RE: Using NRFX SPIM and Zephyr SPI API's simultaneously

matthazley — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 07:10:33 GMT

Thanks for clarifying things - we'll try this.

RE: Using NRFX SPIM and Zephyr SPI API's simultaneously

Priyanka — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:27:26 GMT

Hi Matt,

You should be able to use them simultaneously, provided you use separate SPI instances for both and you do not try to use both APIs on the same hardware instance at the same time. .

You see the status disabled for the SPI instance you want to use with the nrfx driver because we don't want Zephyr to initialize and claim that peripheral. Though status is disabled, you still specify the pins so your application can retrieve them from the devicetree. This i what is shown in the nrfx_prs sample that you mentioned.

So use Zephyr API for one SPI instance (which is enabled in devicetree). And use nrfx API for another SPI instance (disabled in devicetree, but pins specified).

Now, in the sample that you linked, it uses IRQ_CONNECT to connect the interrupt to the nrfx handler. This is necessary for the nrfx driver to function correctly:

Some peripherals (e.g., SPIM2, UARTE2) share the same interrupt line. Zephyr can't manage this dynamically, so nrfx_prs lets multiple NRFX drivers safely share an IRQ.

-Priyanka