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This short tutorial describes a way to make a virtual machine configured for STM32 software development with STM32CubeIDE, and explains how to use it. The virtualization environment is VirtualBox, and the guest machine runs Linux Mint.
- Hardware: a 64-bit computer with enough memory so that the VM can be granted 16 GB, with a few tens of GB available on the disk, and one free USB A port
- Hardware (bis): a Nucleo-L476RG board with an USB A / mini USB B cable - any similar NUCLEO board can be used
- Developer:
- basic knowledge of Linux (knowing the most common commands...)
- basic knowledge of VirtualBox (knowing how to create a virtual machine...)
Follow the instructions in this guide.
Be sure to provide the guest machine with enough resources. STM32CubeIDE is quite power-hungry. The guide recommends 16 GB for RAM and two CPUs. On my i7-8559U host machine, a one-CPU VM won't display correctly the Device Configuration Tool (aka CubeMX) window: two CPUs are required.
According to the Installation Guide:
- Download STM32CubeIDE Debian Linux Installer, version 1.12.0 at the time of writing. You will have to create an account
- Unzip the file
- Run resulting script:
$ sudo sh ./st-stm32cubeide_1.12.0_14980_20230301_1550_amd64.deb_bundle.sh- Accept the license, install Segger J-Link udev rules, accept additional licenses
No need to perform the last step, the manual installation, described in the Installation Guide.
- Start STM32CubeIDE, from Linux Mint main menu and then All applications > Programming
- Keep the default workspace and click the Launch button
- Install the STM32 MCU Package for STM32L4 Series (version 1.17.2 at the time of writing):
- Select Help > Manage Embedded Software Packages
- On the STM32Cube MCU Packages tab, expand the STM32L4 list and select the package
- Click the Install button
The package is installed in /home/developer/STM32Cube/Repository/STM32Cube_FW_L4_V1.17.2.
- Click on the Minimize icon of the Information Center window, in the upper right-hand corner:
- Select File > Import...
- Select General > Import ac6 System Workbench for STM32Project
- Click the Next > button
- For Import source, select
/home/developer/STM32Cube/Repository/STM32Cube_FW_L4_V1.17.2/Projects/NUCLEO-L476RG/Examples/GPIO/GPIO_EXTI/SW4STM32/STM32L476RG_NUCLEO - Click the Finish button
- Accept project conversion
- A project named STM32L476RG_NUCLEO appears in the Project Explorer window
- Click the small vertical triangle at the left of the project name, in order to display project files
- Select Project > Build Project. If nothing happens, right-click on the project and select Build Project
At the end of the build, the Console window displays the result:
The Build Analyzer window provides memory usage information:
Connect the NUCLEO board to the host PC. Check that the virtual machine can see it, with Devices > USB from VirtualBox menu. A new USB device should be visible: STMicroelectronics STM32 STLink [0100]. Tick the associated checkbox.
Assign the board to the virtual machine on a permanent basis:
- Select Device > USB > USB Settings...
- Click on the Add new USB filter button
- Select the board
- Click the OK button
In the Project Explorer window, open the Debug directory and select STM32L476RG_NUCLEO.bin. This is the binary file to use to program the board.
Create a run configuration by selecting Run > Run configurations.... Select STM32 Cortex-M C/C++ Application. Click on the New Launch Configuration tool, above the list of configuration types. The various fields should be prefilled with the right default values:
Click the Run button.
Depending on the version of the NUCLEO board, a window requesting an update of the ST-Link firmware may be displayed:
Click the Yes button.
The ST-Link upgrade window is displayed:
Click the Open in update mode button. The window displays firmware version information:
Click the Upgrade button. At the end of the upgrade, close the window.
Request again to run the above run configuration. The Console window displays a rebuild, the board programming, and ends with a message saying that the debugger connection is lost. That's normal, as we didn't start a debugging session.
Push the board blue button. The green LED should light up when you release the button. Push again, it should cut out when the button is released.
STM32CubeIDE is installed with sudo. This means that the file owner is root. Consequently, updating STM32CubeIDE using Eclipse update mechanism (Help > Check for Updates) fails, when you run STM32CubeIDE from a normal user.
One way to use this update mechanism would be to start STM32CubeIDE from root. But trying this, I got in trouble: STM32CubeIDE refused to start after an update from 1.7.0 to 1.8.0. Consequently, now, instead of updating, I install the new version from scratch. An additional benefit: the previous version can be kept.