Linux ARM support for the nrfutil nrf5sdk-tools command

[Koen Smets]

Dear,

I would like to request Linux ARM support for the nrfutil nrf5sdk-tools command.

I am working on a Linux ARM-based environment and noticed that nrfutil nrf5sdk-tools does not appear to be available for this platform. This limits the ability to use the same tooling and workflows that are available on other desktop Linux environments, and makes automation on ARM-based systems more difficult.

Could you please consider adding official support for nrfutil nrf5sdk-tools on Linux ARM?

A Linux ARM build would be useful for environments such as:

- ARM-based development boards
- Raspberry Pi and similar devices
- ARM CI/CD runners
- Other embedded or low-power Linux systems used in development and manufacturing workflows

If this is already on your roadmap, I would appreciate any information you can share. If not, I would like to formally register this as a feature request.

If helpful, I can also provide details about the specific Linux ARM platform and use case.

Best regards,
Koen

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi Koen,

There is no active development on nrf5sdk-tools and no updates are planned. It is essentially the latest legacy nrfutil from here, which is all in Python. The best approach may be to use that directly when working with legacy nRF5 SDK devices on ARM based Linux devices.

Br,

Einar

[Koen Smets]

Hi Einar,

Thanks for the clarification.

The problem from my side is that pointing users to legacy pc-nrfutil does not really resolve the Linux ARM gap, because that tool also appears to be in a poor and effectively unmaintained state. For reference, there is an open issue here:
github.com/.../337

So at the moment the situation seems to be:

- nrfutil nrf5sdk-tools sub-command is not planned for Linux ARM
- pc-nrfutil is the suggested fallback
- but pc-nrfutil itself is legacy and problematic

Given that, could you clarify what Nordic considers the recommended and supported workflow for customers who still need to maintain or manufacture products based on the nRF5 SDK from Linux ARM systems?

If there is no supported path, I would like to register that as a product gap / feature request:
officially supported tooling for legacy nRF5 SDK device workflows on Linux ARM, especially for programming / DFU / production automation use cases.

If useful, I can provide more detail on the exact commands and deployment environment involved.

Best regards,
Koen

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi Koen,

You are right, pc-nrfutil is unmaintained, and there will be no updates to it. But that is the only option I can see that will let you use it with ARM based Linux (anything you ran run python scripts on). That will be up to you.

I have forwarded your request internally, but nRF5 SDK itself is legacy and a workaround is to use a diferent system for your nrfutil needs. (I assume this is for a legacy product, as I would advice against using anything nRF5 SDK based for new development).