Setting Up PolarFire SoC Video Kit for Bare-Metal Hello World

Date: 09/29/2026

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1. Program the Board First

• Nothing boots without an FPGA image loaded. Download the latest release from the reference-design repo (MPFS_VIDEO_KIT_2024_06.zip for the MPFS250TS).
• Connect the kit over USB, open FlashPro Express, and program the .job file — it bundles both the Libero fabric design and the Hart Software Services boot loader.
• If using Libero you will need to open the FPGA project and in the left panel select "Run"

2. Import an Example Project

• Clone the examples repo:

                          git clone https://github.com/polarfire-soc/polarfire-soc-bare-metal-examples
                        
                      

• In SoftConsole: File → Import → Existing Projects into Workspace, pointed at driver-examples/mss/mss-mmuart/mpfs-mmuart-polled.

3. Add Video Kit Board Support (the part every guide skips)

• Icicle Kit is the only board every example supports out of the box. Check src/boards/ inside the imported project — if all you see is icicle-kit-es, you need to add Video Kit yourself.

• Grab design.xml from the polarfire-soc-video-kit-reference-design repo's XML/ folder — pick the variant matching whatever's actually programmed on your board.

• Build this structure inside src/boards/mpfs-video-kit/:

                          fpga_design/design_description/design.xml
                          platform_config/<build-config>/mpfs_hal_config/mss_sw_config.h
                        
                      

• Note: platform_config/ is per build configuration (ddr-release, lim-debug, lim-release) — copy mss_sw_config.h into each one you'll actually use, and repeat the include-path/build-step changes below per configuration via the dropdown at the top of Project Properties.

4. Point the Build at the New Board

• Project → Properties → C/C++ Build → Settings → "Build steps" tab, edit the Command:

                          python ../src/platform/soc_config_generator/mpfs_configuration_generator.py ../src/boards/mpfs-video-kit/fpga_design/design_description ../src/boards/mpfs-video-kit
                        
                      

• Same Properties window → Tool Settings → GNU RISC-V Cross C Compiler → Includes, add:

                        "${workspace_loc:/${ProjName}/src/boards/mpfs-video-kit}"
                        "${workspace_loc:/${ProjName}/src/boards/mpfs-video-kit/platform_config}"
                      
                    

5. Boot Mode, Terminal, Run

• Clean and rebuild — this regenerates fpga_design_config/ headers from your new XML automatically.
• Run → External Tools → "PolarFire SoC idle boot mode 0" for fast debug iteration.
• Serial terminal: 115200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit.
• Debug from SoftConsole — "Hello, World!" should land in the terminal.

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• Clone examples: git clone https://github.com/polarfire-soc/polarfire-soc-bare-metal-examples
• Config generator: mpfs_configuration_generator.py <xml_dir> <board_dir>
• Boot mode 0 (debug/iterate): PolarFire SoC idle boot mode 0
• Boot mode 1 (flash to eNVM): PolarFire SoC non-secure boot mode 1

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• Board programmed via FlashPro Express (.job file)
• Correct design.xml variant copied into src/boards/mpfs-video-kit
• mss_sw_config.h copied into every build config you'll actually use
• Build step command updated to point at the new board path
• Include paths updated (per build configuration)
• Clean build completed with no "unresolved inclusion" errors

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• Every SoftConsole project has its own independent src/boards/ folder. A new project you create or import starts out only knowing whatever boards are already in its own tree — usually just icicle-kit-es.
• Fastest fix: once you've set up mpfs-video-kit in one project, copy that whole folder into any new project's src/boards/ — the XML and mss_sw_config.h don't change per project.

• applications/mpfs-blank-baremetal is Microchip's own "from scratch" starting point — per-hart entry files, MPFS HAL already wired in, and build configs for every memory target (LIM/eNVM/DDR) already set up with correct linker scripts.
• Add Video Kit board support to it once, confirm it boots to a while(1), then keep that copy as your personal template for every new firmware project going forward.

• PolarFire SoC has 5 harts (E51 monitor + 4x U54 application cores), each with its own file: src/application/hart0/e51.c through hart4/u54_4.c.
• mss_sw_config.h's hart-enable settings control which cores actually boot into your code vs. sit idle — a lot of "why isn't my code running" traces back to writing code in u54_1.c while only E51 is configured to boot. E51 is the simplest starting point if unsure.