Installation Guide

About this document

Version

2.4.0

Scope and purpose

This guide provides instructions for installing the ModusToolbox™ tools package, version 2.4.0. This is a set of tools that enable you to integrate our devices into your existing development methodology. Refer to the release notes for details about what is included. Refer to earlier revisions of this guide for instructions to install previous versions of ModusToolbox™ tools packages.

Intended audience

This document helps application developers understand how to install the ModusToolbox™ tools package.

Document conventions

Convention

Explanation

Bold

Emphasizes heading levels, column headings, menus and sub-menus

Italics

Denotes file names and paths.

Courier New

Denotes APIs, functions, interrupt handlers, events, data types, error handlers, file/folder names, directories, command line inputs, code snippets

File > New

Indicates that a cascading sub-menu opens when you select a menu item

Reference documents

Refer to the ModusToolbox™ user guide for a description of the software and instructions to get started. You can also refer to the ModusToolbox™ training available on GitHub.

If you plan to use the Eclipse IDE included with the ModusToolbox™ software, refer to these documents, which are also available from the Eclipse IDE Help menu:

1. General information

1.1 System requirements

The ModusToolbox™ software consumes approximately 2 GB of disk space. Like most modern software, it requires both free disk space and memory to run effectively. We recommend a system configuration with a PassMark CPU score > 2000 (cpubenchmark.net), at least 25 GB of free disk space, and 8 GB of RAM. The product will operate with fewer resources; however, performance may be degraded.

ModusToolbox™ software is supported on the following 64-bit operating systems:

  • Windows 7 and Windows 10 (preferred)

  • Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS and 20.04 LTS (preferred)

  • macOS Catalina and Big Sur (preferred)

Note

Windows 11 and macOS Monterey are not supported, but they have been exercised internally with no reported OS-specific defects.

1.2 Uninstall Beta versions

If you installed any Beta release of ModusToolbox™ 2.4 software, you need to uninstall it before installing this production release. To uninstall any Beta release:

  • Windows: The current release installer will prompt you to uninstall a previous version 2.4 installation. You can also use the Windows Control Panel.

  • Linux: Go to the directory where you extracted the tar.gz installer. Delete the docs_2.4, tools_2.4, and ide_2.4 directories, as well as EULA 2.4 text file from the “ModusToolbox” directory.

  • macOS: The current release installer contains a check box to uninstall a previous version 2.4 installation.

Note

If you plan to use the Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox™ included with the installation, be aware that uninstalling the ModusToolbox™ software does not remove any Eclipse IDE workspaces you may have previously created. You should manually delete these workspaces or move them to another location. See also Step 3: Run the Eclipse IDE for more details about workspaces.

2. Step 1: Download the software

Go to the ModusToolbox™ website (www.cypress.com/modustoolbox) and download the appropriate software for your platform:

  • Windows: ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-windows-install.exe

  • Linux: ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-linux-install.tar.gz

  • macOS: ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-macos-install.pkg

2.1 ModusToolbox™ patches

Ensure you are downloading the core version “2.4.0” of the ModusToolbox™ tools package. There may be patch versions also available, but they will not work without the appropriate core version first installed. Also, patch version “2.3.1” will not work with core version “2.4.0,” for example, because it is a patch for core version “2.3.0.”

2.2 Pre-requisites

ModusToolbox™ software requires the following Unix programs (with minimum versions) to work properly. On Windows, these are provided by the installer program. For macOS and Linux, you must install these programs as appropriate:

  • cmp (v2.8.1)

  • git (2.17.0)

  • make (v3.81)

  • mktemp (v8.25)

  • perl (v5.18.2)

  • python (v3.7)

Some versions of Ubuntu Linux do not include ‘make’ by default. Use the following command to install it:

sudo apt-get install make

3. Step 2: Install ModusToolbox™ software

Note

Do not use spaces in the installation directory name. Various tools, such as Make, do not support spaces. Also, do not use common illegal characters, such as: /:?”<>|

Note

If your user home directory contains spaces, see Installing with spaces in user home directory.

3.1 Installing in non-default location

If you install ModusToolbox™ software in a non-default location, you will need to set the environment variable CY_TOOLS_PATHS to point to the <install_path>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4 directory, or set that variable in each Makefile. You must use forward slashes in the variable’s path, even in Windows. Refer to the “Product versioning” section in the ModusToolbox™ user guide.

3.2 Installing with previous versions

ModusToolbox™ version 2.4 installs alongside previous versions of the software (version 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, etc.); therefore, all versions can be used independently. However, be aware that various programs including the Eclipse IDE and the build system will detect and use the most current version of the “tools” directory by default. For example, if you have both versions 2.4 and 2.3 installed, and if you launch the Project Creator from the Eclipse IDE for version 2.3, it will open the version from the “tools_2.4” directory instead of the “tools_2.3” directory.

To control this behavior, use the environment variable CY_TOOLS_PATHS as described in the “Product Versioning” section in the ModusToolbox™ user guide. This variable applies to all versions of ModusToolbox, so you will have to update it as you work with different versions.

3.3 Windows

Run the ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-windows-install.exe installer program and follow the prompts to install for the current user only or for all users of the same machine. For more information, see the Default versus advanced Windows installation section later in this document.

image1

By default, ModusToolbox™ software is installed here:

C:\Users\<user_name>\ModusToolbox

Note

If you have not installed ModusToolbox™ software previously, you may be prompted to restart your computer due to installation of Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable files.

3.4 Linux

Extract the ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-linux-install.tar.gz file to your <user_home> directory. The extraction process will create a “ModusToolbox” directory there, if there is not one there already.

After extracting, you must run the following scripts before running ModusToolbox™ software on your machine:

  • OpenOCD: <user_home>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4/openocd/udev_rules/install_rules.sh

  • AIROC™ Bluetooth® Boards: <user_home>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4/driver_media/install_rules.sh

  • Firmware Loader: <user_home>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4/fw-loader/udev_rules/install_rules.sh

  • Post-Install Script: <user_home>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4/modus-shell/postinstall

  • IDC Registration Script: <user_home>/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4/idc_registration-2.4.0.bash

On Ubuntu systems, you must install additional packages using the following command:

$ sudo apt install libncurses5 libusb-1.0-0 libxcb-xinerama0

3.5 macOS

Double-click the downloaded ModusToolbox_2.4.0.<build>-osx-install.pkg file and follow the wizard.

The ModusToolbox™ software will be installed under the Applications folder in the volume you select in the wizard.

Note

The ModusToolbox™ package installer installs a custom USB driver for use with ModusToolbox™ on macOS versions prior to Catalina. It may pop up a “System Extension Blocked” dialog. In this case, go to Security Preference and click Allow for the driver to be installed.

In order for ModusToolbox™ to work correctly on macOS, you must install an additional Xcode package from the Mac App Store if you don’t already have it installed. You can also install it using the following command in a terminal window:

xcode-select –-install

4. Step 3: Run the Eclipse IDE

The ModusToolbox™ software includes an optional Eclipse IDE. To run the IDE:

  • Windows: The installer provides an option to run the Eclipse IDE on the final step. You can also select the Eclipse IDE for ModusToolbox™ 2.4 item from the Windows Start menu.

  • Linux: Navigate to <user_home>/ModusToolbox/ide_2.4/eclipse and run ModusToolbox.

  • macOS: Run ModusToolbox.app.

When the Eclipse IDE runs for the first time, a dialog opens to specify the Workspace location. The default location for the workspace is: <user_home>/mtw.

image2

Note

Be aware that the default Eclipse IDE workspace location (<user_home>/mtw) is the same for all versions of ModusToolbox™ software. If you plan to use more than one version, you must specify different workspace names for each one. Enter the workspace location and name and click Launch to open the IDE.

Note

If you change the workspace location or name, do not use spaces or illegal characters anywhere in the path.

Note

If your user home directory contains spaces, see*Installing with spaces in user home directory.

After the IDE opens for the first time, the End User License Agreement (EULA) displays.

image3

Read the EULA and click Accept to proceed. If you click Decline, the IDE will close.

5. Default versus advanced Windows installation

The ModusToolbox™ installer for Windows provides options to install for the current user or for all users of the same computer. Depending on if you have administration privileges or not, you may be asked to enter a password.

Note

If you select “Install for all users” and then later select install for the current user, the Windows “Apps & features” setting will list only one instance of ModusToolbox™ 2.4. Use the uninstaller to point to the type of installation (All Users or Current User), depending on the order they were installed. To see all installations, navigate to Control Panel > Programs and Features.

  1. After selecting the installation type, follow the prompts to accept the license agreement and select the installation path.

  2. On the Select Installation Type, choose “Default Installation” or “Advanced Installation.”

image4

  • The default option installs the tools and drivers needed by ModusToolbox.

  • The advanced option allows you to deselect pre-requisite software and drivers that are already installed.

  1. After continuing with the installation steps and the post-installation process, the following dialog will display if you specified a non-default installation directory as a reminder to set an environment variable.

image5

6. Installing with spaces in user home directory

The ModusToolbox™ installer tries to install in your user home directory by default. However, it prevents you from installing into a directory that contains spaces.

image6

If possible, create a new user account and user home directory that doesn’t contain spaces. If you cannot create a new user home directory without spaces, then you must perform some extra manual installation steps.

Note

Even though this process is shown for Windows, these steps apply in general to macOS and Linux as well.

6.1 Step 1: Install at a custom path.

  1. Select an alternate installation path that does not include spaces. For example:

    C:\MyPath\ModusToolbox

    Any path without spaces will work.

  2. After installation is complete, create a directory to store your workspaces. For example:

    C:\MyPath\mtb-projects

    You can choose any path as long as it doesn’t contain spaces.

  3. Also, create a hidden “dot” directory named “.modustoolbox” to store the cache, offline content, and manifest.loc file discussed later in this section. For example:

    C:\MyPath\\ .\ modustoolbox

6.2 Step 2: Create a variable to specify the path to Tools.

Because you are installing ModusToolbox™ into a non-default location, you need to specify the path to your “tools” directory using an Environment Variable. Open the Environment Variables dialog, and create a new System or User Variable, depending on your installation type (current user or all users). For example:

CY_TOOLS_PATHS = C:/MyPath/ModusToolbox/tools_2.4

image7

Note

Use a Windows-style path (not Cygwin-style, like /cygdrive/c/). Also, use forward slashes.

6.3 Step 3: Create a variable to specify the path to cache.

The ModusToolbox™ make system clones all the repos needed for your project, directly into your project. So, the resulting project is self-contained. It uses cache to speed up the clone operations. Normally, the make system would create and use cache directory at:

C:\Users\<user_name>.modustoolbox\

You need to fix this for the new install location for ModusToolbox™ by changing the location where the make system keeps the cache. Create a new System or User Variable, depending on your installation type (current user or all users). For example:

CY_GETLIBS_CACHE_PATH = C:/MyPath/.modustoolbox/cache/

image8

Note

Use a Windows-style path (not Cygwin-style, like /cygdrive/c/). Also, use forward slashes.

Alternately, you can disable the caching. The downside is that this will slow down the clone operation and overall project creation, as well as the library update experience. To disable the cache, create a User Variable:

CY_GETLIBS_NO_CACHE = 1

6.4 Step 4: Specify the custom path to use for offline content and manifest.loc.

Although you may not use these features, dependencies require that you set them up while installing the software.

6.4.1 Offline content path

Specify the non-default location to the “offline” directory with an Environment Variable. For example:

CY_GETLIBS_OFFLINE_PATH = C:/MyPath/.modustoolbox/offline/

6.4.2 manifest.loc

Likewise, create an Environment Variable to specify the non-default location of the manifest.loc file. For example:

CyManifestLocOverride = C:/MyPath/.modustoolbox/manifest.loc

Revision history

Revision

Date

Description

**

12/29/2017

New document.

*A

09/18/2018

Complete update for production release.

*B

11/21/2018

Updated the system requirements section.

Added information about uninstalling issues.

Updated to clarify macOS instructions.

*C

02/27/2019

Updated for version 1.1.

Added custom drivers information.

Updated linux instructions.

*D

09/26/2019

Added information to clarify usage with multiple versions and workspaces.

*E

10/17/2019

Updated for version 2.0.

Added a note for macOS Catalina.

*F

10/21/2019

Added git as a prerequisite.

*G

01/14/2020

Adde a link to KBA229345.

*H

02/13/2020

Added a comment about using forward slashes for the CY_TOOLS_PATHS variable.

*I

03/26/2020

Updated for version 2.1.

*J

04/02/2020

Corrected macOS executable name.

*K

04/14/2020

Corrected “optional” step for installing with spaces in user home directory.

*L

09/01/2020

Updated for version 2.2.

Updated to include Python 3.7 requirement.

Removed macOS Catalina notarization warning.

*M

03/25/2021

Updated for version 2.3.

Added installer instructions for Windows and multiple users.

Added Linux instruction for libncurses5.

Updated for macOS Big Sur.

*N

09/27/2021

Updated for version 2.4.