ESP8266 NodeMCU Firmware

Custom firmware

Online custom-build, or Docker Build

• Could run from https://nodemcu-build.com/
• Docker build
• Install docker, git clone or download nodemcu firmware from github to your user directory for example c:\users\electrodragon\

git clone https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-firmware.git

• run command to generate bin firmware file, in windows folder c:/user/hechao/nodemcu-firmware/ can not be changed, for example:

docker run --rm -it -v //c/Users/electrodragon/nodemcu-firmware:/opt/nodemcu-firmware marcelstoer/nodemcu-build

• run either integer or float only INTEGER or FLOAT

docker run -e "INTEGER_ONLY=1" --rm -it -v //c/Users/electrodragon/nodemcu-firmware:/opt/nodemcu-firmware marcelstoer/nodemcu-build
docker run -e "FLOAT_ONLY=1" --rm -it -v //c/Users/hechao/nodemcu-firmware:/opt/nodemcu-firmware marcelstoer/nodemcu-build

Build Details

Enable/disable Modules - user_modules.h

Edit app/include/user_modules.h and comment-out the #define statement for modules you don't need. Example:

...
#define LUA_USE_MODULES_MQTT
// #define LUA_USE_MODULES_COAP
// #define LUA_USE_MODULES_U8G
...

board related configuration - user_config.h

Enable smart config: in file /app/include/user_config.h

//#define WIFI_SMART_ENABLE

version related properties - user_version.h

#define NODE_VERSION    "NodeMCU 1.5.4.1 - custom build by electrodragon.com"
#ifndef BUILD_DATE  
#define BUILD_DATE        "2016-09-23"

Flashing details

• Need to flash nodemcu firmware and your code bin firmware now together into target device
• calculate your nodemcu firmware size for the code bin firmware address first, for example:

1. use the nodemcu firmware, size on disk as below:

1. so the bits size is: 408KB + 4KB =412 KB, 412 KB*1024 = 421888, change from dec to hex by using "calculator" you get 67000
2. so for the two firmware, the upload address should be:

0x00000 for nodemcu firmware bin
and 0x67000 for your code firmware bin

1. Finally use esp download tool, combine bin function to combine the two bin files

• Reference youtube tutorial

Custom Lua to Bin file by Using SPIFFY

• The following methods has too many bugs, main file spiffs also obsoleted, better do not use
• Reference: spiffimg and spiffy use spiffs as core file

Setup

• Setup the Lubuntu environment and copy nodemcu firmware into "share" folder
• Find spiffy git here, download and copy all the file to nodemcu SDK > spiffy folder, so total directly should be look like:

/home/esp8266/Share/nodemcu-firmware-master/spiffy

• in spiffy folder, create build and run make, a few files will be generated into build folder
• create files folder, files to store lua file like init.lua print ("Hello")
• run spiffy to build the rom, before this, you may need delete file "spiff_rom.bin" first, this is the generated bin file

./build/spiffy

• Open file spiff_rom.bin by ultraedit can see the original codes
• If the file large than 16K should edit main.c to change this:

4*4*1024 = 16K, can change to 8*4*1024 = 32K