Build configuration and image packaging

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8.1 Build MCU firmware

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8.1.1 Environment setup

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Required host packages

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends \
git cmake ninja-build gperf ccache dfu-util \
device-tree-compiler wget python3-dev python3-pip \
python3-setuptools python3-tk python3-wheel \
python3-venv xz-utils file make gcc gcc-multilib \
g++-multilib libsdl2-dev libmagic1 libyaml-dev \
flex bison

Compiling on Windows is currently not supported.

pip3 install pyelftools pyyaml colorama anytree packaging pyfatfs jsonschema

Note: There have been reports of inconsistent behavior when different binary versions of Python are installed in the same bin/ directory. A workaround is to add a symbolic link of the required Python version into a scratch directory and update the PATH environment variable to use it.

mkdir ~/.local/scratch
ln -fs /usr/local/bin/python3.12 ~/.local/scratch/python3
ln -fs /usr/local/bin/python3.12 ~/.local/scratch/python
export PATH=~/.local/scratch:$PATH

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Zephyr OS setup

1. Create a folder at your preferred location for downloading and installing all Zephyr dependencies.

mkdir <local-path>/zephyrproject

2. For maintaining a consistent build environment, it is recommended to use a Python virtual environment.

python3 -m venv <local-path>/zephyrproject/.venv
source <local-path>/zephyrproject/.venv/bin/activate

3. From the virtual environment, install and initialize Zephyr:

pip install west

west init <local-path>/zephyrproject
west update
west zephyr-export
west packages pip --install

4. Verify the Zephyr versions.

• Zephyr version: 3.7 LTS
• Zephyr SDK version: 0.16.x

5. Check the Zephyr compatibility matrix:

6. Create the SDK directory:

mkdir -p <local-path>/zephyr_sdk

7. Download and set up the required Zephyr SDK version (0.16.x).

tar xvf zephyr-sdk-0.16.0_linux-x86_64.tar.xz
cd zephyr-sdk-0.16.0
./setup.sh

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Zephyr troubleshooting resources

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8.1.2 LLVM setup

1. Download and install RISC-V Snapdragon LLVM from QPM3. Current supported version:
   • Snapdragon LLVM (RISC-V): 21.1.1
2. To install QPM3 and LLVM, download the package on a Windows host from: https://www.qpm.qualcomm.com Then copy the package to the Ubuntu host.
3. Skip this step if QPM3 and the RISC-V toolchain are already installed.

sudo dpkg -i QualcommPackageManager3.3.0.119.1.Linux-x86.deb

4. Install QIKService3 from:

/opt/qcom/QIKService3/bin

5. From the QPM3 UI, install the Snapdragon LLVM RISCV Toolchain OEM toolchain. Current version: 21.1.1

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8.1.3 Device tree compiler installation

1. Install the Device Tree Compiler (DTC).

git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/dtc/dtc.git

cd dtc

git tag -l
# Pick the latest version tag

git reset --hard v1.7.2

make

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8.1.4 Compile subsystem

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Environment variables

export ZEPHYR_SDK_INSTALL_DIR=<local-path>/zephyr_sdk/zephyr-sdk-0.16.0

export RISCV_TOOLS_ROOT=/opt/qcom/Qualcomm_Snapdragon_RISCV_Toolchain_OEM/21.1.1

export SECTOOLS=<meta_root>/common/sectoolsv2/ext/Linux/sectools

export DTC_PATH=<local-path>/dtc

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Run compilation

cd <target_root>/<subsystem>/<subsystem>_proc/build/ms

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8.2 Configuration, image generation, and boot flow

1. Track logging and console choices explicitly so the first-success path has clear output.
2. Enable only the buses you need initially, such as serial or I2C.
3. Turn on DMA or GPI only after the simpler path is stable.
4. Generate the ELF file, memory map, and packaged MCU image.
5. Load the image using the platform-approved programming flow and validate