Install & flash

Everything you need to build a firmware image for a Core tile and flash it over USB. If you only want to build in the browser, you can skip all of this and use Studio instead.

Prerequisites

The C SDK builds with the standard ARM embedded toolchain. You’ll need:

• ARM GCC (arm-none-eabi-gcc) — the cross-compiler.
• make — the build runner.
• dfu-util — flashes firmware over USB.

On macOS with Homebrew:

brew install arm-none-eabi-gcc dfu-util make

On Debian/Ubuntu, the equivalents are gcc-arm-none-eabi, dfu-util, and make via apt.

Build a firmware image

From a project directory, build for your specific Core variant by passing TILE. The build emits a .bin image:

make TILE=Core.ST.L4.1     # the Core's catalog id
# every Core has one — find yours in the catalog

Flash over USB

USB-programmable Cores — currently Core.ST.L4 or Core.ST.H5 — support runtime USB DFU: no buttons, no jumpers, no probe. Connect the Core over USB and run:

make flash-dfu

The Makefile handles the whole sequence for you:

• detects the USB serial port (/dev/tty.usbmodem*),
• sends a 1200-baud touch to trigger DFU mode (the same convention Arduino uses),
• downloads the new firmware with dfu-util, and reboots.

Edit code, make flash-dfu, repeat. That’s the inner loop.

First flash & manual DFU

For the very first flash on a board using the ROM bootloader, hold BOOT0 while plugging in USB, then flash normally — after that, make flash-dfu works on its own. To drive dfu-util by hand:

dfu-util -l    # verify the device appears: Found DFU: [0483:df11]
dfu-util -a 0 -s 0x08000000:leave -D build/my-firmware.bin

SWD debugging

For live debugging, flash via SWD with OpenOCD instead. SWD and USB DFU coexist — use SWD to step through code and make flash-dfu for quick iteration:

make flash     # flash via SWD (OpenOCD)