New commands everywhere: ls, rm and install <path> (Update from SD without the Firmware page), all as Storage Service jobs. In Debug Builds the console task answers get and put (one storage job per transfer, file kept open, TCP flow control: about 300 KB/s, against 55 KB/s over serial) and screenshot (the RGB332 frame the UI composes into). rdbg.py turns those into files and PNGs. A failed put closes the connection: the rest of the file had been parsed as commands. Card writes are retried 3 times after closing, truncating to the last good byte and reopening, since FATFS keeps a file in error after one failed write (seen once at 1.3 MB on this card). onStorage() decides with one compare-and-swap whether the job or the timeout wins, so an abandoned job can't touch a returned stack frame. Verified on the device: screenshot; a get round trip byte-identical; 4 puts in a row; a tampered .ota refused by install; a good one put, installed from SD, confirmed on Probation. The retry path itself has not fired since it was added. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EhqxQ49eCju4CzKYNjZzwT
6.4 KiB
roro9stack
A multi-app firmware for the M5Stack Cardputer ADV with the Cap LoRa-1262. It's a Meshtastic-compatible mesh messenger, plus Wi-Fi tools, IRC, GNSS and more. Licensed GPL-3.0.
- Domain language: CONTEXT.md
- Decisions: docs/adr/
- Milestones: docs/milestones/
Requirements
Only Docker is needed. PlatformIO and the ESP32 toolchain run inside a container, and are cached in the roro9stack-pio Docker volume. The first build downloads about 1 GB and takes a few minutes.
Build and test (local CI)
scripts/ci.sh
This runs the host-side unit tests (test/, native environment), then builds the firmware. The output is .pio/build/cardputer-adv/firmware.factory.bin.
Flash
-
Connect the Cardputer by USB-C.
-
Run:
scripts/flash.sh # auto-detects the port; or: scripts/flash.sh /dev/ttyACM1This uploads the firmware, then opens the serial monitor. Quit the monitor with
Ctrl+C.
If the upload can't connect, put the device in download mode: hold G0 (the button next to the screen) while plugging in USB, or while pressing reset. Then retry.
If you get "permission denied" on the port, your user needs access to the serial device. Run this once, then log out and back in:
sudo usermod -aG dialout "$USER"
Firmware Updates over Wi-Fi (OTA)
Once the Cardputer runs an OTA-capable firmware (flashed once over USB), updates can go over Wi-Fi:
scripts/ota_keygen.sh # once: creates the signing key (see ADR 0003)
scripts/flash.sh --ota 10.39.39.12 # build, sign and push; or set RORO_OTA_HOST
The device shows the push address in Settings → Firmware. It installs a correctly signed update right away, restarts (waiting up to 60 s if you're typing), and runs the new firmware on Probation. If the new firmware crashes, or can't reconnect Wi-Fi within 3 minutes, it rolls back to the previous one and says so.
To install from the SD card instead, copy the .ota file from .pio/build/cardputer-adv/ into /updates on the card, then use Settings → Firmware. With the Cardputer on USB, the card can stay in: scripts/sd_put.sh <file.ota> sends it over the serial console into /updates (about 30 s for 1.6 MB, checked with SHA-256 before it's renamed into place; SD_PUT_DEBUG=1 shows the console while it runs).
The private key lives in ~/.config/roro9stack/ota-key.pem and must never be committed. If it's lost, generate a new pair and flash once over USB.
Development aids
scripts/serial_log.sh [seconds] [command…] records the serial output, and can send commands to the firmware first. For example, scripts/serial_log.sh 30 short sleep:12 burst sets short screen timeouts, waits 12 s, then sends a burst of Toasts.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
burst |
Publishes 5 Notifications at once |
key up|down|left|right|select|back|home, or key <char> |
Injects a key press |
sound on / sound off |
Toggles the Sound setting (beep + LED) |
short / normal |
Screen timeouts 5 s / 10 s, or 30 s / 60 s |
wifi add <ssid><TAB><password> |
Adds a Saved Network (so credentials stay out of the repo) |
log <text> |
Appends a line to a test IRC Log (/irc/dev/#test/<date>.log) |
sd list |
Lists the files of each Storage Clean-up category |
cat <path> |
Prints the first ~1.2 KB of a file on the SD card |
irc start |
Starts the IRC Service (normally done by opening the IRC App) |
irc say <buffer> <text> |
Types into a Buffer, commands included (irc say 0 /join #test) |
irc dump |
Prints IRC status, memory, and the last lines of each Buffer |
wifi status |
Prints Wi-Fi state, network, signal, clock and free heap |
info |
Firmware, uptime, last start reason, memory, Wi-Fi, and both app slots with their versions and OTA states |
tasks |
FreeRTOS tasks: state, priority, lowest free stack, CPU share |
reboot / boot other |
Restart, or restart into the other app slot (a manual Rollback) |
log level <0-5> |
ESP-IDF log level |
ls [folder] / rm <path> |
Lists a folder of the SD card, or deletes a file |
install <path> |
Update from SD with that .ota file, as Settings → Firmware does |
crash |
The last crash: which firmware, why, task, PC and backtrace (from the core dump in flash) |
coredump erase |
Forgets the core dump |
crash abort / crash wdt |
Debug Builds: crash on purpose, or hang the main loop until the watchdog fires |
help |
Lists the commands |
scripts/flash.sh stops a running serial log first, since it would hold the port.
Debug Builds and the Debug Console
scripts/flash.sh --debug (USB) or scripts/flash.sh --debug --ota <ip> (Wi-Fi) installs a Debug Build: the same firmware plus the Debug Console on TCP 2323 (ADR 0004). Then, with RORO_OTA_HOST set to the device's IP:
scripts/rdbg.py # interactive: the console backlog, live lines, and commands
scripts/rdbg.py info # one command and its reply
scripts/rdbg.py -b tasks # the same, after the backlog (boot messages and so on)
Every command above works there too, plus a few handled by the PC side or the console's own task:
scripts/rdbg.py crash # the last crash, its backtrace decoded against that exact build's ELF
scripts/rdbg.py coredump # fetch the core dump and decode it all (registers, every task) with esp-coredump
scripts/rdbg.py reset # restart at once, even if the main loop is stuck
scripts/rdbg.py screenshot # the screen as a PNG (2x)
scripts/rdbg.py put <file> [card path] # to the SD card (default /updates/<name>), SHA-256 checked, ~300 KB/s
scripts/rdbg.py get <card path> [file] # from the SD card
So a Firmware Update can also go rdbg.py put roro9stack-….ota then rdbg.py install /updates/roro9stack-….ota: the Update from SD path, without touching the device.
Every build keeps its ELF in .pio/elves/ (version and digest in the name) for that; scripts/decode_backtrace.sh <version|digest> <addresses> decodes any backtrace by hand.
After 3 crash restarts in a row the firmware starts in Safe Mode (ADR 0005): only Wi-Fi, Firmware Updates and the Debug Console, so a fix can be pushed as usual. reboot leaves it. The token is in ~/.config/roro9stack/debug-token, made by the first build; keep developing on Debug Builds, so the firmware a Rollback returns to always has the console.