3 Firmware Image Builder (pyfwimagebuilder)

Introduction

The Image Builder (pyfwimagebuilder) is a Command Line Interface (CLI) that converts the application hex file (*.hex) into another format (*.img) that is directly understood by the bootloader client firmware. The image builder tool also requires bootloader_configuration.toml that is generated by the MCC Melody 8-Bit MDFU Client library. bootloader_configuration.toml file contains various device parameters that are added to the generated image file and are used by the bootloader client to identify the device that is used to create the application. A few examples of device parameters are Device ID, Flash row size, application start address, memory unlock keys, etc. These parameters in the image file help the bootloader client to perform initial image verification by extracting the Device ID information and comparing it with the Device ID of the target device.

pyfwimagebuilder Workflow

Note: Make sure to have Python 3.8 or later installed and accessible by the command line interface.

Open the Windows Command Prompt.
Install the pyfwimagebuilder using the command:
```
pip install pyfwimagebuilder
```
Execute the below command to generate the embedded application image file:
```
pyfwimagebuilder  build [-i input.hex]  [-c bootloader_configuration.toml]  [-o output.img]
```

Note: pyfwimagebuilder can be invoked directly in MPLAB X IDE as a postBuild step.

Note: The toml file will be inside Booloader Project Folder>mcc_generated files>bootloader>configurations.