testland/qemu-system-test-runner
Author and run QEMU system emulation as an embedded-test target - qemu-system-arm / qemu-system-aarch64 / qemu-system-riscv32 launching cross-compiled ELF binaries on virtual MCUs and SoCs. Covers machine selection (-M virt / mps2-an385 / mps2-an386 / mps2-an500 / mps2-an511 / mps3-an524 / lm3s6965evb / raspi3b / xilinx-zynq-a9), CPU selection (-cpu cortex-m0 / cortex-m3 / cortex-m4 / cortex-m33 / cortex-a15 / cortex-a57 / max), -kernel ELF load, -nographic + -serial stdio, ARM semihosting via -semihosting-config enable=on,target=native (so cross-compiled GoogleTest / Unity binaries print to host stdio and exit with the test return code), GDB stub via -S -gdb tcp::1234, QMP monitor via -qmp tcp:host:port for automated test orchestration, and CI wiring. Use when host-only test runs are insufficient and the team wants arch-correct (endianness / alignment / interrupt-vector) behaviour on a virtual MCU without committing to physical hardware-in-loop.
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boards.mdreferences/
QEMU machines and CPUs for embedded testing
Per target-arm.html, the ARM machines relevant to embedded testing include mps2-an385, mps2-an386, mps2-an500, mps2-an505, mps2-an511, mps2-an521, mps3-an524, mps3-an536, mps3-an547, the Stellaris lm3s6965evb / lm3s811evb, Raspberry Pi raspi0 / raspi1ap / raspi2b / raspi3ap / raspi3b / raspi4b, and Xilinx xilinx-zynq-a9 / xlnx-zcu102. The virt board is designed for use in virtual machines and does not correspond to any real hardware.
Match the machine to the CPU profile: mps2-* boards for M-profile cores, virt for A-profile, virt for RISC-V.
| Test target | QEMU command | Typical -cpu |
|---|---|---|
| Cortex-M0 / M0+ | qemu-system-arm -M mps2-an385 | cortex-m0 |
| Cortex-M3 | qemu-system-arm -M mps2-an385 | cortex-m3 (board default) |
| Cortex-M4 | qemu-system-arm -M mps2-an386 | cortex-m4 |
| Cortex-M7 | qemu-system-arm -M mps2-an500 | cortex-m7 |
| Cortex-M33 (TrustZone-M) | qemu-system-arm -M mps2-an505 / mps2-an521 / mps3-an524 | cortex-m33 |
| Cortex-A15 / A57 | qemu-system-arm -M virt (32-bit) / qemu-system-aarch64 -M virt (64-bit) | cortex-a15 / cortex-a57 / max |
| Stellaris LM3S6965 (older M3 reference) | qemu-system-arm -M lm3s6965evb | implicit |
| Raspberry Pi 3B (Cortex-A53) | qemu-system-aarch64 -M raspi3b | implicit (cortex-a53) |
-machine help lists all machines; -cpu help lists CPU models for the target.
Per cpu-features.html, the special max CPU type is "available for comprehensive feature testing". Named CPU models generally do not work with KVM, but for emulation-only test runs (not KVM-accelerated) the named models work fine.