[QEMU] Running RT-Thread Without a Development Board — RISC-V Architecture Guide

RT-Thread IoT OS
2 min readSep 11, 2024

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Overview

RT-Thread, known for its tiny, efficiency, and flexibility, is becoming increasingly popular among IoT and embedded systems developers. However, acquiring and using a development board might seem daunting for those new to RT-Thread. This article provides a detailed guide on running RT-Thread on the QEMU platform, enabling developers to easily explore and learn the powerful features of RT-Thread without needing physical hardware.

I. Preparations:

  1. Download Source Code: Access the RT-Thread repository at https://github.com/RT-Thread/rt-thread and use the master branch.
  2. Download and Set Up ENV: Visit https://github.com/RT-Thread/env and follow the README for installation instructions on setting up a Linux environment.
  3. Prepare Toolchain: Refer to the BSP instructions for the recommended toolchain, though it can be substituted with other toolchains as needed.
  4. Prepare QEMU: Follow the BSP instructions for setting up QEMU, or replace it with another QEMU version if necessary.

II. Compilation:

To simplify the process, modify the line EXEC_PATH = 'toolchain path' by replacing it with the path to your own toolchain.

Example:

Run the following command to compile in the relative path bsp/qemu-virt64-riscv:

Example:

Result:

Generate the rtthread.elf at the current path.

III. Running

Execute ./qemu-nographic.sh to start

IV. Debugging

In VS Code, click on the debug option and select “Create launch.json file example.”

Replace the file contents with the following text:

Run the following in the terminal: qemu-dbg.sh, press F5 to start debugging.

Enjoy your learning journey!

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RT-Thread IoT OS

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