How do I install the Qemu Embedded Simulation skill?

Run npx skillmds add mohitmishra786/qemu-embedded-simulation in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Is Qemu Embedded Simulation free to use?

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Who published Qemu Embedded Simulation?

mohitmishra786 (@mohitmishra786) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Qemu Embedded Simulation by mohitmishra786

Name: Qemu Embedded Simulation
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: mohitmishra786

Qemu Embedded Simulation

QEMU embedded simulation skill for bare-metal MCU testing. Use when running ARM/RISC-V firmware in QEMU, selecting machine models, loading -kernel ELF, or GDB debugging without hardware. Activates on queries about QEMU bare metal, qemu-system-arm -kernel, STM32 QEMU machine, RISC-V virt, or firmware simulation.

File contents

QEMU Embedded Simulation

Purpose

Guide agents through QEMU for bare-metal and RTOS firmware: machine selection, loading ELF images, semihosting, peripheral models, and GDB debug — distinct from Linux-focused skills/virtualization/qemu-kvm and skills/kernel-dev/qemu-for-kernel-development.

When to Use

Test Cortex-M firmware without board
CI smoke test for linker script / startup
GDB single-step before OpenOCD on hardware
RISC-V bring-up on virt machine

Workflow

1. ARM Cortex-M (QEMU STM32 boards)

QEMU models a subset of STM32 boards (see qemu.org STM32 docs):

Machine	MCU	Core
`stm32vldiscovery`	STM32F100RBT6	Cortex-M3
`netduino2`	STM32F205RFT6	Cortex-M3
`netduinoplus2`	STM32F405RGT6	Cortex-M4F
`olimex-stm32-h405`	STM32F405RGT6	Cortex-M4F

# stm32vldiscovery — Cortex-M3 (not F4); match -mcpu to the board
arm-none-eabi-gcc -mcpu=cortex-m3 -T linker.ld -o firmware.elf main.c startup.s
qemu-system-arm \
  -machine stm32vldiscovery \
  -kernel firmware.elf \
  -nographic \
  -serial mon:stdio

Boot with -kernel firmware.bin or .elf per QEMU STM32 boot options.

Machine list: qemu-system-arm -machine help. GPIO, DMA, and I2C are not modeled on current QEMU STM32 machines — USART/SPI/ADC/timer are partially supported.

2. Generic ARM virt (Cortex-A test)

qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -cpu cortex-a53 -m 128M \
  -kernel firmware.elf -nographic

3. RISC-V bare metal

qemu-system-riscv32 -machine virt -nographic \
  -bios none \
  -kernel firmware.elf

-bios none starts at reset vector without OpenSBI.

4. GDB stub

qemu-system-arm -machine stm32vldiscovery -kernel firmware.elf \
  -S -gdb tcp::3333 -nographic

arm-none-eabi-gdb firmware.elf
(gdb) target remote :3333
(gdb) monitor reset halt
(gdb) load

Pair with skills/embedded/openocd-jtag for on-target workflow.

5. Semihosting (if supported)

qemu-system-arm ... -semihosting-config enable=on,target=native

Allows printf via semihosting syscall — toolchain must be built with semihosting support.

6. Limitations (QEMU STM32 per upstream docs)

Gotcha	Reality
No GPIO in QEMU STM32	GPIO controller not implemented — LED blink tests need hardware or another machine
No DMA / I2C	DMA and I2C missing on STM32 QEMU models
Partial RCC	RCC reset/enable only on F4; not full clock tree
Wrong MCU assumed	`stm32vldiscovery` is F100 M3, not F407 — match CPU flags and linker memory
Timing	Not cycle-accurate vs silicon

Validate on hardware before production sign-off.

7. Agent usage

/qemu-embedded-simulation Run STM32VL discovery firmware in QEMU with GDB on port 3333

Common Problems

Symptom	Cause	Fix
QEMU exits immediately	`main` returned	Loop or `WFI` at end
Wrong entry address	ELF not linked for model	Check `readelf -h` entry
No serial output	Wrong UART model address	Use machine-specific map or semihosting
GDB can't connect	Forgot `-S`	Add `-S -gdb tcp::3333`
HardFault in QEMU	Stack/vector invalid	Fix startup — see baremetal-startup

Related Skills

skills/baremetal/baremetal-startup — vectors and linker script
skills/baremetal/stm32-baremetal — STM32 layout
skills/embedded/openocd-jtag — hardware debug
skills/kernel-dev/qemu-for-kernel-development — Linux kernel in QEMU
skills/platform/riscv-privileged — RISC-V reset and virt

---name: qemu-embedded-simulationdescription: QEMU embedded simulation skill for bare-metal MCU testing. Use when running ARM/RISC-V firmware in QEMU, selecting machine models, loading -kernel ELF, or GDB debugging without hardware. Activates on queries about QEMU bare metal, qemu-system-arm -kernel, STM32 QEMU machine, RISC-V virt, or firmware simulation.--- # QEMU Embedded Simulation ## Purpose Guide agents through QEMU for bare-metal and RTOS firmware: machine selection, loading ELF images, semihosting, peripheral models, and GDB debug — distinct from Linux-focused `skills/virtualization/qemu-kvm` and `skills/kernel-dev/qemu-for-kernel-development`. ## When to Use - Test Cortex-M firmware without board - CI smoke test for linker script / startup - GDB single-step before OpenOCD on hardware - RISC-V bring-up on `virt` machine ## Workflow ### 1. ARM Cortex-M (QEMU STM32 boards) QEMU models a **subset** of STM32 boards (see [qemu.org STM32 docs](https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/arm/stm32.html)): | Machine | MCU | Core | |---------|-----|------| | `stm32vldiscovery` | STM32F100RBT6 | Cortex-M3 | | `netduino2` | STM32F205RFT6 | Cortex-M3 | | `netduinoplus2` | STM32F405RGT6 | Cortex-M4F | | `olimex-stm32-h405` | STM32F405RGT6 | Cortex-M4F | ```bash # stm32vldiscovery — Cortex-M3 (not F4); match -mcpu to the board arm-none-eabi-gcc -mcpu=cortex-m3 -T linker.ld -o firmware.elf main.c startup.s qemu-system-arm \ -machine stm32vldiscovery \ -kernel firmware.elf \ -nographic \ -serial mon:stdio ``` Boot with `-kernel firmware.bin` or `.elf` per QEMU STM32 boot options. Machine list: `qemu-system-arm -machine help`. **GPIO, DMA, and I2C are not modeled** on current QEMU STM32 machines — USART/SPI/ADC/timer are partially supported. ### 2. Generic ARM virt (Cortex-A test) ```bash qemu-system-aarch64 -machine virt -cpu cortex-a53 -m 128M \ -kernel firmware.elf -nographic ``` ### 3. RISC-V bare metal ```bash qemu-system-riscv32 -machine virt -nographic \ -bios none \ -kernel firmware.elf ``` `-bios none` starts at reset vector without OpenSBI. ### 4. GDB stub ```bash qemu-system-arm -machine stm32vldiscovery -kernel firmware.elf \ -S -gdb tcp::3333 -nographic arm-none-eabi-gdb firmware.elf (gdb) target remote :3333 (gdb) monitor reset halt (gdb) load ``` Pair with `skills/embedded/openocd-jtag` for on-target workflow. ### 5. Semihosting (if supported) ```bash qemu-system-arm ... -semihosting-config enable=on,target=native ``` Allows `printf` via semihosting syscall — toolchain must be built with semihosting support. ### 6. Limitations (QEMU STM32 per upstream docs) | Gotcha | Reality | |--------|---------| | No GPIO in QEMU STM32 | GPIO controller not implemented — LED blink tests need hardware or another machine | | No DMA / I2C | DMA and I2C missing on STM32 QEMU models | | Partial RCC | RCC reset/enable only on F4; not full clock tree | | Wrong MCU assumed | `stm32vldiscovery` is F100 M3, not F407 — match CPU flags and linker memory | | Timing | Not cycle-accurate vs silicon | Validate on hardware before production sign-off. ### 7. Agent usage ``` /qemu-embedded-simulation Run STM32VL discovery firmware in QEMU with GDB on port 3333 ``` ## Common Problems | Symptom | Cause | Fix | |---------|-------|-----| | QEMU exits immediately | `main` returned | Loop or `WFI` at end | | Wrong entry address | ELF not linked for model | Check `readelf -h` entry | | No serial output | Wrong UART model address | Use machine-specific map or semihosting | | GDB can't connect | Forgot `-S` | Add `-S -gdb tcp::3333` | | HardFault in QEMU | Stack/vector invalid | Fix startup — see baremetal-startup | ## Related Skills - `skills/baremetal/baremetal-startup` — vectors and linker script - `skills/baremetal/stm32-baremetal` — STM32 layout - `skills/embedded/openocd-jtag` — hardware debug - `skills/kernel-dev/qemu-for-kernel-development` — Linux kernel in QEMU - `skills/platform/riscv-privileged` — RISC-V reset and virt

Frequently asked questions