cmake-cmsis-stm32

A CMake module for STM32 bare-metal firmware projects. It handles CMSIS integration, cross-compilation toolchain setup, and firmware output generation through a single function call.

Overview

Including cmake-cmsis-stm32 via FetchContent and calling cmsis_stm32_target() on an executable target is all it takes. The module downloads the correct CMSIS device headers and startup code from cmsis-stm32 releases, sets the appropriate CPU and FPU compiler flags for the device, links the startup and system initialization code, and applies the provided linker script -- no manual setup required. A default ARM GCC toolchain (arm-none-eabi) file is provided if none is specified.

Key highlights

• Single-function API -- one call to cmsis_stm32_target() configures everything for a given target
• Automatic CMSIS integration -- device headers and startup code are resolved and downloaded per device identifier
• Multiple output formats -- generate BIN, IHEX, S19, DFU, and MAP files alongside the ELF
• ST-Link support -- creates per-target build targets for programming and erasing via st-flash
• Default toolchain -- ships a gcc-arm-none-eabi toolchain file, used automatically when no custom toolchain is set
• Size reporting and install support -- optional post-build size output and CPack-compatible install targets

Usage

The FetchContent block must appear before the project() call, as it sets the cross-compilation toolchain:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.25)

include(FetchContent)
FetchContent_Declare(cmake_cmsis_stm32
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/rafaelmartins/cmake-cmsis-stm32.git
    GIT_TAG main
)
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(cmake_cmsis_stm32)

project(my-firmware C ASM)

add_executable(my-firmware main.c)

cmsis_stm32_target(my-firmware
    DEVICE STM32F042x6
    VERSION LATEST
    LINKER_SCRIPT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/STM32F042K6Tx_FLASH.ld
    ADDITIONAL_OUTPUTS BIN IHEX MAP
    SHOW_SIZE ON
    STLINK ON
)

See the firmware development guide for a complete walkthrough of all parameters and usage patterns.

Requirements

• CMake 3.25 or later
• ARM GNU Toolchain (arm-none-eabi)
• Project must enable C and ASM languages

Explore further

• Firmware development guide -- complete walkthrough of all parameters and usage patterns
• cmsis-stm32 project page -- CMSIS device headers and startup code packages
• GitHub repository -- full source code