nRF54L05 without Zephyr/VSCode

[pungent1188]

How do I download the bare metal SDK without Zephyr/VSCode addon?

Looks like we are moving backwards when manufacturers forced our hands to use specific tools.

[khelmutlord]

Hello,

Apologies for the gap in documentation. You can install the SDK with nrfutil. https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/nrfutil/page/nrfutil-sdk-manager/guides/sdk_manager_searching.html#searching-for-specific-sdk-types

Search for the latest with "nrfutil sdk-manager search --type nrf-bm" 

Install with "nrfutil sdk-manager sdk install v0.9.0 --type nrf-bm"

Then launch the toolchain with: "nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --toolchain-path <your_path> --shell"

You can then build, for instance, the ble_nus sample with "west build -b bm_nrf54l15dk/nrf54l05/cpuapp/s115_softdevice/mcuboot"

Thanks,

Helmut Lord

[pungent1188]

A tutorial from zero to blinking LED would be nice in the documentation.

I downloaded the SDK (not the toolchain), but why is it so huge? I didn't ask for the zephyr one.

If it builds with west and it's full of Kconfig then I don't think it qualifies as bare metal.

Do you have any cmake or at least CMSIS examples? e.g.

   C:\ncs\nrf-bm\v0.9.0\nrf-bm\samples\peripherals\leds\src\main.c

starts with

#include <zephyr/kernel.h> /* k_busy_wait() */
#include <zephyr/sys_clock.h> /* USEC_PER_MSEC */
#include <zephyr/logging/log.h>
#include <zephyr/logging/log_ctrl.h>

looks like it's not even possible to build it without zephyr files:

nrfx_config.h contains:

#include "nrfx_kconfig.h"

I see you also dropped every .eww file from the SDK.

How do I get the required project defines for L15/L05 targets, if I manually collect all the files together into a flat folder?

(ideally SDK would collect every required file into /hal /cmsis but we don't live in an ideal world)

We are paying +2000usd/year for safety certified IAR compiler, we don't need zephyr with its 70 000 files.

[Susheel Nuguru]

Arpad, 

We hear you, but please understand that nrf-bm is our attempt to give a solution that should be used to make your migration to nrf connect sdk easier. This baremetal drop is heavier than it should as this are our first drops and we are still working on optimizing them in the next releases. We still reuse nrfx HAL/MDK, logging, a few Zephyr utility headers (for k_busy_wait, logging API), and the west manifest to pull pieces. This is not a pure CMSIS pack yet (and do not know if it ever will be)

You only need VSC to install it in a simpler way, if you prefer not to use it, you can do these through command line as well. 

The baremetal pieces are living in modules/hal/nordic/nrfx. All the board files are in nrf/board/nordic.

pungent1188 said:

We are paying +2000usd/year for safety certified IAR compiler, we don't need zephyr with its 70 000 files.

There are tens of compilers that needs to be paid for using them in commercial products, but we cannot support all of them. We made a strategic decision to support our newer solutions with Visual Studio Code and with Command line. We understand that even though this feels like a limitation, but we only did this to balance our resources to give proper solutions well tested with VSC and command line.

[pungent1188]

So, if I work out VSC and command line will I get a self contained project dir at the end?

I can grab the macros from cmake/makefiles, after that, it works with any ARM compiler.

I can live with zephyr headers, but don't want the RTOS part.

Otherwise, you might as well advertise nrf54 as "only supports zephyr OS/compiler, doesn't work with anything else, even though it's written in C, for profit margin reasons", and it shouldn't be called bare metal SDK.

[Susheel Nuguru]

Not sure what was promised to you, my understanding is that nrf-bm is a bridge or a stepping stone SDK to eventually move your products to nRF Connect SDK which is Zephyr based. If you want pure non-RTOS based solution with any KConfigs glues, then nrf-bm is not there yet. We are still depending on the Zephyr build system. If this is not what you want, then please talk to your Regional Sales Manager about any misunderstandings in promises.