https://github.com/bessman/mcbootflash
Flash firmware to 16-bit Microchip devices running MCC bootloader
https://github.com/bessman/mcbootflash
dspic33 firmware flashing microchip-pic pic24
Last synced: 3 months ago
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Flash firmware to 16-bit Microchip devices running MCC bootloader
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/bessman/mcbootflash
- Owner: bessman
- License: mit
- Created: 2022-05-27T19:15:56.000Z (about 4 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-05-09T11:55:45.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-08-27T09:57:35.701Z (9 months ago)
- Topics: dspic33, firmware, flashing, microchip-pic, pic24
- Language: Python
- Homepage: https://bessman.github.io/mcbootflash/
- Size: 3.79 MB
- Stars: 19
- Watchers: 3
- Forks: 6
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# mcbootflash
[](https://bessman.github.io/mcbootflash/)
[](https://pypi.org/project/mcbootflash/)
[](https://mit-license.org/)
## What
Mcbootflash is a tool for flashing firmware to 16-bit Microchip MCUs and DSCs
from the PIC24 and dsPIC33 device families, which are running a
[bootloader](https://www.microchip.com/en-us/software-library/16-bit-bootloader)
generated by the MPLAB Code Configurator tool.
Mcbootflash is intended to be a drop-in replacement for Microchip's official tool, the
Unified Bootloader Host Application (UBHA).
## Why
Mcbootflash is:
### Scriptable
As a command-line application, mcbootflash is easily scriptable.
### Extensible
In addition to its command-line interface, mcbootflash can be used as a library by
applications wanting to implement firmware flashing as part of a larger suite of
features.
### Free and Open Source
Mcbootflash is distributed under the MIT license.
## Installation
Stand-alone executables for Linux, Mac, and Windows are available from the Github
[release page](https://github.com/bessman/mcbootflash/releases/latest).
Mcbootflash can also be installed from PyPI:
`pip install mcbootflash`
## Usage
Mcbootflash can be used as both a command-line application and a library.
### Command-line
```shellsession
$ mcbootflash --help
usage: mcbootflash [-h] -p PORT -b BAUDRATE [--timeout TIMEOUT] [--checksum] [--reset] [--debug] [--quiet] [--version] hexfile
mcbootflash is a tool for flashing firmware to 16-bit Microchip MCUs and DSCs from the PIC24 and dsPIC33 device families, which are running a bootloader generated by the MPLAB Code Configurator tool.
positional arguments:
hexfile an Intel HEX file containing application firmware
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-p, --port PORT serial port connected to the device you want to flash
-b, --baudrate BAUDRATE
symbol rate of device's serial bus
--timeout TIMEOUT try to read data from the bus for this many seconds before giving up
--checksum verify flashed data by checksumming after write
--reset reset device after flashing is complete
--debug print debug messages
--quiet suppress output
--version show program's version number and exit
```
#### Example
```shellsession
$ mcbootflash --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --baudrate 460800 firmware.hex
Connecting to bootloader...
Erasing program area...
100% 162.0 KiB |######################################| Elapsed Time: 0:00:01
Flashing firmware.hex...
100% 98.8 KiB |#######################################| Elapsed Time: 0:00:06
Self verify OK
```
### Library
When using mcbootflash as a library, typical workflow looks something like this:
``` py
import mcbootflash as bf
import serial
# Connect to a device in bootloader mode.
connection = serial.Serial(port=, baudrate=, timeout=)
# Query its attributes.
bootattrs = bf.get_boot_attrs(connection)
# Load the firmware image and split it into chunks.
total_bytes, chunks = bf.chunked(hexfile=, bootattrs)
# Erase the device's program memory area.
bf.erase_flash(connection, bootattrs.memory_range, bootattrs.erase_size)
# Write the firmware chunks to the bootloader in a loop.
for chunk in chunks:
bf.write_flash(connection, chunk)
# Optionally, check that the write is OK by checksumming.
bf.checksum(connection, chunk)
# At this point, you may want to give an indication of the flashing progress,
# like updating a progress bar.
# Verify that the new application is detected.
bf.self_verify(connection)
```
See also the [API Reference](https://bessman.github.io/mcbootflash/api/).