Use
For help:
-
To get help for all commands, use:
mbed-tools --help
-
To get help for a specific command, use
mbed-tools <command> --help
. For example, for helping with listing connected devices (thedetect
command):mbed-tools detect --help
Create a project
You can create a new project or create a local copy of one of our example applications.
Create a new project
To create a new Mbed OS project in a specified path:
-
To create the project and download a new copy of Mbed OS (latest official release):
mbed-tools new <PATH>
The path can be:
-
Absolute.
new
will create the folder if it doesn't exist. -
Relative:
-
If you have already created a project folder, you can use
.
-
If you want the
new
command to create a project folder, use.\<folder-name>
.
-
-
-
To create a project without downloading a copy of Mbed OS (reuse an existing copy):
mbed-tools new -c <PATH>
Use an example application
To create a local copy of an example application, use the import
command with the example name listed below:
mbed-tools import <example> <PATH>
- mbed-os-example-blinky
- mbed-os-example-ble - use the BLE Advertising example.
- mbed-os-example-cellular
- mbed-os-example-devicekey
- mbed-os-example-kvstore
- mbed-os-example-lorawan
- mbed-os-example-mbed-crypto
- mbed-os-example-nfc
- mbed-os-example-sockets
Mbed CLI 2 will automatically use a shallow clone of git repositories whenever
it can (with import
, deploy
, and other applicable commands) to speed up
library and application management tasks. This will provide you with a local
copy of a git repository that contains only a single branch. If you'd like to
git checkout
other versions manually, you'll need to convert your local
repository into a complete copy using git fetch --unshallow
.
Use a specific Mbed program library
A Mbed program can use library dependencies at the revision specified in the ".lib" files. This ensures all dependencies are resolved and the versions are synchronised to the version specified in the library reference.
```
mbed-tools deploy <PATH>
```
- `<path>`: Path to the Mbed project [default: CWD]
-
To force overwrite local uncommitted changes of the library dependencies.
mbed-tools deploy -f
Configure the project
Each project depends on two sets of configurations:
- The project's environment variables. You can use the default values.
- The Mbed OS configuration system. You must set up your target and toolchain.
(Optional) Project environment variables
Mbed CLI 2 has two environment variables that you can set for a project:
MBED_API_AUTH_TOKEN
: Token to access private board information stored for a vendor team.MBED_DATABASE_MODE
: Use online or offline mode. Possible values:AUTO
: Search the offline database first; search the online database only if the board wasn't found offline. This is the default value.ONLINE
: Alway use the online database.OFFLINE
: Always use the offline database.
You can set these variables either directly, using environment variables, or indirectly using a .env
file containing the variable definitions:
VARIABLE1=<value>
VARIABLE2=<value>
Environment variables take precedence, meaning values previously set in your environment will override the values set in the file.
Warning: Do not upload .env
files containing private tokens to version control. If you use this package as a dependency for your project, please ensure to include the
.env
in your .gitignore
.
Mbed OS configuration
The Mbed OS configuration system parses the configuration files in your project (mbed_lib.json, mbed_app.json and targets.json) for a particular target and toolchain, and outputs a CMake script. The build system uses this script to build for your target, using your toolchain.
Tip: If you're rebuilding for the same target and toolchain, you can keep using the same CMake script, so you won't have to use the configure
command again for each build. If you change any of mbed_lib.json, mbed_app.json, targets.json, your target or your toolchain, run the configure
command again to generate a new CMake script.
-
Check your board's build target name.
Connect your board over USB and run the
detect
command:mbed-tools detect Board name Serial number Serial port Mount point(s) Build target(s) Interface Version ------------ ------------------------ ---------------------- ---------------- ----------------- ------------------- FRDM-K64F 024002017BD34E0F862DB3B7 /dev/tty.usbmodem14402 /Volumes/MBED K64F 0221
-
To prepare the Mbed configuration information for use with a specific target and toolchain, navigate to the project's root folder and run:
mbed-tools configure -m <target> -t <toolchain>
- The supported targets are
K64F
,DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A
,NRF52840_DK
- The supported toolchains are listed in the build tools overview.
Example for FRDM-K64F and GCC:
mbed-tools configure -m K64F -t GCC_ARM mbed_config.cmake has been generated and written to '/Users/UserName/Development/Blinky/cmake_build/K64F/develop/GCC_ARM/mbed_config.cmake'
- The supported targets are
Configure and build in a single step
You can use a single command to configure (set up your target and toolchain) and build the project at once:
mbed-tools compile -m <target> -t <toolchain>
-t
: The toolchain you are using to build your project.-m
: A build target for an Mbed-enabled device.
Example for DISCO-L475VG-IOT01A and GCC:
mbed-tools compile -m DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A -t GCC_ARM
Build the project with CMake (advanced)
We'll show how to build your project using CMake directly, which provides you with the full capabilities of CMake. You are no longer limited by what Mbed CLI 2 has to offer.
For this example, we'll use the GCC_ARM
toolchain with the Mbed target
DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A
.
To use CMake to build your application:
-
Navigate to the project's root folder.
-
Translate from the Mbed configuration system to a form CMake can understand:
mbed-tools configure -m DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A -t GCC_ARM
This will create a build folder at
cmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM
-
Set the build parameters:
cmake -S . -B cmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM -GNinja
-S <path-to-source>
: Path to the root directory of the CMake project. We use.
to indicate we're building from the current directory.-B <path-to-build-directory>
: Path to the build output directory. If the directory doesn't already exist, CMake will create it. We usecmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM
as the output directory name. We match the path Mbed CLI 2 would use, so we don't need to manually move around thembed-tool configure
outputmbed_config.cmake
.-GNinja
: To use the Ninja build tool. You can tell CMake to use another build tool using any CMake Generator your version of CMake supports. We like to use Ninja because it is fast.
-
Build:
cmake --build cmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM
Alternatively, if you are using the Ninja build tool (
-GNinja in the previous step
) and which to run it yourself, which you may want to do if you'd like to limit the number of jobs ninja uses (ninja -j 1
) or pass other custom options (ninja --help
)ninja -C cmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM
The build generates two files in the build output directory (
cmake_build/DISCO_L475VG_IOT01A/develop/GCC_ARM
in this example): HEX and BIN.Which format you flash to your device depends on your requirements. For example, use the BIN file if you want to completely replace the contents of the flash device. If you want to retain some of the flash devices contents, you'll need to flash to an address other than the flash's starting address, so you'll need to use the HEX file (which contains the starting address). Note that we assume your board is running DAPLink for flash programming. If you are using another tool, please check your tool's documentation for file type support.
-
Drag and drop the generated file to your board.
Building for multiple targets
You can build an Mbed project for multiple targets, with different profiles and toolchains, without affecting other builds. The compile
subcommand will create and build into a different subdirectory for each combination:
cmake_build/<target>/<profile>/<toolchain>/
Iterative builds on configured projects
If you have already made a build for the Mbed target and toolchain that you're using, compile
will perform an iterative build.
To force a rebuild of the project for a target and toolchain, include the --clean argument:
mbed-tools compile -m <target> -t <toolchain> --clean
Flashing the built program
You can flash the built program to the connected target by adding the -f/--flash argument to the compile command:
mbed-tools compile -m <target> -t <toolchain> -f
Opening a serial terminal
You can open a serial terminal to the connected target by adding the --sterm
argument to the compile command:
mbed-tools compile -m K64F -t GCC_ARM --sterm --baudrate 9600
When the terminal is running you can enter CTRL+H to show the help menu.
Logging
To specify the log level, use the verbose logging option (-v
) before the first argument:
- If you don't use
-v
, the log will show only errors. -v
: Warning and errors.-vv
: Information, warning and errors.-vvv
: Debug, information, warning and errors.
For example:
mbed-tools -vv configure -m <target> -t <toolchain>