Flash with QSC CLI - Qualcomm Dragonwing Documentation

Introduction

Describes how to flash images using the qsc-cli tool. Use this procedure if you are a registered user with appropriate access. It supports flashing images generated by the qsc‑cli build process.

Install required packages

qsc-cli is a command-line tool provided by Qualcomm that offers an end-to-end workflow to access, manage, and build the Qualcomm software. Follow these steps to install qsc-cli on your system:

Download the Debian package for qsc-cli:

wget https://softwarecenter.qualcomm.com/api/download/software/tools/Qualcomm_Software_Center/Linux/Debian/latest.deb -O qsc_installer.deb

wget https://softwarecenter.qualcomm.com/api/download/software/tools/Qualcomm_Software_Center/Linux/ARM64/Debian/latest.deb -O qsc_installer.deb

Install the qsc-cli Debian package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./qsc_installer.deb

Sign in to qsc-cli using your Qualcomm ID. For most users, your Qualcomm ID is your email address. This opens a browser window to complete authentication. If the browser doesn’t open automatically, copy the link printed in the terminal and paste it into your browser to complete authentication.
qsc-cli login

pcat is a Qualcomm-provided flashing tool that offers a guided and integrated interface to program software images onto the Qualcomm devices. Follow these steps to install pcat on your system:

Install the following tools on the host computer:
qsc-cli tool install --name quts --activate-default-license qsc-cli tool install --name qud --activate-default-license qsc-cli tool install --name pcat --activate-default-license
If you encounter issues while installing QUD that require enrolling a public key on your Linux host, see the instructions in the README file located at /opt/QTI/sign/signReadme.txt.

Confirm if the QTI_HS-USB_QDLoader driver is available in the installed directory:

ls -la /dev/Q*

Sample output

crw-rw-rw- 1 root 242 0 Dec 10 10:51 /dev/QTI_HS-USB_QDLoader_9008_3-8:1.0

Configure CDT

The configuration data table (CDT) contains device-specific information required for proper platform initialization. You need to select the correct CDT file based on your reference kit before flashing.

QCS6490/QCS5430
IQ-X7181/IQ-X5121
CQ-2390/IQ-2390
Other Kits

Multiple CDT binaries are provided as part of the qcomflash tarball. Choose the correct CDT binary for your kit and replace the default cdt.bin with the appropriate one.
cp cdt_core_kit.bin cdt.bin
cp cdt_vision_kit.bin cdt.bin
cp cdt_industrial_kit.bin cdt.bin
cp cdt_industrial_mezz_kit.bin cdt.bin
After the entire flashing process succeeds, you can verify that the correct CDT is loaded by reviewing the UEFI serial logs. Use the Subtype field to identify the CDT loaded onto your device.
Sample output
Platform Init [ 1966] BDS Platform : IOT Subtype : 2 Boot Device : UFS Chip Name : QCS6490 Chip Ver : 1.0
Subtype Platform Description
2 Vision Kit (Moselle attach)
5 RB3Gen2 Core Kit (HSP attach)
7 Vision Kit (HSP attach)
9 Industrial Kit
13 Industrial Mezz Kit

Subtype	Platform Description
2	Vision Kit (Moselle attach)
5	RB3Gen2 Core Kit (HSP attach)
7	Vision Kit (HSP attach)
9	Industrial Kit
13	Industrial Mezz Kit

Download the CDT binary from CodeLinaro:

curl -OL https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/X1E80100/cdt/IQ-X.1.4-EVK-CDT.tar.gz

Extract the tarball archive:
tar -xzf IQ-X.1.4-EVK-CDT.tar.gz
Go to the extracted directory:
cd IQ-X.1.4-EVK-CDT

Flash the CDT:

qdl --storage spinor xbl_s_devprg_ns.melf rawprogram0_BLANK_GPT.xml
qdl --storage spinor xbl_s_devprg_ns.melf rawprogram0_WIPE_PARTITIONS.xml
qdl xbl_s_devprg_ns.melf rawprogram0.xml patch0.xml

Go to the previous directory:
cd ..

Download the CDT binary from CodeLinaro:

curl -OL https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/CQ2390/cdt/cq2390-itp.zip

curl -OL https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/CQ2390/cdt/iq2390-itp.zip

Extract the downloaded archive:
unzip <cdt-zip-file>.zip

Flash the CDT:

qdl --storage emmc prog_firehose_ddr.elf rawprogram1.xml patch1.xml

After CDT is flashed, the terminal displays flashed "cdt" successfully.

For IQ-9075, IQ-8275, and IQ-615 kits, the default cdt.bin included in the qcomflash tarball is already the correct CDT for your kit. No action is required to select a CDT before flashing.

Switch device to EDL mode

The device must be in the EDL mode before you flash the software image. The Qualcomm supported device by default enters EDL mode if there is no image on the device after power up or if it’s corrupted. Follow these steps to force the device into EDL mode.

Press and hold the F_DL button.
Connect the device to a +12 V wall power supply.
Connect the device to the host system through the USB Type-C connector.
Release the F_DL button. The device is now in EDL mode.
Unplug the power cable once the entire flashing process is complete to exit EDL mode.

Verify if the device is in EDL mode by running the following command:

lsusb

Expected output

Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)

Provision UFS

Universal flash storage (UFS) provisioning helps to divide the storage into many LUNs, which stores different types of data separately. This improves access efficiency and system organization. UFS is provisioned by default on the Qualcomm hardware, so re-provisioning is required only when customizing the LUN layout. Because the Qualcomm-provided provision.zip will not correspond to a custom layout, you must provide your own provision files. The following commands demonstrate how to run the re-provisioning process.

UFS provisioning is not applicable for CQ-2390/IQ-2390.

Download the provision file from Qualcomm’s artifacts server:

wget https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/QCS9100/provision.zip

wget https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/QCS8300/provision.zip

wget https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/QCS6490/provision.zip

wget https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/X1E80100/provision.zip

wget https://artifacts.codelinaro.org/artifactory/codelinaro-le/Qualcomm_Linux/X1E80100/provision.zip

Unzip the downloaded archive:
unzip provision.zip -d provision
Go to the extracted directory:
cd provision

Provision UFS:

qdl --storage ufs prog_firehose_ddr.elf provision_1_2.xml

qdl --storage ufs prog_firehose_ddr.elf provision_1_3.xml

qdl --storage ufs prog_firehose_ddr.elf provision_1_3.xml

qdl --storage ufs xbl_s_devprg_ns.melf provision.xml

qdl --storage ufs xbl_s_devprg_ns.melf provision.xml

Go to the previous directory:
cd ..

Flash SAIL

Safety Island (SAIL) image contains the isolated, safety‑critical firmware that runs on the dedicated safety island to ensure secure boot and reliable system operation are independent of the main processor.

Safety Island (SAIL) is applicable only for the Qualcomm Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 and the Qualcomm Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 development kits. If you’re not using one of these development kits, skip this section.

The SAIL artifacts are present under the sail_nor directory within the unpacked qcomflash directory. Go to the following directory:
cd sail_nor

Flash the SAIL:

qdl --storage spinor prog_firehose_ddr.elf rawprogram0.xml patch0.xml

Go to the previous directory:
cd ..

Flash a software image

Identify the --serialnumber parameter for your device:

pcat -devices

Sample output

Searching devices in Device Manager, please wait for a moment…
ID | DEVICE TYPE | DEVICE STATE | SERIAL NUMBER | ADB SERIAL NUMBER | DESCRIPTION
NA | NA          | EDL          | BE116704      | be116704          | Qualcomm USB Composite Device:QUSB_BULK_CID:042F_SN:BE116704

Identify the --buildflavor for the image to be flashed. To list the build flavors, run the following command on the host computer:
qsc-cli chip-software flash --workspace-path "<absolute-workspace-path>" --list-buildflavor

Flash the image:

qsc-cli chip-software flash --workspace-path "<absolute-workspace-path>" --buildflavor "<build-flavor>" --serialnumber "<serial-number>"

​Introduction

​Install required packages

​Configure CDT

​Switch device to EDL mode

​Provision UFS

​Flash SAIL

​Flash a software image

Introduction

Install required packages

Configure CDT

Switch device to EDL mode

Provision UFS

Flash SAIL

Flash a software image