NVS Partition Generator Utility¶
Introduction¶
The utility nvs_flash/nvs_partition_generator/nvs_partition_gen.py creates a binary file based on key-value pairs provided in a CSV file. The binary file is compatible with NVS architecture defined in Non-Volatile Storage. This utility is ideally suited for generating a binary blob, containing data specific to ODM/OEM, which can be flashed externally at the time of device manufacturing. This allows manufacturers to generate many instances of the same application firmware with customized parameters for each device, such as a serial number.
Prerequisites¶
- To use this utility in encryption mode, install the following packages:
- cryptography package
All the required packages are included in requirements.txt in the root of the esp-idf directory.
CSV file format¶
Each line of a .csv file should contain 4 parameters, separated by a comma. The table below provides the description for each of these parameters.
| No. | Parameter | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Key | Key of the data. The data can be accessed later from an application using this key. | |
| 2 | Type | Supported values are file, data and namespace. |
|
| 3 | Encoding | Supported values are: u8, i8, u16, u32,
i32, string, hex2bin, base64 and binary.
This specifies how actual data values are encoded in the
resulting binary file. The difference between the string
and binary encoding is that string data is terminated
with a NULL character, whereas binary data is not. |
As of now, for the file type,
only hex2bin, base64, string,
and binary encoding is supported. |
| 4 | Value | Data value. | Encoding and Value cells for the namespace
field type should be empty. Encoding and Value
of namespace is fixed and is not configurable.
Any values in these cells are ignored. |
Note
The first line of the CSV file should always be the column header and it is not configurable.
Below is an example dump of such a CSV file:
key,type,encoding,value <-- column header
namespace_name,namespace,, <-- First entry should be of type "namespace"
key1,data,u8,1
key2,file,string,/path/to/file
Note
- Make sure there are no spaces:
- before and after ‘,’
- at the end of each line in a CSV file
NVS Entry and Namespace association¶
When a namespace entry is encountered in a CSV file, each following entry will be treated as part of that namespace until the next namespace entry is found. At this point, all the following entries will be treated as part of the new namespace.
Note
First entry in a CSV file should always be a namespace entry.
Multipage Blob Support¶
By default, binary blobs are allowed to span over multiple pages and are written in the format mentioned in Section Structure of entry. If you intend to use an older format, the utility provides an option to disable this feature.
Encryption Support¶
The NVS Partition Generator utility also allows you to create an encrypted binary file. The utility uses the AES-XTS encryption. Please refer to NVS Encryption for more details.
Decryption Support¶
This utility allows you to decrypt an encrypted NVS binary file. The utility uses an NVS binary file encrypted using AES-XTS encryption. Please refer to NVS Encryption for more details.
Running the utility¶
Usage:
python nvs_partition_gen.py [-h] {generate,generate-key,encrypt,decrypt} ...
Optional Arguments:
+-----+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| No. | Parameter | Description |
+=====+============+======================================================================+
| 1 | -h, --help | show this help message and exit |
+-----+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Commands:
Run nvs_partition_gen.py {command} -h for additional help
+-----+--------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| No. | Parameter | Description |
+=====+==============+====================================================================+
| 1 | generate | Generate NVS partition |
+-----+--------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2 | generate-key | Generate keys for encryption |
+-----+--------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 3 | encrypt | Generate NVS encrypted partition |
+-----+--------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 4 | decrypt | Decrypt NVS encrypted partition |
+-----+--------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
To generate NVS partition (Default):¶
Usage:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate [-h] [--version {1,2}] [--outdir OUTDIR] input output size Positional Arguments: +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +==============+======================================================================+ | input | Path to CSV file to parse | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | output | Path to output NVS binary file | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | size | Size of NVS partition in bytes (must be multiple of 4096) | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Optional Arguments: +-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +=================+====================================================================+ | -h, --help | show this help message and exit | +-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --version {1,2} | Set multipage blob version. | | | Version 1 - Multipage blob support disabled. | | | Version 2 - Multipage blob support enabled. | | | Default: Version 2 | | | | +-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --outdir OUTDIR | Output directory to store files created | | | (Default: current directory) | +-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
You can run the utility to generate NVS partition using the command below: A sample CSV file is provided with the utility:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate sample_singlepage_blob.csv sample.bin 0x3000
To generate only encryption keys:¶
Usage:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate-key [-h] [--keyfile KEYFILE] [--outdir OUTDIR] Optional Arguments: +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +====================+======================================================================+ | -h, --help | show this help message and exit | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --keyfile KEYFILE | Path to output encryption keys file | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --outdir OUTDIR | Output directory to store files created. | | | (Default: current directory) | +--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
You can run the utility to generate only encryption keys using the command below:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate-key
To generate encrypted NVS partition:¶
Usage:
python nvs_partition_gen.py encrypt [-h] [--version {1,2}] [--keygen] [--keyfile KEYFILE] [--inputkey INPUTKEY] [--outdir OUTDIR] input output size Positional Arguments: +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +==============+======================================================================+ | input | Path to CSV file to parse | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | output | Path to output NVS binary file | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | size | Size of NVS partition in bytes (must be multiple of 4096) | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Optional Arguments: +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +=====================+====================================================================+ | -h, --help | show this help message and exit | | | | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --version {1,2} | Set multipage blob version. | | | Version 1 - Multipage blob support disabled. | | | Version 2 - Multipage blob support enabled. | | | Default: Version 2 | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --keygen | Generates key for encrypting NVS partition | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --keyfile KEYFILE | Path to output encryption keys file | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --inputkey INPUTKEY | File having key for encrypting NVS partition | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --outdir OUTDIR | Output directory to store files created | | | (Default: current directory) | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
You can run the utility to encrypt NVS partition using the command below: A sample CSV file is provided with the utility:
Encrypt by allowing the utility to generate encryption keys:
python nvs_partition_gen.py encrypt sample_singlepage_blob.csv sample_encr.bin 0x3000 --keygen
Note
Encryption key of the following format <outdir>/keys/keys-<timestamp>.bin is created.
Encrypt by allowing the utility to generate encryption keys and store it in provided custom filename:
python nvs_partition_gen.py encrypt sample_singlepage_blob.csv sample_encr.bin 0x3000 --keygen --keyfile sample_keys.bin
Note
Encryption key of the following format <outdir>/keys/sample_keys.bin is created.
Note
This newly created file having encryption keys in keys/ directory is compatible with NVS key-partition structure. Refer to NVS key partition for more details.
Encrypt by providing the encryption keys as input binary file:
python nvs_partition_gen.py encrypt sample_singlepage_blob.csv sample_encr.bin 0x3000 --inputkey sample_keys.bin
To decrypt encrypted NVS partition:¶
Usage:
python nvs_partition_gen.py decrypt [-h] [--outdir OUTDIR] input key output Positional Arguments: +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +==============+======================================================================+ | input | Path to encrypted NVS partition file to parse | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | key | Path to file having keys for decryption | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | output | Path to output decrypted binary file | +--------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Optional Arguments: +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Parameter | Description | +=====================+====================================================================+ | -h, --help | show this help message and exit | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | --outdir OUTDIR | Output directory to store files created | | | (Default: current directory) | +---------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
You can run the utility to decrypt encrypted NVS partition using the command below:
python nvs_partition_gen.py decrypt sample_encr.bin sample_keys.bin sample_decr.bin
- You can also provide the format version number:
- Multipage Blob Support Disabled (Version 1)
- Multipage Blob Support Enabled (Version 2)
Multipage Blob Support Disabled (Version 1):¶
You can run the utility in this format by setting the version parameter to 1, as shown below. A sample CSV file is provided with the utility:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate sample_singlepage_blob.csv sample.bin 0x3000 --version 1
Multipage Blob Support Enabled (Version 2):¶
You can run the utility in this format by setting the version parameter to 2, as shown below. A sample CSV file is provided with the utility:
python nvs_partition_gen.py generate sample_multipage_blob.csv sample.bin 0x4000 --version 2
Note
Minimum NVS Partition Size needed is 0x3000 bytes.
Note
When flashing the binary onto the device, make sure it is consistent with the application’s sdkconfig.
Caveats¶
- Utility does not check for duplicate keys and will write data pertaining to both keys. You need to make sure that the keys are distinct.
- Once a new page is created, no data will be written in the space left on the previous page. Fields in the CSV file need to be ordered in such a way as to optimize memory.
- 64-bit datatype is not yet supported.