picchick 0.3.1

A utility for programming PIC microntronllers.

picchick

piccchick is a commandline utility written in python that interacts with various programmers in order to flash the memory of a microcontroller.

The function is the same as avrdude, i.e. to provide a way to flash a compiled .hex file onto a microcontroller. The typical development stack involving picchick looks like:

Developing (nano) > Compiling (xc8-cc) > Flashing (picchick)

The latest documentation is available in the docs/ folder, or hosted online at rexploits.com/picchick

Installation

Requirements

• xc8 compiler
  • Available from Microchip's website
• python >= 3.10
  • pyserial
• Compatible serial programmer
  • See above for information about programmers.

From PyPi

picchick can be installed using pip:

pip install picchick

From Source

Building the latest git version is as simple as pip installing the repo directory. The -e, --editable flag can be added so a git pull will update the picchick command automatically.

git clone https://github.com/Rex--/picchick.git
cd picchick/
pip install [-e] .
picchick -h

Instead of installing the package, picchick can also be run as a python module:

python -m picchick -h

A wrapper script is provided that does this, providing a bit cleaner interface:

chmod +x picchick.sh
./picchick.sh -h

NOTE: You may have to install pyserial for the above methods.

Usage

$> picchick -h
usage: picchick [--read addr] [--write addr word] [--erase [addr]] [--verify] [-f] [--map] [--list-ports] [hexfile]
       picchick -d <mcu> -c <programmer> -P <port> -B <baud> [--erase] [--verify] [--reset] -f <hexfile>
       picchick [-d mcu] --map [hexfile]

A utility to aid in programming PIC microcontrollers

positional arguments:
  hexfile               path to a hexfile

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -d mcu, --device mcu  device to be programmed
  -c programmer         type of programmer
  -P port, --port port  programmer serial port
  -B baud, --baud baud  serial connection baudrate
  --read addr           read word at specified address
  --write addr word     write word to specified address
  --erase [addr]        erase device or specified address
  -f, --flash           flash hexfile onto the device
  --verify              verify device memory
  --reset               reset device
  --map                 display the hexfile
  --list-ports          list available serial ports

flag arguments:
  addr:			device memory address in hexadecimal
	'all'		all device memory areas
	'flash'		user flash area

Examples

The typical command to erase then flash a hexfile onto a device looks like:

picchick -d <mcu> -c <programmer> -P <port> -B <baud> [--erase] [--verify] -f <hexfile>

picchick -c picstick -d 16lf19196 -P /dev/ttyACM0 -B 115200 --erase -f blink.hex