[Solved] CubeMx, run code generation from command line?

[DavidAlfa]

I have a project that uses different MCUs. 99.99% of the code is common for all, so I have different .project, .cproject and .ioc files for each, and use CubeMx to handle the hardware initialization.

Currently, it requires manual building: Close the project, copy and replace the files, open the project, trigger code generation and compile.

Now I'm trying to automate that.

Replacing these files in a script and calling the compiler (headless build) is the easy part.

This compiles correctly when the code was already generated with CubeMX.

org.eclipse.cdt.managedbuilder.core.headlessbuild -import C:\projects\my_project -build my_project/Release

However, I was unable to automate CubeMX generation

I tried using CubeMx from CubeIDE, and also standalone version, with the same results:

C:\Program Files\STMicroelectronics\STM32Cube\STM32CubeMX\STM32CubeMX.exe
C:\ST\STM32CubeIDE_1.7.0\STM32CubeIDE\plugins\com.st.stm32cube.common.mx_6.3.0.202107141111\STM32CubeMX.jar

If I only run this, it load the config and I can generate the code manually:

java -jar STM32CubeMX.jar my_project.ioc

If I try using a script:

java -jar STM32CubeMX.jar -q my_script

load STM32F103C(8-B)Tx
load config my_project.ioc
project name my_project
project path C:\projects\my_project
project generate
exit

I always get "Can't create config Project: error when loading config.xml file"

And this line is shown in the cmd window;

[ERROR] ApiDbMcu:562 - C:\ST\STM32CubeIDE_1.7.0\STM32CubeIDE\plugins\com.st.stm32cube.common.mx_6.3.0.202107141111\\db\//mcu/config.xml doesn't exist

I've tried a lot of different commands without success. ST example in manual is unclear.

Also the interactive switch (-i) doesn't work, the application launches normally.

Please, how to trigger code generation from command line or using a script?

[DavidAlfa]

So this is what I've been able to extract from the help.

There's a lot more than what ST is showing in the manual, which barely includes a quick  look over.

Why? Not being able to interface CubeMX in scripts will tie you to manual builds.

log
Usage:
log <level>

set
Usage:
set mode
 set mode <Periph> <Mode Name>: set a mode in a peripheral / set mode <Third Party> <Bundle> <Class>
set username
 set username <Periph> <User Name>: set a User name for a peripheral
set pin
 set pin <pin name> <signal name>
set pinreservation
 set pinreservation <pin name>
set gpio
set ip
set AllIpInContext
 set AllIpInContext <ContextName>.
 On multi-context MCU, Force the selection of all IPs in specified context.
 Each IP of current MCU is firstly deselected from all contexts if possible before been selected in <ContextName>.
 This command must be used without the UI as it is not refreshed.
 
set contextProject
 set contextProject <mcuRefName> <ContextProjectName>
 On multi-context MCU, select the specified contextProject for the current multi-context mcu.
 
set context
 set context <ContextName> <IPInstanceName>
 On multi-context MCU, assign the specified IP to the specified context.
 
set noparam
 set noparam <ip regexp>
set userconst
 set userconst <userconstant> <value> : add or update a user constant with new value
set bsp
 set bsp <middleware> <bsp name> <bsp mode> <solution> [I2C address]
set tpl_path
 set tpl_path <path>:set your template source path
set dest_path
 set dest_path <path>:set your template destination path

import
Usage:
import hackmxdb
 hackmxdb import <pin name> <signal name>: will hack the MxDb by deleting all Alternates Pins for <signal name> except for <pin name>
import openioc
 load import ioc file
import set
import try
import GPIOconstraint
 constraints on GPIO <constrainedGPIO>: will set the signal from pin origin to pin target
import channelconstraint
 constraints on channel <IPOrigin> <channelOrigin> <IPDestination> <channelDestination>: change channel for described IPs
import get
import add_compatibility_rule
 hack_rules <file>: open saved config

load
Usage:
load <mcu>: open mcu xml file

get
Usage:
get modes
 get modes <peripheral regular expression match (.* for all)>: get a list of all leaf modes in a peripheral
get mapped
get mode
 get mode <active|available|all> <peripheral (.* for all)>: get mode(s) for a given peripheral
get mode_param_list
 get mode_param_list <peripheral> <active_mode>: get parameter(s) for a given active mode
get mode_param_possvalue
 get mode_param_possvalue <peripheral> <active_mode> <parameter>: get parameter possible value(s) for a given active mode parameter
get mode_param_pattern
 get mode_param_pattern <peripheral> <active_mode> <pattern>: get all pattern parameter(s) for a given active mode
get available
get signal
 get signal <pin>: get the signal set on a pin
get pinout
 get pinout: get the mcu pinout
get gpio
get ip
get sub-mode-state
 get sub-mode-state <Periph> <moderoot,submode1,submode1.1>
get available-analog-signals
 get available-analog-signals <pin name>
get sub-modes
 get sub-modes <Periph>
get mcu
get functions
 get functions <pin regex>: list all possible functions of a pin
get possible
get codegeneratormode
 get codegeneratormode
get bsp
get version
 print current version
get tpl_path
 get tpl_path:get your template source path
get dest_path
 get dest_path:get your template destination path

reset
Usage:
reset pin
 reset pin <pin name>
reset pinreservation
 reset pinreservation <pin name>
reset signal
 reset signal <signal name>
reset pin-signal
 reset pin <pin name> <signal name>
reset mode
 reset mode <Periph> <Mode Name>: reset a mode in a peripheral
reset noparam
 reset noparam <ip regexp>
reset userconst
 reset userconst <userconstant> : remove a user constant. No error reporting

pinout
Usage:
pinout check
pinout uncheck

add
Usage:
add mw
 add mw name root_dir mode_file config_file template_dir

check
Usage:
check mcu
check mode
check mcus

csv
Usage:
csv pinout
 csv pinout <file>

generate
Usage:
generate code
 generate code <path>
generate all_code_in_main
 generate all code in main.c
generate one_file_per_ip
 generate one file per ip

tinyload
Usage:
tinyload <mcu>: load mcu for pinout only

waitclock
Usage:
Wait for a delay in seconds until clock has finished its initialization

switch
Usage:
switch context
 switch context <ContextName> <IPInstanceName>
 On multi-context MCU, switch the specified IP to the specified context without lost of its configuration.

unset
Usage:
unset context
 unset context <ContextName> <IPInstanceName>
 On multi-context MCU, remove the specified IP from the specified context.
 
unset bsp
 unset bsp <middleware> <bsp name>

export
Usage:
export script
 export configAsScript <outputscript>

list
Usage:
list ipdependencies
 list ipdependencies

loadboard
Usage:
loadboard <boardname> <allmodes>]|<nomode> load a board with or without modes

project
Usage:
project couplefilesbyip
 project couplefilesbyip <1/0>: Peripheral initialization done in main or in separate IPs files.
project generateunderroot
 project generateunderroot <1/0>: Project files generated under project root directory instead of specific subdir .
project generate
 project generate: generates full project
project toolchain
 project toolchain <toolchain>: set toolchain
project toolchainlocation
 project toolchainlocation <toolchain location>: set toolchainlocation
project set
project get
project path
 project path <path>: set project path
project name
 project name <name>: set project name
project import
 import project setting parameters
project save
 save project setting
project setCustomFWPath
 project setCustomFWPath <CustomFwLocation>: Set the custome FW Location.

setDriver
Usage:
set Ip driver

setStructure
Usage:
Set Application structure (Advanced/Basic).

SetCopyLibrary
Usage:
Set Copy Library (copy all/ copy only / copy as reference).

pinout
Usage:
pinout check
pinout uncheck

disable
Usage:
disable project

tooltip
Usage:
tooltip log

clock
Usage:
clock resolution
 resolve clock issues

updateIpUI
Usage:
update UI <IpName>: update the UI for a given IP

swmgr
Usage:
swmgr hello
 swmgr hello : say hello
swmgr getSelectedDB
 swmgr getSelectedDB
swmgr refresh
 swmgr refresh : Launch a refresh
swmgr set
swmgr connection
swmgr install
 swmgr install <full_cmsispack_name | full_firmware_name | full_filepath> <licence_mode (deny|ask)>: install specified Cmsis packname or Cube Firmware with selected license accept mode.
swmgr remove
 swmgr remove <full_pack_name | full_firmware_name>: remove specified cmsis packname or Cube Firmware

config
Usage:
config load
 load <file>: open saved config
config save
 save: save config
config saveas
 save <file>: save config

xcopy
Usage:
xcopy
 <sw_vendor><sw_version><example_name><example_path><ide:all|iar|keil|swb|cube> default:all
 <copy_fw:NONE|LITE|FULL> default:LITE
 <opt:user_example_path> default:$HOME/STM32CubEX
 <opt:fw_path> default:$HOME/STM32Cube/Repository
 <opt:board_name> default: empty
Description: Open cube example test
Example: xcopy "STMicroelectronics" "X-CUBE-BLE2_V3.2.0" "Beacon" "/Projects/NUCLEO-L476RG/Applications/Beacon" "all" "LITE" "" "" "NUCLEO-L476RG"

[DavidAlfa]

CubeMx manual is simply terrible.

Maybe some engineers thought throwing a bunch of commands without explaining the relation between them was enough.

After more trial and error, this worked right away:

java -jar cubemx.jar -q my_script

my_script content:

config load my_project.ioc
project generate ./
exit

This also generates an EWARM project folder, but it doesn't cause any problem, as the files are correctly placed in Src, Inc and Drivers folders, CubeIde headless build works perfectly.

The EWARM folder can be deleted before/after building.

[MAlda.1]

Did you also got it working with complete headless cubemx generation?

Trying your workflow still shows dialogues and is still asking questions whether to migrate to newer versions and stuff.

How did you figure out if there are arguments to commands in the script?

[DavidAlfa]

No idea.

As you see, ST didn't care much, and the included help is close to nothing.

It seems you have two options: Stay with the cubemx version or manually migrate on every update.

How did I found these commands?

Create a file, ex. script.txt:

help
exit

Open a cmd window or console:

For standalone CubeMX:

cd C:\Program Files\STMicroelectronics\STM32Cube\STM32CubeMX
java -jar cubemx.jar -q script.txt

For CubeMX included in STM32Cube IDE:

cd c:\ST\STM32CubeIDE\plugins\com.st.stm32cube.common.mx_6.4.0.202111222105
java -jar STM32CubeMX.jar -q script.txt

Watch the cmd window, everything will be printed there.

For more detailed help, you can run "cmd help", ex.:

project help
generate help
exit

Which is what I did, then wrote everything in my previous post.

It seems the only way to interact with cubeMX is using scripts.

Running cubemx.jar -help, --help, /help, -h, --h, etc... never works.

[Selso LIBERADO]

Hello.

I am working with stmcubemx 6.5 for Linux.

I can't manage going for interactive or script mode, the application always starts UI.

According to UM 1718 §3.3.2, I shall call the binary with '-i' or '-s' argument, but the UI is awlays showing up.

Seems that you do have this working indeed, did you experience the same difficulty as me before ?

Here is the application bootlog. Thanks.

 

 

 

naut@ubuntu:~$ /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/STM32CubeMX -i
Check exe path on linux
FullExe path1 is: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/STM32CubeMX
Exe path is: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0
Search java from relative path ----
Checking java in /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/./jre/bin/java
current working dir : /home/naut
av[0] /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/STM32CubeMX
chdir to :/opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0
New current working dir /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0
Full command: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/./jre/bin/java
-args[0] java
-args[1] -jar
-args[2] STM32CubeMX
-args[3] -i
log4j user configuration file not found: /home/naut/.stm32cubemx/log4j.properties
Configure log4j with default settings from jar:file:/opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0/STM32CubeMX!/log4j/log4j.stm32cubemx.properties
2023-08-03 15:01:21,539 [INFO] MicroXplorer:88 - [MX] MX Start == 17984615708986
2023-08-03 15:01:21,540 [INFO] MicroXplorer:632 - Detected Java Version = 11.0.10
2023-08-03 15:01:21,744 [INFO] ApplicationProperties:181 - Using Application install path: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0
2023-08-03 15:01:21,764 [INFO] DbMcusXml:72 - Set database path to: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0//db//mcu/
2023-08-03 15:01:21,766 [INFO] ApiDb:260 - Set plugin database path to: /opt/st/stm32cubemx-lin_v6-5-0//db//plugins/boardmanager/

 

 

 

 

[golvict]

Hi,

I see that this discussion was years ago, yet I have come across just now. I cannot see the answer to the second half of the question, namely, interactive invocation with "-i". I faced the same behavior today on Windows 11. Eventually, I have managed to enter the interactive mode with the cursor stopping at the STM32CubeMX>  prompt.

The thing is, it worked when I appended Project.ioc:

jre\bin\java -jar STM32CubeMX.exe -i Project.ioc

I wonder if this is the intended behavior by design just wrongly documented or bug?

[haleecaero.1]

I am using CubeMx 6.16.1 or 6.17.0 on macos and it doesn't start from the command line. The up-to-date manual recommends  to do `./STM32CubeMX -i`.

However, none of the below works: they always start the GUI:

./STM32CubeMX -i
./STM32CubeMX -i file.ioc
java -jar ./STM32CubeMX -i
java -jar ./STM32CubeMX -i file.ioc

This one (after a lot of verbose logging log) does work, however: it executes the script and exits:

./STM32CubeMx -q script.txt

 so one can make an interactive version of that via process substitution:

./STM32CubeMx -q <(cat)

but that's suboptimal.

[haleecaero.1]

Now that I got ahold of this, it doesn't seem particularly useful.

For instance:

config load /absolute/path/to/myfile/because/relative/doesnt/work.ioc

generate code .
2026-03-06 20:05:26,497 [INFO] CodeGenerator:898 - code generatio: config db path: /Users/giulio/.stm32cubemx/databases/DB.6.0.150/db/
Exception in code generation java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.st.microxplorer.mcu.GPIOService.getPorts()" because the return value of "com.st.microxplorer.mcu.Mcu.getGpioService()" is null