Provided by: bladerf-host_0.9.0.15.8ba2499-1_amd64 
NAME
bladeRF-cli - command line interface and test utility
SYNOPSIS
bladeRF-cli <options>
DESCRIPTION
The bladeRF-cli utility is used to flash firmware files, load FPGA bitstreams, and perform other tasks on
the nuand bladeRF software-defined radio system.
For more information on obtaining or building firmware files and FPGA bitstreams, please visit
http://nuand.com/.
bladeRF command line interface and test utility (0.9.0-0.9.0.15.8ba2499)
OPTIONS
-d, --device <device>
Use the specified bladeRF device.
-f, --flash-firmware <file>
Flash specified firmware file.
-l, --load-fpga <file>
Load specified FPGA bitstream.
-L, --flash-fpga <file>
Flash the specified FPGA image for autoload.
-p, --probe
Probe for devices, print results, then exit.
-s, --script <file>
Run provided script.
-i, --interactive
Enter interactive mode.
--lib-version
Print libbladeRF version and exit.
-v, --verbosity <level>
Set the libbladeRF verbosity level. Levels, listed in increasing verbosity, are:
critical, error, warning, info, debug, verbose
--version
Print CLI version and exit.
-h, --help
Show this help text.
Notes:
The -d option takes a device specifier string. See the bladerf_open() documentation for more
information about the format of this string.
If the -d parameter is not provided, the first available device will be used for the provided
command, or will be opened prior to entering interactive mode.
EXAMPLES
$ bladeRF-cli -l hostedx40.rbf
Loads an FPGA image named hostedx40.rbf onto the bladeRF's FPGA.
Note: The FPGA image loaded with --load-fpga will be lost on power-off.
$ bladeRF-cli -f firmware.img
Flashes firmware.img onto the bladeRF's firmware.
$ bladeRF-cli -L hostedx40.rbf
Flashes the FPGA image named hostedx40.rbf onto the bladeRF, where it will
be automatically loaded on power-up.
INTERACTIVE COMMANDS
bladeRF-cli supports a scriptable interactive mode. Run bladeRF-cli --interactive to enter this mode.
Type "help" for a listing of all commands, or "help <command>" for more information about <command>.
The available commands are:
calibrate - Calibrate transceiver
Syntax: calibrate [<module>]
Calibrate the DC offset for both RX and TX
Available modules for calibration:
tuning
txlpf
rxlpf
rxvga2
Leave blank to calibrate all of the above.
clear - Clear the screen
Syntax: clear
Clears the screen
echo - Echo each argument on a new line
Syntax: echo [arg 1] [arg 2] ... [arg n]
Echo each argument on a new line.
erase - Erase specified sectors of SPI flash
Syntax: erase <offset> <count>
Erase specified sectors of SPI flash
<offset> Starting sector to erase
<count> Number of sectors to erase
flash_backup - Back up flash data to a file with metadata.
Syntax: flash_backup <file> (<type> | <address> <length>)
Back up flash data to the specified file. This command takes either two or four arguments. The two-
argument invocation is generally recommended for non-development use.
Parameters:
<type> Type of backup. This selects the appropriate address and length
values based upon the selected type. Valid values are:
cal - Calibration data
fw - Firmware
fpga40 - Metadata and bitstream for a 40 kLE FPGA
fpga115 - Metadata and bitstream for a 115 kLE FPGA
<address> Address of data to back up.
<len> Length of region to back up.
Note: When an address and length are provided, the image type will default to "raw".
Examples:
flash_backup cal.bin cal Back up the calibration data region.
flash_backup cal_raw.bin 0x30000 0x100 Back up the calibration region as
a raw data image.
flash_image - Print a flash image's metadata or create a new flash image
Syntax: flash_image <image> [output options]
Print a flash image's metadata or create a new flash image. When provided with the name of a flash
image file as the only argument, this command will print the metadata contents of the image.
The following options may be used to create a new flash image.
data=<file> File to containing data to store in the image.
address=<addr> Flash address. Default depends upon 'type' parameter.
type=<type> Type of flash image. Defaults to "raw".
Valid options are:
cal - Calibration data
fw - Firmware
fpga40 - Metadata and bitstream for 40 kLE FPGA
fpga115 - Metadata and bitstream for 115 kLE FPGA
raw - Raw data. The address and length parameters
must be provided if this type is selected.
serial=<serial> Serial # to store in image. Defaults to zeros.
flash_init_cal - Write new calibration data to a device or to a file
Syntax: flash_init_cal <fpga_size> <vctcxo_trim> [output file]
Create and write a new calibration data region to the currently opened device, or to a file. Be sure
to back up calibration data prior to running this command.
(See the `flash_backup` command.)
<fpga_size> Either 40 or 115, depending on the device model.
<vctcxo_trim> VCTCXO/DAC trim value (0x0-0xffff)
[output file] File to write calibration data to. When this argument
is provided, no data will be written to the device's flash.
flash_restore - Restore flash data from a file
Syntax: flash_restore <file> [<address> <length>]
Restore flash data from a file, optionally overriding values in the image metadata.
<address> Defaults to the address specified in the provided flash image file.
<length> Defaults to length of the data in the provided image file.
help - Provide information about specified command
Syntax: help [<command>]
Provides extended help, like this, on any command.
info - Print information about the currently opened device
Syntax: info
Prints the following information about an opened device:
Serial number
VCTCXO DAC calibration value
FPGA size
Whether or not the FPGA is loaded
USB bus, address, and speed
Backend (libusb or kernel module)
Instance number
jump_to_boot - Jump to FX3 bootloader
Syntax: jump_to_boot
Jumps to the FX3 bootloader.
load - Load FPGA or FX3
Syntax: load <fpga|fx3> <filename>
Load an FPGA bitstream or program the FX3's SPI flash.
mimo - Modify device MIMO operation
Syntax: mimo [master | slave]
Modify device MIMO operation
open - Open a bladeRF device
Syntax: open [device identifiers]
Open the specified device for use with successive commands. Any previously opened device will be
closed. See the bladerf_open() documentation for the device specifier format.
peek - Peek a memory location
Syntax: peek <dac|lms|si> <address> [num addresses]
The peek command can read any of the devices hanging off the FPGA which includes the LMS6002D
transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC or the Si5338 clock generator chip.
If num_addresses is supplied, the address is incremented by 1 and another peek is performed.
Valid Address Ranges
--------------------
dac 0 255
lms 0 127
si 0 255
Example:
peek si ...
poke - Poke a memory location
Syntax: poke <dac|lms|si> <address> <data>
The poke command can write any of the devices hanging off the FPGA which includes the LMS6002D
transceiver, VCTCXO trim DAC or the Si5338 clock generator chip.
If num_addresses is supplied, the address is incremented by 1 and another poke is performed.
Valid Address Ranges
--------------------
dac 0 255
lms 0 127
si 0 255
Example:
poke lms ...
print - Print information about the device
Syntax: print <param>
The print command takes a parameter to print. The parameter is one of:
bandwidth Bandwidth settings
config Overview of everything
frequency Frequency settings
lmsregs LMS6002D register dump
loopback Loopback settings
mimo MIMO settings
pa PA settings
pps PPS settings
refclk Reference clock settings
rxvga1 Gain setting of RXVGA1 (range: TODO)
rxvga2 Gain setting of RXVGA2 in dB (range: TODO)
samplerate Samplerate settings
trimdac VCTCXO Trim DAC settings
txvga1 Gain setting of TXVGA1 in dB (range: TODO)
txvga2 Gain setting of TXVGA2 in dB (range: TODO)
probe - List attached bladeRF devices
Syntax: probe
Search for attached bladeRF device and print a list of results.
quit - Exit the CLI
Syntax: quit
Exit the CLI
recover - Load firmware when operating in FX3 bootloader mode
Syntax: recover [<bus> <address> <firmware file>]
Load firmware onto a device running in bootloader mode, or list all devices currently in bootloader
mode.
With no arguments, this command lists the USB bus and address for FX3-based devices running in
bootloader mode.
When provided a bus, address, and path to a firmware file, the specified device will be loaded with
and begin executing the provided firmware.
In most cases, after successfully loading firmware into the device's RAM, users should open the
device with the "open" command, and write the firmware to flash via "load fx3 <firmware file>"
run - Run a script
Syntax: run <script>
Run the provided script.
rx - Receive IQ samples
Syntax: rx <start | stop | wait | config [param=val [param=val [...]]>
Receive IQ samples and write them to the specified file. Reception is controlled and configured by
one of the following:
start Start receiving samples
stop Stop Receiving samples
wait Wait for sample transmission to complete, or until a specified
amount of time elapses
config Configure sample reception. If no parameters
are provided, the current parameters are printed.
Running 'rx' without any additional commands is valid shorthand for 'rx config'.
The wait command takes an optional timeout parameter. This parameter defaults to units of ms. The
timeout unit may be specified using the ms, s, m, or h suffixes. If this parameter is not provided,
the command will wait until the reception completes or Ctrl-C is pressed.
Configuration parameters take the form 'param=value', and may be specified in a single or multiple
'rx config' invocations. Below is a list of available parameters.
n Number of samples to receive. 0 = inf.
file Filename to write received samples to
format Output file format. One of the following:
csv CSV of SC16 Q12 samples
bin Raw SC16 Q12 DAC samples
samples Number of samples per buffer to use in the asynchronous
stream. Must be divisible by 1024 and >= 1024.
buffers Number of sample buffers to use in the asynchronous
stream. The min value is 4.
xfers Number of simultaneous transfers to allow the asynchronous
stream to use. This should be < the 'buffers' parameter.
The n, samples, buffers, and xfers parameters support the suffixes
'K', 'M', and 'G', which are multiples of 1024.
Example:
rx config file=/tmp/some_file format=bin n=10K
Notes:
An 'rx stop' followed by an 'rx start' will result in the samples file
being truncated. If this is not desired, be sure to run 'rx config' to set
another file before restarting the rx stream.
tx - Transmit IQ samples
Syntax: tx <start | stop | wait | config [parameters]>
Read IQ samples from the specified file and transmit them. Transmission is controlled and configured
by one of the following:
start Start transmitting samples
stop Stop transmitting samples
wait Wait for sample transmission to complete, or until a specified
amount of time elapses
config Configure sample transmission . If no parameters
are provided, the current parameters are printed.
Running 'tx' without any additional commands is valid shorthand for
'tx config'.
The wait command takes an optional timeout parameter. This parameter defaults to units of ms. The
timeout unit may be specified using the ms, s, m, or h suffixes. If this parameter is not provided,
the command will wait until the transmission completes or Ctrl-C is pressed.
Configuration parameters take the form 'param=value', and may be specified in a single or multiple
'tx config' invocations. Below is a list of available parameters.
file Filename to read samples from
format Output file format. One of the following:
csv CSV of SC16 Q12 samples
bin Raw SC16 Q12 DAC samples
repeat The number of times the file contents should be
transmitted. 0 implies repeat until stopped.
delay The number of microseconds to delay between retransmitting
file contents. 0 implies no delay.
samples Number of samples per buffer to use in the asynchronous
stream. Must be divisible by 1024 and >= 1024.
buffers Number of sample buffers to use in the asynchronous
stream. The min value is 4.
xfers Number of simultaneous transfers to allow the asynchronous
stream to use. This should be < the 'buffers' parameter.
The n, samples, buffers, and xfers parameters support the suffixes
'K', 'M', and 'G', which are multiples of 1024.
Example:
tx config file=data.bin format=bin repeat=2 delay=250000
set - Set device settings
Syntax: set <param> <arguments>
The set command takes a parameter and an arbitrary number of arguments for that particular command.
The parameter is one of:
bandwidth Bandwidth settings
config Overview of everything
frequency Frequency settings
lmsregs LMS6002D register dump
loopback Loopback settings
mimo MIMO settings
pa PA settings
pps PPS settings
refclk Reference clock settings
rxvga1 Gain setting of RXVGA1 (range: TODO)
rxvga2 Gain setting of RXVGA2 in dB (range: TODO)
samplerate Samplerate settings
trimdac VCTCXO Trim DAC settings
txvga1 Gain setting of TXVGA1 in dB (range: TODO)
txvga2 Gain setting of TXVGA2 in dB (range: TODO)
version - Host software and device version information
Syntax: version
Prints version information for host software and the current device
AUTHOR
This utility was written by the contributors to the bladeRF Project. See the CONTRIBUTORS file for more
information.
REPORTING BUGS
Bugs may be reported via the issue tracker at https://github.com/nuand/bladerf.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2013 Nuand LLC.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even
the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public
License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write
to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
SEE ALSO
bladeRF-flash(1).
More documentation is available at http://nuand.com/ and https://github.com/nuand/bladerf.
bladeRF-cli 0.9.0-0.9.0.15.8ba2499 December 2013 BLADERF-CLI(1)