SDK Setup (Mac OS)

This page is all about getting your Mac compiling code for the nRF9160 Feather. Run into trouble during the process? Post your questions on the community forum.

Installing IDE

Install or use the code editor of your choice. I personally use Microsoft Visual Studio Code. The download link is here
If you decide to use Visual Studio Code, make sure you install the C/C++ and Cortex-Debug extentions using the built in extension marketplace.

Installing SDK

Before we start, if you already have NCS installed, you can skip to Step 8. Let's begin!

Installing the latest SDK is a snap and only takes a few steps. Let's walk through them here:

Download and install nRF Connect For Desktop
Copy the app to your Applications folder
Open up the app and install the Toolchain Manager
Then open it up.
Scroll to the bottom and click Install package from other source

Then paste this url into the box and click ok.

http://developer.nordicsemi.com/.pc-tools/toolchain/ncs-toolchain-v1.4.1-20201215-7ecf886-minimal.dmg

Insert into box

The download and install will take a few minutes. Hang out, take a walk, sing a song and come back later.
Finally, once installed you'll have a dropdown that you can access. Click on it and then the Open Terminal option.

To get the nRF9160 Feather examples we'll update /opt/nordic/ncs/v1.4.1/nrf/west.yml. First in the remotes section add:

 - name: circuitdojo
   url-base: https://github.com/circuitdojo

So it looks like:

- name: alexa
  url-base: https://github.com/alexa
- name: circuitdojo
  url-base: https://github.com/circuitdojo

Then in the projects section add at the bottom:

- name: nfed
  repo-path: nrf9160-feather-examples-and-drivers
  revision: v1.4.x
  path: nfed
  remote: circuitdojo

So it looks like:

...
- name: Alexa-Gadgets-Embedded-Sample-Code
  path: modules/alexa-embedded
  revision: face92d8c62184832793f518bb1f19379538c5c1
  remote: alexa
- name: nfed
  repo-path: nrf9160-feather-examples-and-drivers
  revision: v1.4.x
  path: nfed
  remote: circuitdojo

Then run west update in your freshly created terminal session. This will fetch the nRF9160 Feather examples.

Installing `newtmgr`

For loading code to your nRF9160 Feather, you'll need to download and copy a custom version of newtmgr. Open a terminal window and run:

cd ~/Downloads
wget "https://docs.jaredwolff.com/files/newtmgr/darwin/newtmgr.zip"
unzip newtmgr.zip
mv newtmgr /opt/nordic/ncs/v1.4.1/toolchain/bin
rm newtmgr.zip

Then you'll need to add your serial profile to make it easier to download/update your device:
```
newtmgr conn add serial type=serial connstring='dev=/dev/tty.SLAB_USBtoUART,baud=1000000'
```
If you have multiple Silicon Labs CP2102 connected to your machine your serial port may be named differently. I recommend you unplug all devices that could be named tty.SLAB_USBtoUART to ensure you're targeting the correct device during programming.
Having trouble? You may have to install the drivers.

For more info in using newtmgr checkout the programming section of this documentation.

Migrating from previous instructions

Follow the same steps as above. Except for Step 9. Then copy your nfed directory from your old setup to the new SDK folder. It will be in /opt/nordic/ncs/v1.4.1/. You'll want to checkout the latest using git pull && git checkout v1.4.1.

Testing it

Now you can get to playing around with some of the nRF9160 Feather example code! Remember you'll always have to open a terminal using the Toolchain Manager to build code!

You can quickly test if your SDK is set up correctly by checking out the blinky example.

Product Documentation