Mbed CMake Template

Version: 1.0.0

Introduction

This repository can be used as a starting template for mbed projects with sane defaults:

• simple directory structure
• CMake based with USCRPL/mbed-cmake
• Code completion with VSCode + CMake Tools
• format with .clang-format and .editorconfig

Note: you should be able to use mbed-cli if you want.

How to install

Before starting, make sure you've read the mbed documentation.

0. Clone the repository

To start with:

# Clone the repository
$ git clone https://github.com/ladislas/mbed-cmake-template && cd mbed-cmake-template

# Clone Mbed OS using the Makefile
$ make clone_mbed

# You can specify a branch (default is master)
$ make clone_mbed BRANCH=mbed-os-6.3.0

1. Install mbed-cli & co.

I recommend the manual install. Make sure to follow the instructions from mbed:

https://os.mbed.com/docs/mbed-os/v6.3/build-tools/install-and-set-up.html

# For the latest stable version
$ python3 -m pip install -U --user mbed-cli

# For HEAD
$ python3 -m pip install -U --user https://github.com/ARMmbed/mbed-cli/archive/master.zip

Then, install the required tools:

# First, important packages
$ python3 -m pip install -U --user pyserial intelhex prettytable

# And finally mbed-cli requirements
$ python3 -m pip install -U --user -r lib/_vendor/mbed-os/requirements.txt

2. Install arm-none-eabi-gcc & tools

For macOS:

# Install arm-gcc
$ brew tap ArmMbed/homebrew-formulae
$ brew install arm-none-eabi-gcc

# Install Ninja (for building)
$ brew install ninja

# Install coreutils and add to path
$ brew install coreutils

For Windows & Linux:

You can download the toolchain here:

https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/gnu-rm/downloads

And for Ninja, follow the documentation:

https://ninja-build.org/

How to use

We put together an handy Makefile to make it easier to configure and compile your projects.

# First, you need to clone mbed-os
$ make clone_mbed

# You can specify a branch (default is master)
$ make clone_mbed BRANCH=mbed-os-6.3.0

# Then configure for your target
$ make config TARGET_BOARD=DISCO_F769NI

# You can also specify a build type (default is Release)
$ make config TARGET_BOARD=DISCO_F769NI BUILD_TYPE=Debug

# Finally, to compile your project
$ make

Using .mbedignore

To speed up compilation time, we've setup an .mbedignore file that removes some files from the compilation process.

If you get error about missing headers when compiling, make sure the header's directory is not set in the .mbedignore file.

You can edit the .mbedignore file here: (it is symlinked to the mbed-os directory)

.cmake/templates/Template_MbedOS_mbedignore.txt

Mbed CLI & .mbed

If you want to use mbed-cli, you can set your target and favorite toolchain in the .mbed file:

MBED_OS_DIR=./lib/_vendor/mbed-os
TARGET=DISCO_F769NI
TOOLCHAIN=GCC_ARM
ROOT=.

Flashing the board

In the Makefile we also provide a flash target. It simply copies the .bin file to your Mbed Enabled board.

flash:
	@diskutil list | grep "DIS_F769NI" | awk '{print $$5}' | xargs -I {} diskutil unmount '/dev/{}'
	@diskutil list | grep "DIS_F769NI" | awk '{print $$5}' | xargs -I {} diskutil mount   '/dev/{}'
	cp build/$(PROGRAM) /Volumes/DIS_F769NI

You must edit the Makefile to suit your needs:

• change the DIS_F769NI to your board id
• change the path of the volume
• use fdisk on Linux instead of diskutil

If you need something more complex, it should be easier to provide a script that you can call from the Makefile.

Multiple apps, spikes & tests

The main idea behind this template is to have your main source files (those for the big project you're working on) under the ./src directory.

Now, you sometimes need to create a simple, very basic example project to test a new features, investigate a bug or try a different solution to a problem.

These can be added to the spike directory inside their own directory. You'll need at leat a main.cpp and a CMakeLists.txt. See blinky for a working example.

Custom targets

If you need to use a custom target, you can add it to the target directory and edit the custom_targets.json file.

Then, you need to configure the project with the following:

# Run config script with "-x TARGET_BOARD_NAME"
$ make config TARGET_BOARD="-x DISCO_ORIGINAL"

Don't forget the -x, it's really important as it tells the config script to look for headers and sources files in the targets directory.

Notes

The template comes with a simple HelloWorld library that you can use as an example and/or use to make sure your program works.

Bugs & Contributing

Please open an issue or create a PR.

Authors

Made with ❤️ by:

• Ladislas de Toldi - ladislas

This work is heavily inspired by USCRPL/mbed-cmake and code written by:

• Jamie Smith - multiplemonomials
• ProExpertProg - ProExpertProg

License

Apache 2.0 @ Ladislas de Toldi (Ladislas [at] detoldi dot me)