mohitmishra786 STM32 Bare-Metal (CMSIS, No HAL)
Purpose
Guide agents through a minimal STM32 bare-metal project using CMSIS device headers and startup code only — no STM32 HAL — covering clock setup, linker script integration, peripheral register access, and a reproducible build layout for STM32F/G/H/L families.
When to Use
- Starting STM32 firmware without Cube HAL dependency
- Porting vendor examples to register-level drivers
- Integrating with
skills/baremetal/baremetal-startupandskills/embedded/linker-scripts - Debugging clock or flash placement issues on STM32
- Teaching register-level STM32 before RTOS or Zephyr
Workflow
1. Minimal project layout
stm32-bare/
├── startup_stm32f407xx.s # vector table + Reset_Handler
├── system_stm32f4xx.c # SystemInit(), SystemCoreClockUpdate()
├── stm32f407xx.h # CMSIS (from ST pack or copy)
├── linker.ld # FLASH/RAM regions
├── main.c
└── Makefile
Use CMSIS-Core (core_cm4.h) and device header from ST CMSIS pack or open-source packs (e.g. stm32-cmsis-device-f4).
2. Clock configuration (RCC)
STM32 requires explicit HSE/HSI and PLL setup before high-speed peripherals:
/* system_stm32f4xx.c — simplified PLL from 8 MHz HSE */
void SystemInit(void)
{
RCC->CR |= RCC_CR_HSEON;
while (!(RCC->CR & RCC_CR_HSERDY)) {}
RCC->PLLCFGR = RCC_PLLCFGR_PLLSRC_HSE | (8 << 0) | (336 << 6) | (0 << 16) | (7 << 24);
RCC->CFGR |= RCC_CFGR_PPRE1_DIV2 | RCC_CFGR_PPRE2_DIV1 | RCC_CFGR_HPRE_DIV1;
RCC->CR |= RCC_CR_PLLON;
while (!(RCC->CR & RCC_CR_PLLRDY)) {}
FLASH->ACR = FLASH_ACR_LATENCY_5WS;
RCC->CFGR |= RCC_CFGR_SW_PLL;
while ((RCC->CFGR & RCC_CFGR_SWS) != RCC_CFGR_SWS_PLL) {}
SystemCoreClockUpdate();
}
Always match FLASH_ACR wait states to voltage scale and SYSCLK per reference manual table.
3. Enable peripheral clock before MMIO
#define RCC_AHB1ENR_GPIOAEN (1U << 0)
static inline void gpioa_clock_enable(void)
{
RCC->AHB1ENR |= RCC_AHB1ENR_GPIOAEN;
(void)RCC->AHB1ENR; /* AHB read-after-write — required on STM32 */
}
4. Build flags (arm-none-eabi-gcc)
MCU = -mcpu=cortex-m4 -mthumb -mfpu=fpv4-sp-d16 -mfloat-abi=hard
CFLAGS = $(MCU) -Wall -Wextra -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -g3
LDFLAGS = $(MCU) -T linker.ld -Wl,--gc-sections -specs=nano.specs -lc -lm -lnosys
5. Flash map (typical F4)
| Region | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flash | 0x08000000 |
Vector table at boot |
| SRAM1 | 0x20000000 |
Stack, heap, .data/.bss |
| CCM | 0x10000000 |
F4 only — not DMA-accessible from all masters |
Bootloader apps often link at 0x08010000 and set SCB->VTOR = 0x08010000 on entry.
6. QEMU note
QEMU STM32 machines (stm32vldiscovery, netduinoplus2, etc.) use different MCUs than F407 and omit GPIO/DMA/I2C per QEMU STM32 docs. Use skills/qemu/qemu-embedded-simulation for simulation; validate F4 firmware on hardware.
7. Agent usage
/stm32-baremetal Scaffold CMSIS-only STM32F407 project with USART2 printf
Common Problems
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Hang in SystemInit |
HSE not populated / wrong PLL | Use HSI for bring-up; verify crystal |
| Peripheral dead | RCC clock gate off | Enable AHB/APB bit; read-back RCC |
| HardFault on boot | Stack in wrong region / VTOR | Check _estack in linker.ld |
| Wrong baud rate | SystemCoreClock stale |
Call SystemCoreClockUpdate() after PLL |
| DMA fails from CCM | CCM not on AHB matrix path | Place DMA buffers in SRAM1 |
Related Skills
skills/baremetal/baremetal-startup— vector table and.data/.bssskills/baremetal/mmio-and-bit-manipulation— register access patternsskills/baremetal/bootloaders-embedded— app offset and VTOR relocationskills/embedded/linker-scripts— FLASH/RAM MEMORY blocksskills/embedded/openocd-jtag— flash and GDB via ST-Link