Copyright 2016-2018 Moddable Tech, Inc.
Revised: January 31, 2018
This document provides an introduction to getting started building apps with the Moddable SDK. It describes how to configure the host build environments, install the required SDKs, drivers and development tools, build applications, and use xsbug, the JavaScript source code debugger.
The Moddable SDK requires macOS Sierra version 10.12 or newer and Xcode version 9 or newer.
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Download and install Xcode. Launch Xcode to install additional command line components when prompted.
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Download the Moddable repository, or use the
gitcommand line tool as follows:git clone https://github.com/Moddable-OpenSource/moddable -
Setup the
MODDABLEenvironment variable to point at your local Moddable SDK repository directory and edit thePATHenvironment variable in your~/.profileto include the build directory:export MODDABLE="/Users/<user>/Projects/moddable" export PATH="${MODDABLE}/build/bin/mac/release:$PATH" -
Build the Moddable command line tools, simulator, and debugger from the command line:
cd ${MODDABLE}/build/makefiles/mac make -
Launch the
xsbugdebugger from the command line:open ${MODDABLE}/build/bin/mac/release/xsbug.app -
Verify the host environment setup by building the starter
helloworldapplication for the desktop simulator target:cd ${MODDABLE}/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p mac
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Complete "Host environment setup" for macOS.
-
Create an
espdirectory in your home directory at~/espfor required third party SDKs and tools. -
Download and install the Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART VCP driver.
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Download the esptool. Untar the package and rename the directory
esptool. Copy theesptooldirectory into the~/espdirectory. -
Download and untar the Xtensa lx106 architecture GCC toolchain. Copy the
toolchaindirectory into the~/espdirectory. -
Download the ESP8266 core for Arduino repository. Copy the extracted
esp8266-2.3.0folder into your~/espdirectory. -
Clone the ESP8266 SDK based on FreeRTOS repository into the
~/espdirectory:cd ~/esp git clone https://github.com/espressif/ESP8266_RTOS_SDK.git -
Connect the ESP8266 to your computer with a USB cable.
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Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesptarget:cd ${MODDABLE}/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp
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Complete "Host environment setup" for macOS.
-
Create an
esp32directory in your home directory at~/esp32for required third party SDKs and tools. -
Download and install the Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART VCP driver.
-
Download the esptool. Untar the package and rename the directory
esptool. Copy theesptooldirectory into the~/esp32directory. -
Download and untar the ESP32 GCC toolchain. Copy the extracted
xtensa-esp32-elfdirectory into your~/esp32directory. -
Clone the
ESP-IDFGitHub repository into your~/esp32directory. Make sure to specify the--recursiveoption:cd ~/esp32 git clone --recursive https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git -
Update the
PATHenvironment variable in your~/.profileto include the toolchain directory:export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/esp32/xtensa-esp32-elf/bin -
Connect the ESP32 device to your macOS host with a USB cable.
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Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesp32target:cd ${MODDABLE}/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp32
Note that the first time you build an application for the ESP32 target, the toolchain may prompt you to enter configuration options. If this happens, accept the defaults.
The Moddable SDK requires Windows 7 Pro SP1 or newer and Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2017 or newer.
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Download Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 Community Edition installer. Launch the installer, choose the "Desktop development for C++" option and install.
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Download the Moddable repository, or use the
gitcommand line tool as follows:git clone https://github.com/Moddable-OpenSource/moddable -
Setup the
MODDABLEenvironment variable to point at your local Moddable SDK repository directory:set MODDABLE=C:\Users\<user>\Projects\moddable -
Edit the system
PATHenvironment variable to include the build directory:%MODDABLE%\build\bin\win\releaseEnvironment variables should be set from the System Control Panel. The steps required vary depending on the Windows OS version.
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Launch the "Developer Command Prompt for VS 2017" command line console. Build the Moddable command line tools, simulator, and debugger from the command line:
cd %MODDABLE%\build\makefiles\win build -
Launch the
xsbugdebugger from the command line:xsbug -
Verify the host environment setup by building the starter
helloworldapplication for the desktop simulator target:cd %MODDABLE%\examples\helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p win
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Complete "Host environment setup" for Windows.
-
Create an
espdirectory in your home%USERPROFILE%directory, e.g.C:\Users\<your-user-name>. -
Download and install the Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART VCP driver.
-
Download the esptool. Unzip the archive and copy the
esptool.exeexecutable from theesptool-0.4.12-win32directory into theespdirectory. -
Download and unzip the Cygwin toolchain support package. Copy the
cygwindirectory into theespdirectory. -
Download and unzip the Xtensa lx106 architecture GCC toolchain. Copy the
xtensa-lx106-elfdirectory into theespdirectory. -
Download the ESP8266 core for Arduino repository. Copy the extracted
esp8266-2.3.0folder into yourespdirectory. -
Connect the ESP8266 to your computer with a USB cable.
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Launch the Windows Device Manager, open the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section, and verify the "Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge" is displayed. Note the COM port (e.g. COM3) for the next step.
The Device Manager interface may vary depending on the Windows OS version.
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Set the
BASE_DIRandUPLOAD_PORTenvironment variables to your%USERPROFILE%directory and device COM port:set BASE_DIR=%USERPROFILE% set UPLOAD_PORT=COM3 -
Edit the system
PATHenvironment variable to include thecygwin\bindirectory:%BASE_DIR%\esp\cygwin\bin -
Launch the "Developer Command Prompt for VS 2017" command line console. Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesptarget:cd %MODDABLE%\examples\helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp
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Complete "Host environment setup" for Windows.
-
Download and install the Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART VCP driver.
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Download the Espressif all-in-one Windows toolchain and MSYS2 zip archive. Copy the extracted
msys32directory into your home%USERPROFILE%directory, e.g.C:\Users\<your-user-name>\msys32. -
Open a MSYS2 MINGW32 terminal window from a Windows command line console:
%USERPROFILE%\msys32\mingw32.exe -
From the MINGW32 terminal window, create an
espdirectory in the home~directory:mkdir ~/esp -
Clone the
ESP-IDFGitHub repository into the~/espdirectory. Make sure to specify the--recursiveoption:cd ~/esp git clone --recursive https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git -
Create a new script file
esp32_moddable.shin your%USERPROFILE%\msys32\etc\profile.d\directory. Add an export command for the ESP-IDF path to the script file:export IDF_PATH="C:/Users/<your-user-name>/msys32/home/<your-user-name>/esp/esp-idf" -
Connect the ESP32 to your computer with a USB cable.
-
Launch the Windows Device Manager, open the "Ports (COM & LPT)" section, and verify the "Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge" is displayed. Note the COM port (e.g. COM3) for the next step.
The Device Manager interface may vary depending on the Windows OS version.
-
Set the
BASE_DIR,UPLOAD_PORTandSERIAL2XSBUGWindows environment variables to your%USERPROFILE%directory, device COM port and serial2xsbug.exe tool path. Note that forward slashes are required in the tool path:set BASE_DIR=%USERPROFILE% set UPLOAD_PORT=COM3 set SERIAL2XSBUG=/c/Users/<your-user-name>/Projects/moddable/build/bin/win/release/serial2xsbug.exe -
Set the
CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_PORTin the%MODDABLE%\build\devices\esp32\xsProj\sdkconfigfile to the ESP32 COM port:CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_PORT="COM3" -
Launch the "Developer Command Prompt for VS 2017" command line console. Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesp32target:cd %MODDABLE%\examples\helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp32The mcconfig tool builds the Moddable app and then launches a MINGW32 shell to build the ESP32 firmware and flash the device.
Note that the first time you build an application for the ESP32 target, the toolchain may prompt you to enter configuration options. If this happens, accept the defaults.
The Moddable SDK has been tested on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (64-bit) and Raspberry Pi Desktop (32-bit) operating systems. These setup instructions assume that a GCC toolchain has already been installed.
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Install the development version of the GTK+ 3 library:
sudo apt-get install libgtk-3-dev -
Download the Moddable repository, or use the
gitcommand line tool as follows:git clone https://github.com/Moddable-OpenSource/moddable -
Setup the
MODDABLEenvironment variable in your~/.bashrcfile to point at your local Moddable SDK repository directory:MODDABLE=~/Projects/moddable export MODDABLE -
Build the Moddable command line tools, simulator, and debugger from the command line:
cd $MODDABLE/build/makefiles/lin make -
Update the
PATHenvironment variable in your~/.bashrcto include the tools directory:export PATH=$PATH:$MODDABLE/build/bin/lin/release -
Install the Screen Test desktop simulator and xsbug debugger applications:
cd $MODDABLE/build/makefiles/lin make installWhen prompted, enter your
sudopassword to copy the application's desktop, executable and icon files into the standard/usr/share/applications,/usr/bin, and/usr/share/icon/hicolordirectories. -
Launch the xsbug debugger:
xsbug -
Verify the host environment setup by building the starter
helloworldapplication for the desktop simulator target:cd $MODDABLE/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p lin
-
Complete "Host environment setup" for Linux.
-
Create an
espdirectory in your home directory at~/espfor required third party SDKs and tools. -
Download the esptool compatible with your Linux host. Untar the package and rename the directory
esptool. Copy theesptooldirectory into the~/espdirectory. -
Download and untar the Xtensa lx106 architecture GCC toolchain. Copy the
toolchaindirectory into the~/espdirectory. -
Download the ESP8266 core for Arduino repository. Copy the extracted
esp8266-2.3.0folder into your~/espdirectory. -
Clone the ESP8266 SDK based on FreeRTOS repository into the
~/espdirectory:cd ~/esp git clone https://github.com/espressif/ESP8266_RTOS_SDK.git -
Connect the ESP8266 to your computer with a USB cable.
-
Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesptarget:cd $MODDABLE/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp
The ESP8266 communicates with the Linux host via the ttyUSB0 device. On Ubuntu Linux the ttyUSB0 device is owned by the
dialoutgroup. If you get a permission denied error when flashing the ESP8266, add your user to thedialoutgroup:
sudo adduser <username> dialout
sudo reboot
-
Complete "Host environment setup" for Linux.
-
Create an
esp32directory in your home directory at~/esp32for required third party SDKs and tools. -
Download the esptool compatible with your Linux host. Untar the package and rename the directory
esptool. Copy theesptooldirectory into the~/esp32directory. -
Download and untar the 64-bit or 32-bit ESP32 GCC toolchain compatible with your Linux host. Copy the extracted
xtensa-esp32-elfdirectory into your~/esp32directory. -
Clone the
ESP-IDFGitHub repository into your~/esp32directory. Make sure to specify the--recursiveoption:cd ~/esp32 git clone --recursive https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git -
Install the packages required to compile with the
ESP-IDF:sudo apt-get install git wget make libncurses-dev flex bison gperf python python-serial -
Update the
PATHenvironment variable in your~/.bashrcto include the toolchain directory:export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/esp32/xtensa-esp32-elf/bin -
Connect the ESP32 device to your Linux host with a USB cable.
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Determine the USB device path used by the ESP32 device, e.g.
/dev/ttyUSB0:ls /dev -
Set the
CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_PORTin the$MODDABLE/build/devices/esp32/xsProj/sdkconfigfile to the ESP32 USB device path:CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_PORT="/dev/ttyUSB0" -
Verify the setup by building
helloworldfor theesp32target:cd $MODDABLE/examples/helloworld mcconfig -d -m -p esp32
The ESP32 communicates with the Linux host via the ttyUSB0 device. On Ubuntu Linux the ttyUSB0 device is owned by the
dialoutgroup. If you get a permission denied error when flashing the ESP32, add your user to thedialoutgroup:
sudo adduser <username> dialout
sudo reboot
Note that the first time you build an application for the ESP32 target, the toolchain may prompt you to enter configuration options. If this happens, accept the defaults.
The xsbug JavaScript source level debugger is built as part of the Moddable SDK build described above. xsbug is a full featured debugger that supports debugging modules and applications for XS platforms. The xsbug debugger is automatically launched when deploying debug builds and connects to devices via USB or over Wi-Fi. Similar to other debuggers, xsbug supports setting breakpoints, browsing source code, the call stack and variables. The xsbug debugger additionally provides real-time instrumentation to track memory usage and profile application and resource consumption.
For additional details on xsbug please refer to the xsbug document.
The Moddable SDK on ESP8266 is hosted by the ESP8266 core for Arduino. The Moddable SDK uses version 2.3. Version 2.4 is supported as well. At this time, we do not recommend using version 2.4 as it requires more ROM and more RAM without providing significant benefits for most uses of the Moddable SDK. The team responsible for ESP8266 core for Arduino is aware of these issues and actively working to address them.
You can use version 2.4 today if building on macOS or Linux. Follow the instructions above, but use the version 2.4 of ESP8266 Core for Arduino. Next, in {MODDABLE}/tools/mcconfig/make.esp.mk change ESP_SDK_RELEASE ?= esp8266-2.3.0 to ESP_SDK_RELEASE ?= esp8266-2.4.0. Finally, delete the contents of ${MODDABLE}/build/bin/esp/ and ${MODDABLE}/build/tmp/esp/ and build as above.