The CMSIS-Toolbox is developed as part of the Open-CMSIS-Pack project in collaboration with Arm, NXP, and STMicroelectronics. It is an integral part of next generation software tools and unifies development flows with popular embedded toolchains (Arm, GCC, IAR, and LLVM compiler).

The CMSIS-Toolbox provides command-line tools for:

Project creation and build of embedded applications utilizing Software Packs with support for multiple compilation tools.
Software Pack creation, maintenance, and distribution utilizing the CMSIS-Pack format.

Access to CMSIS-Toolbox

CMSIS-Toolbox is actively maintained in a dedicated GitHub repository and released as a set of binary utilities.

CMSIS-Toolbox GitHub Repo - contains the source code and releases.
CMSIS-Toolbox User Guide - provides user documentation for the CMSIS-Toolbox.

Benefits

Flexible CLI tools that can be used stand-alone or integrated into VS Code or DevOps systems for Continuous Integration (CI).
Stand-alone tools that are available for all host platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) and flexible deployable.
Software Packs simplify tool setup with device: or board: selection and project creation with access to reusable software components.
Organize solutions with projects that are independently managed simplifies a wide range of use cases including multi-processor applications or unit testing.
Provisions for product lifecycle management (PLM) with versioned software packs that are easy to update and management for configuration files.
Software layers enable code reuse across similar applications with a pre-configured set of source files and software components.
Multiple hardware targets allow application deployment to different hardware (test board, production hardware, virtual hardware, etc.).
Multiple build types support software testing and verification (debug build, test build, release build, ect.).

Project Creation

The following tools support the creation of build information for embedded applications:

Tool	Description
cpackget	Pack Manager: install and manage software packs in the development environment.
csolution	Project Manager: create build information for embedded applications that consist of one or more related projects.
cbuild	Build Invocation: orchestrate the build steps utilizing CMSIS tools and a CMake compilation process.

The build information is defined with User Input Files in YAML format. It starts with a *.csolution.yml file that refers related, but independent projects defined with *.cproject.yml files. A *.cproject.yml may refer one or more *.clayer.yml files that define re-usable project parts that may be shared across projects.

The build information can refer to Software Packs that define Device and Board information and provide access to re-usable software components such as drivers and middleware. A cdefault.yml file provides a common setup for various compilers and generic translation controls enable compiler agonistic projects; compiler toolchain specific controls may be used when required.

The Output Files contain detailed build information and manage the configuration files for software components.

The diagram below provides an overview of the build information used by the CMSIS-Toolbox.

Overview of Project Definition

Software Pack Creation

The following tools support the creation of Software Packs in CMSIS-Pack format:

Tool	Description
packchk	Pack Validation: installs and manages software packs in the local development environment.
svdconv	SVD Check / Convert: validate and/or convert System View Description (SVD) files.

In addition several scripts are provided that simplify pack creation with desktop or cloud workflows. This is described in several hands-on tutorials:

Hands-on Tutorial	Description
SW-Pack-HandsOn	Explains the steps to create a simple software pack using the Open-CMSIS-Pack technology.
DFP-Pack-HandsOn	Explains the structure and creation of a Device Family Pack (DFP).
BSP-Pack-HandsOn	Explains the structure and creation of a Board Support Pack (BSP).