Get started with the Dev Board - Flipper Zero

The Wi-Fi Developer Board serves as a tool to debug the Flipper Zero firmware. To debug the firmware, the initial step involves compiling the firmware from its source code. This process enables the debugging functionality within the firmware and generates all the necessary files required for debugging purposes.

<div class="info flipper-callout"> <div class="callout-header"></div> Building and debugging the Flipper Zero firmware is fully supported on MacOS and Linux. Support for Windows is in beta test.</div>

Updating the firmware of your Developer Board

Update the firmware of your Developer Board before using it. For more information, visit Firmware update on Developer Board.

Installing Git

You’ll need Git installed on your computer to clone the firmware repository. If you don’t have Git, install it by doing the following:

%mac%MacOS

On MacOS, install the Xcode Command Line Tools package, which includes Git as one of the pre-installed command-line utilities, by running in the Terminal the following command:

xcode-select --install

%linux%Linux

On Linux, you can install Git using your package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, run in the Terminal the following command:

sudo apt install git

For other distributions, refer to your package manager documentation.

Building the firmware

First, clone the firmware repository:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/flipperdevices/flipperzero-firmware.gitcd flipperzero-firmware

Then, run the Flipper Build Tool (FBT) to build the firmware:

./fbt

Connecting the Developer Board

The Developer Board can work in the Wired mode and two Wireless modes: Wi-Fi access point (AP) mode and Wi-Fi client (STA) mode. The Wired mode is the simplest to set up, but requires a USB Type-C cable. The Wireless modes are more complex to set up, but they allow you to debug your Flipper Zero wirelessly.

<div class="info flipper-callout"> <div class="callout-header"></div> Use the following credentials when connecting to the Developer Board in <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><b>Wi-Fi access point</b></span> mode: <br> <br> Name: <b>blackmagic</b> <br> Password: <b>iamwitcher</b></div>

%usb%Wired

%wifi%Wireless

The Developer Board in Wired mode

Wi-Fi access point (AP) mode

The Developer Board in Wi-Fi access point mode

Out of the box, the Developer Board is configured to work as a Wi-Fi access point. This means it'll create its own Wi-Fi network to which you can connect. If your Developer Board doesn’t create a Wi-Fi network, it is probably configured to work in Wi-Fi client mode. To reset your Developer Board back to Wi-Fi access point mode, press and hold the BOOT button for 10 seconds, then wait for the module to reboot.

Wi-Fi client (STA) mode

The Developer Board in Wi-Fi client mode

To connect the Developer Board in Wi-Fi client mode, you need to configure it to connect to your Wi-Fi network by doing the following:

Cold-plug the Developer Board by turning off your Flipper Zero and connecting the Developer Board, and then turning it back on.

Connect to the Developer Board in Wi-Fi access point mode.

In a browser, go to the configuration page onhttp://192.168.4.1.

Select the STA mode and enter your network’s SSID (name) and password. For convenience, you can click the+button to see the list of nearby networks.

Save the configuration and reboot the Developer Board.

In the Wi-Fi tab, you can set the Developer Board mode

After rebooting, the Developer Board connects to your Wi-Fi network. You can connect to the device using the mDNS nameblackmagic.localor the IP address it got from your router (you’ll have to figure this out yourself, every router is different).

After connecting to your debugger viahttp://blackmagic.local, you can find its IP address in theSYStab. You can also change the debugger’s mode toAPorSTAthere.

In the SYS tab, you can view the IP address of your Developer Board

Debugging the firmware

Open the Terminal in theflipperzero-firmwaredirectory that you cloned earlier and run the following command:

./fbt flash

This will upload the firmware you’ve just built to your Flipper Zero via the Developer Board. After that, you can start debugging the firmware using theGDBdebugger. We recommend using VSCode with the recommended extensions, and we have pre-made configurations for it.

To debug in VSCode, do the following:

In VSCode, open theflipperzero-firmwaredirectory.

You should see a notification about recommended extensions. Install them. If there were no notifications, open the Extensions tab, enter@recommendedin the search bar, and install the workspace recommendations.

In the Terminal, run the./fbt vscode_dist command. This will generate the VSCode configuration files needed for debugging.

In VSCode, open the Run andDebugtab and selectAttach FW (blackmagic)from the dropdown menu.

If needed, flash your Flipper Zero with the./fbt flashcommand, then click thePlaybutton in the debug sidebar to start the debugging session.

Note that starting a debug session halts the execution of the firmware, so you’ll need to click theContinuebutton on the toolbar at the top of your VS Code window to continue execution.

Click Continue in the toolbar to continue execution of the firmware

To learn about debugging, visit the following pages:

Get started with the Dev Board - Flipper Zero - Documentation (2024)