A NodeJS library for building ArduPilot firmware

This is a NodeJS library written to programmatically build the ArduPilot firmware using the waf tool (see building for more information on the ArduPilot build system).

Builder Features

Multiple builds

Through the use of the MultiBuilder class multiple BoardBuilder can be specified, the MultiBuilder will only download the required repositories, and build all the boards with their own processes and event outputs.

Custom default parameters

The default parameter file can be modified, adding/removing them, replacing it entirely. This results in default parameters being baked into the firmware.

Baked in LUA files

LUA files can be generated/added in the @ROMFS directory. This results in scripts that are baked into the firmware, no need for copying files to the device!

Custom LUA bindings

The LUA bindings file can be modified. This is an advanced usage but it allows for custom bindings to exist without having to push them to master

Custom HWDef

The boards HWDef file can be modified. This is an advanced usage but it allows for each build to have a different HWDef using the same board for example

Event emitter outputs for the builds

Events can be used to get the current output of a build, useful when using an external tool to build firmware on the fly for example

Copying binaries to a folder

When the build is finished the binaries can be copied automatically to a given directory.

Uploading to the board (only supported for singular board builds)

When the build has completed, a given binary can be automatically flashed to the board

Opening MAVProxy to the board

When the build has completed, MAVProxy can be automatically opened to the board

Specific GIT repository

A specific git repository and branch can be given to the builder. This will be downloaded and used for the build

Local GIT repository

A local git repository folder can be specified and this will be used for the build

Temporary build folder

The repository will be copied into a temporary location where the build will occur. This allows for multiple builds to not interact with each other, using the same repository

Examples

The following are examples of using this project to do some very handy things.

Build multiple board types

npm run examples:multipleBoardTypes

This example builds 4 firmware files as follows and copies them into the output/<board>/<target> directory.

1. CubeOrange:plane
2. CubeOrange:Copter
3. CubeOrangePlus:plane
4. CubeOrangePlus:copter

LUA builds

npm run examples:lua

This example will build firmware for a Cube Orange and will include a hello world lua script with the username of the machine that built the firmware

Dependencies

1. In general follow the requirements for building ArduPilot at Building the Code
2. luacheck

Future Goals

1. LUA compiler only include global functions that are actually used
2. Alert on duplicate global functions/variables
3. Proper require system -- Use require "file" to tell the compiler to include a LUA file