eCos Reference Manual
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# Chapter 2. RedBoot Commands and Examples

# Introduction

RedBoot provides three basic classes of commands:

- Program loading and execution

- Flash image and configuration management

- Miscellaneous commands

Given the extensible and configurable nature of eCos and RedBoot, there may be extended or enhanced sets of commands available.

The basic format for commands is:

    RedBoot> COMMAND [-S]... [-s val]... operand

Commands may require additional information beyond the basic command name. In most cases this additional information is optional, with suitable default values provided if they are not present.

Format | Description | Example
--- | --- | ---
-S | A boolean switch; the behavior of the command will differ, depending on the presence of the switch. In this example, the `-f` switch indicates that a complete initialization of the FIS data should be performed. There may be many such switches available for any given command and any or all of them may be present, in any order. | `RedBoot> `fis init -f``
-s`val` | A qualified value; the letter "s" introduces the value, qualifying it's meaning. In the example, `-b 0x100000` specifies where the memory dump should begin. There may be many such switches available for any given command and any or all of them may be present, in any order. | `RedBoot> `dump -b 0x100000 -l 0x20``
`operand` | A simple value; some commands require a single parameter for which an additional `-X` switch would be redundant. In the example, `JFFS2` is the name of a flash image. The image name is always required, thus is no need to qualify it with a switch. Note that any un-qualified operand must always appear at the end of the command. | `RedBoot> `fis delete JFFS2``

The list of available commands, and their syntax, can be obtained by typing help at the command line:

    RedBoot> help
    Manage aliases kept in FLASH memory
          alias name [value]
    Set/Query the system console baud rate
          baudrate [-b <rate>]
    Manage machine caches
          cache [ON | OFF]
    Display/switch console channel
          channel [-1|<channel number>]
    Display disk partitions
          disks
    Display (hex dump) a range of memory
          dump -b <location> [-l <length>] [-s]
    Manage flash images
          fis {cmds}
    Manage configuration kept in FLASH memory
          fconfig [-i] [-l] [-n] [-f] [-d] | [-d] nickname [value]
    Execute code at a location
          go [-w <timeout>] [entry]
    Help about help?
          help [<topic>]
    Set/change IP addresses
          ip_address [-l <local_ip_address>] [-h <server_address>]
    Load a file
          load [-r] [-v] [-d] [-c <channel>] [-h <host>] [-m {TFTP | HTTP | {x|y}MODEM | disk}]
          [-b <base_address>] <file_name>
    Network connectivity test
          ping [-v] [-n <count>] [-t <timeout>] [-i <IP_addr]
          -h <host>
    Reset the system
          reset
    Display RedBoot version information
          version
    Display (hex dump) a range of memory
          x -b <location> [-l <length>] [-s]

Commands can be abbreviated to their shortest unique string. Thus in the list above, d,du,dum and dump are all valid for the dump command. The fconfig command can be abbreviated fc, but f would be ambiguous with fis.

There is one additional, special command. When RedBoot detects '$' or '+' (unless escaped via '\') in a command, it switches to GDB protocol mode. At this point, the eCos GDB stubs take over, allowing connections from a GDB host. The only way to get back to RedBoot from GDB mode is to restart the platform.

> NOTE: Multiple commands may be entered on a single line, separated by the semi-colon “;” character.

The standard RedBoot command set is structured around the bootstrap environment. These commands are designed to be simple to use and remember, while still providing sufficient power and flexibility to be useful. No attempt has been made to render RedBoot as the end-all product. As such, things such as the debug environment are left to other modules, such as GDB stubs, which are typically included in RedBoot.

The command set may be also be extended on a platform basis.

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Configuring the RedBoot Environment | Up | Common Commands