in the RO sub-generators (that's why we use four of them)

usb

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	console	Tunnel a serial console to your device inside shellchat
	debug	Switches to the debug core (for updates)
	hid	Switches to the HID core (for keyboard emulation, and FIDO)
	kbdtest	Used to check the keyboard mapping. This is useful for users with e.g. dvorak or custom keymaps on their machine. Use with tools/kbdtest.py to generate map files
	leds	Reports the current status of the keyboard "LEDs"
	lock	Fully restricts debug access on the debug USB core
	send text	"Types" text to a host as if Precursor were a USB device. Must be in HID mode first.
	status	Reports the USB core status
	unlock	Restores access to the debug core. Regardless what the command reports, there is also a hardware ACL that now restricts access to sensitive secrets, so the debug core is much more "safe" to leave on now

ver

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	ec	Embedded controller gateware and firmware version
	wf200	WF200 reported firmware version.
	soc	SoC gateware version
	dna	FPGA silicon DNA
	xous	Xous version
	ecreset	Force the EC into a reset, which reloads its gateware and firmware

vibe

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	on	Short motor buzz with every key stroke
	off	Tactile feedback turned off
	long	A single long pulse of the motor
	double	A double-pulse of the motor

wlan

Most of these commands are slated to be incorporated into a more user-friedly UX flow soon, after which they will be deprecated.

⚠️	Subcommand + args	Notes
	on	Sets the WF200 to on, connection manager to RUN
	off	Stops the connection manager, forces the WF200 hardware reset pin to active
	setssid ssid	Sets your SSID. Press-hold keys to make symbols show up.
	setpass pass	Set a WPA2 password. Press-hold keys to make symbols show up.
	save	Write the SSID/pass combo to the PDDB, so the connection manager can automatically search for it
	known	List of saved SSIDs
	join	Try to join the currently set ssid/pass combo
	leave	Leave the current network, stops the connection manager so it doesn't try to re-join
	status	Current network status
	debug	Triggers debugging routines on the COM port