SFD Tool

SFD Tool is a cross‑platform GUI and CLI tool for working with Spreadtrum/UNISOC devices. It focuses on safe partition backup/restore, PAC flashing, and advanced maintenance operations, with first‑class support for modern 64‑bit platforms.

NOTE: This README is a high‑level English overview. The Chinese user guide in docs/USER_GUIDE_ZH.md is the canonical, most detailed end‑user documentation.

中文文档

Introduction

This is the modified version of tool 'spreadtrum_flash'

sfd_tool is a maintenance release for spreadtrum_flash

(This version adds GTK3 graphical interface)

spreadtrum_flash

---

Run this before making:

sudo apt update
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install libusb-1.0-0-dev gcc g++ libgtk-3-dev pkg-config make cmake
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install gcc-c++ gtk3-devel libusb1-devel libusb1 pkgconf-pkg-config make cmake
# macOS
brew install libusb gtk+3 pkg-config make cmake
# Android(Termux)
pkg install x11-repo
pkg install termux-api libusb clang git pkg-config gtk3 glib pango libcairo gdk-pixbuf at-spi2-core xorgproto xorg-util-macros make cmake

Then make:

make
# Termux
make termux
# Locales i18n
make locales

Use on Termux(No GUI):

# Search OTG device
termux-usb -l
# example
#[
#  "/dev/bus/usb/xxx/xxx"
#]
# Authorize OTG device
termux-usb -r /dev/bus/usb/xxx/xxx
# Run(example)
termux-usb -e './sfd_tool --no-gui --usb-fd' /dev/bus/usb/xxx/xxx

WARN : You may must run tool as root to connect to device correctly!

---

Modified CLI commands:

part_table [FILE PATH]

This command is equivalent to the partition_list command.

exec_addr [BINARY FILE] [ADDR]

Modified, you need to provide file path and address

exec <ADDR>

Modified, you need to provide FDL1 address when you execute FDL1

read_spec [PART NAME] [OFFSET] [SIZE] [FILE]

Modified, equivalent to the read_part command, then read_part is equivalent to the r

--no-fdl

New option, execute it if you want to connect to device without FDL1/2(Only Sprd4 Mode).

cptable

New command, use it to get partition table through compatibility method(FDL2 only)

--no-gui

New parameter, open sfd_tool without GUI

dis_avb_tos

New Command, use with caution.

--tool-mode

New parameter, you can use some commands that DO NOT need device connection, use exit to exit tool

WARNING - DISABLE VERITY & AVB

Command: dis_avb_tos / verity 0

This command will DISABLE Android's DM-verity and AVB security verification mechanisms on your device.

CONSEQUENCES

• Your device will have NO system integrity protection
• The following apps will STOP WORKING:
  • Banking apps and Google Pay
  • Apps using fingerprint/password for payments (WeChat Pay, Alipay, etc.)
  • Netflix HD streaming and some DRM-protected content
  • Games with anti-cheat protection (PUBG, Genshin Impact, etc.)
• Malware can easily modify your system without any warning
• Your device becomes significantly more vulnerable to data theft

BEFORE CONTINUING

• For dis_avb_tos , SFD Tool has automatically backed up your trustos partition (see trustos-orig.bin)
• Keep this backup safe - you will need it for recovery

TO RESTORE

For verity 0, Use command: verity 1 For dis_avb_tos, flash back trustos-orig.bin

Features

• Cross‑platform GUI (GTK3)
  • Tabs for Connect, Partition Operation, PAC Flash, Manual Operation, Advanced Operation, Advanced Settings, Debug Options, Log, and About.
• Partition backup and restore
  • Read/write individual partitions.
  • Block‑size‑aware backup/restore pipeline to avoid alignment issues.
  • Restore from folder: batch restore multiple partitions from a folder of images (see user guide for details).
• PAC firmware flashing
  • Inspect PAC contents and flash selected partitions.
• Manual low‑level operations
  • Read/write by address, execute code at arbitrary addresses, etc.
• Advanced maintenance tools
  • Other expert‑only functions for debugging and recovery.
• CLI mode
  • Run without GUI using --no-gui.
  • Rich command set for scripting and headless environments.
• Internationalisation (i18n)
  • Translated UI (e.g. zh_CN, en_US), using gettext .po/.mo files.

Supported platforms & binaries

SFD Tool is primarily tested and released for:

• Windows 10/11 x64/x86
• Linux x86_64 (e.g. Debian/Ubuntu, RPM‑based distros)
• macOS (recent versions)
• Termux / Android (CLI only, via --no-gui)

Prebuilt binaries and packages are provided on GitHub Releases, typically including:

• Windows x64/x86 executables (LibUSB(x64) and/or SPRD(x86) driver builds).
• .deb packages for popular Debian/Ubuntu versions.
• .rpm packages for RPM‑based distributions.
• macOS .dmg application bundles.

For exact platforms and artifact names, refer to the latest release page and .github/workflows/build.yml.

Building from source (CMake)

SFD Tool uses CMake as the primary build system. The legacy Makefile is kept only for reference.

Basic out‑of‑source build (example):

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j

On Windows you can use a Visual Studio generator, on macOS and Linux Ninja or Makefiles. See:

• docs/cmake_EN.md – English CMake/build guide.
• docs/cmake.md – Chinese CMake/build guide with more details, including per‑user config and ui_language.

Running

GUI

After building, run the GUI executable from your build directory, e.g.:

./build/sfd_tool

On installed systems you can start SFD Tool from your desktop environment (menu entry created by the package) or by running sfd_tool from a terminal.

CLI mode

For headless and scripted environments you can run SFD Tool in CLI mode:

sfd_tool --no-gui --help

This prints the full list of commands and options. Some examples:

• List partition table.
• Read a specific region to a file.
• Execute code at a given address.
• Use --no-fdl or similar flags for special boot modes.

For the authoritative CLI reference, see:

• Inline help: sfd_tool --help
• Manpage (on Linux): man sfd-tool

Configuration & language

SFD Tool stores per‑user configuration (UI language, recent paths, etc.) in a JSON config file in the user’s home directory (location varies by platform).

Key points:

• ui_language can be set to auto, zh_CN, en_US, etc.
• On first run the tool may migrate legacy config files from the project root into the per‑user location.

See docs/cmake.md for details.

Documentation map

• Chinese user guide (canonical for end users)
  • docs/USER_GUIDE_ZH.md
• Project overview (English)
  • This README
  • README_ZH.md – Chinese overview
• Architecture & development
  • ARCHITECTURE.md
• Build & configuration
  • docs/cmake_EN.md
  • docs/cmake.md
• Release & CI (maintainers)
  • docs/RELEASE_GUIDE_ZH.md
  • CI workflow: .github/workflows/build.yml
• Changelog
  • docs/VERSION_LOG.md – shown in the About tab.

Safety and disclaimer

Working with device partitions and bootloaders is inherently risky. Incorrect operations can brick a device and may lead to data loss.

• Always back up critical partitions before flashing or using advanced tools.
• Do not use functions you do not fully understand.
• Read the warnings in the user guide and on the Advanced Operation tab.

SFD Tool is distributed under the terms of the GPL. See the repository for license details.

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