Device Management manifest CLI tool

This document explains how to install and use the manifest tool.

• Manifest tool overview
• Installing the manifest tool
• Using the manifest tool
• Developer workflow example
• Upgrading from manifest tool v1.5.2 and lower
• Troubleshooting

Note: Please see the changelog for the list of all changes between release versions.

Manifest tool overview

Device Management lets you perform Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) updates on managed devices.

On the device side, the firmware update process begins when the device receives an update manifest. The OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or update author cryptographically signs the manifest with a private key paired to a public key that exists on the device, enabling the device to authenticate the manifest before it accepts the firmware update.

Device Management supports:

• Full updates - Deliver new firmware and install it on the device.
• Delta updates - The manifest tool executes a diff algorithm that produces a small delta patch file. The client constructs a new firmware image based on the delta patch file and the firmware currently present on the device. This technique saves traffic bandwidth.
• Combined updates - The FOTA client lets you define a device component as consisting of several subcomponents, which the device always updates together and reports to the Update service on as a single component. For a combined update, the manifest tool creates a combined package, which includes multiple firmware images. The client parses the combined package and installs the images on the device in a predefined order you set on the device.

The manifest-tool Python package includes these command line tools:

• manifest-tool - Creates manifest files.
• manifest-delta-tool - Generates delta patch files.
• manifest-package-tool - Generates a combined package file.
• manifest-dev-tool - A developer tool for running a simplified update campaign.

Installing the manifest tool

We recommend installing the manifest-tool Python package in a isolated Python virtual environment.

Installing the manifest tool from PyPi

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.6 or higher.
• pip (Python Package Installer).
• Internet connectivity

pip install manifest-tool

Installing from local source tree

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.6 or later.
• pip (Python Package Installer).
• Native toolchain:
  • GCC/Clang for Linux/MacOS.
  • Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019 for Windows or different version suitable to your Python version as describe here.

$ git clone https://github.com/PelionIoT/manifest-tool.git
$ pip install <path to manifest-tool's local source tree>

Note: Run $ pip install --editable <manifest-tool> to install the package in Python setuptools development mode. For more information, please see the setuptools development mode documentation.

Using the manifest tool

This section explains how to use the CLI tools included in the manifest-tool Python package:

• manifest-tool
• manifest-delta-tool
• manifest-package-tool
• manifest-dev-tool

manifest-tool

manifest-tool commands:

• manifest-tool create - Creates manifests.
• manifest-tool create-v1 - Creates V1 schema-compatible manifests.
• manifest-tool parse - Parses and verifies existing manifest files.
• manifest-tool schema - Shows bundled input validation schema.
• manifest-tool public-key - Generates an uncompressed public key.

Note: Run manifest-tool --help for more information about all commands, or manifest-tool <command> --help for more information about a specific command, including its parameters and how to use them.

manifest-tool create

Creates a manifest. The manifest tool receives a configuration file describing the update type.

Prerequisites

• An update private key and public key certificate.

  Keep the private key secret because it allows installing new firmware images on your devices.

  Provision the public key to the device.

  • To generate a private key, run:

    $ openssl ecparam -genkey -name prime256v1 -outform PEM -out my.priv.key.pem

  • To generate a public key in uncompressed point format (X9.62), use the manifest-tool public-key command.

• Upload the new firmware image to a server that your devices can access.

• A configuration file in JSON or YAML format.

  Configuration file format:

  vendor:  # One of "domain" or "vendor-id" fields are expected.
    domain: pelion.com  # FW owner domain. Used to generate a vendor UUID.
                        # Expected to include a dot (".").
    # OR
    vendor-id: fa6b4a53d5ad5fdfbe9de663e4d41ffe  # Valid vendor UUID.
    custom-data-path: my.custom-data.bin # Vendor's custom data file
                                         #  to be passed to the target devices.
                                         # Only relevant for manifest v3 format.
  
  device:  # One of "model-name" or "class-id" fields are expected
    model-name: Smart Slippers  # A device model name. Used to generate a class UUID.
    # OR
    class-id: 327c726ac6e54f7a82fbf1d3beda80f0  # Valid device-class UUID.
  
  priority: 1  # Update priority as will be passed to authorization callback.
               # Implemented by application on a device side.
  
  payload:
    url: http://some-url.com/files?id=1234  # Address from which the device downloads
                                            #  the candidate payload.
                                            # Obtained by clicking "Copy HTTP URL" on
                                            # the Firmware image details screen
                                            # in Device Management Portal,
                                            #  or by copying the `datafile` attribute.
    file-path: ./my.fw.bin  # Local path to the candidate payload file
                            #  or the delta patch file.
                            # Used for digest calculation & signing.
    format: raw-binary  # One of following:
                        #  raw-binary       - full image update campaigns.
                        #  arm-patch-stream - delta patch update campaigns.
                        # For manifest v3 only:
                        #  combined           - combined update.
                        #  encrypted-raw      - full image update with encrypted image.
                        #  encrypted-combined - combined update with encrypted image.
    encrypted:  # Required for 'encrypted-raw', 'encrypted-patch' formats.
      digest: 3725565932eb5b9fbd5767a3a534cb6a1a87813e0b4a76deacb9b36695c71307
                    # The encrypted payload digest.
                    # Obtained by copying the `encrypted_datafile_checksum` attribute
                    # from the Firmware image details screen in Device Management Portal.
      size: 471304  # The encrypted payload size.
                    # Obtained by copying the `encrypted_datafile_size` attribute
                    # from the Firmware image details screen in Device Management Portal.
  
  component: MAIN  # [Optional] The name of the component to be updated
                   #  only relevant for manifest v3 format.
                   # Set to "MAIN" by default for updating
                   #  the main application image.
  
  sign-image: True  # [Optional] Boolean field accepting True/False values.
                    # Only relevant for manifest v3 format.
                    # When Set to True - 64 Bytes raw signature over the installed
                    #  image will be added to the manifest.
                    # Image signature can be used for cases when device bootloader
                    #  expects to work with signed images (e.g. secure-boot).
                    # Set to False by default.

Example

• For this configuration file, called my.config.yaml:

  vendor:
    domain: pelion.com
  device:
    model-name: Smart Flip-flops
  priority: 1
  payload:
    url: http://some-url.com/files?id=1234
    file-path: ./my.fw.bin
    format: raw-binary
  component: MAIN

• Run:

  manifest-tool create \
      --config my.config.yaml \
      --key my.priv.key.pem \
      --fw-version 1.2.3 \
      --output my.manifest.bin

Note: The value of --fw-version refers to the firmware version of the component to be updated. The value can be between 0.0.1 and 999.999.999 and must be greater than the firmware version currently installed on the device.

manifest-tool create-v1

Older versions of Device Management update client use manifest schema V1 and assume the public key is packaged in a x.509 certificate.

Prerequisites

• An update private key and public key certificate.

  Keep the private key secret because it allows installing new firmware images on your devices.

  Provision the public key to the device.

  • To generate a private key, run:

    $ openssl ecparam -genkey -name prime256v1 -outform PEM -out my.priv.key.pem

  • To generate a public key x.509 certificate, run:

    $ openssl req -new -sha256 \
          -key my.priv.key.pem \
          -inform PEM \
          -out my.csr.csr
    $ openssl req -x509 -sha256 \
          -days 7300 \
          -key my.priv.key.pem \
          -in my.csr.csr \
          -outform der \
          -out my.x509.certificate.der

    Note: Device Management update client treats the x.509 certificate as a container ONLY and does not enforce its validity - expiration, chain of trust, and so on - although it may be validated by other Device Management components. For production, we recommend creating a certificate with a lifespan greater than the product's expected lifespan (for example, 20 years).

• Upload the new firmware binary to a server that your devices can access, and obtain the URL for the uploaded firmware binary.

• A configuration file in JSON or YAML format (same as manifest-tool create).

Example

• Run:

  manifest-tool create-v1 \
      --config my.config.yaml \
      --key my.priv.key.pem \
      --update-certificate my.x509.certificate.der \
      --output my.manifest.bin

manifest-tool parse

Parses and validates existing manifest files.

Prerequisites

• A manifest file (in our example my.manifest.bin).
• Optionally, an update private key or public key or certificate to validate the manifest signature.

Example

$ manifest-tool parse \
  my.manifest.bin \
  --private-key my.priv.key.pem
----- Manifest dump start -----
Manifest:
vendor-id=fa6b4a53d5ad5fdfbe9de663e4d41ffe
class-id=3da0f138173350eba6f665498eace1b1
update-priority=15
payload-version=1572372313
payload-digest=b5f07d6c646a7c014cc8c03d2c9caf066bd29006f1356eaeaf13b7d889d3502b
payload-size=512
payload-uri=https://my.server.com/some.file?new=1
payload-format=raw-binary
----- Manifest dump end -----
2019-10-29 20:05:13,478 INFO Signature verified!

manifest-tool schema

Prints the input validation JSON schema bundled with the current tool. The manifest tool contains an input validation schema, which you can use as a self-documenting tool to better understand and validate the manifest tool input configuration.

Example

$ manifest-tool schema

manifest-tool public-key

Create a public key file in uncompressed point format. Provisioning this file to the device enables the device to verify the manifest signature.

Example

manifest-tool public-key my.priv.key.pem --out my.pub.key.bin

manifest-delta-tool

Use this tool to generate delta patch files for delta updates.

Run manifest-delta-tool --help for more information about usage and arguments.

Prerequisites

• The firmware currently installed on the device and the updated firmware image. Required for calculating the delta patch.

Example

$ manifest-delta-tool -c current_fw.bin -n new_fw.bin -o delta-patch.bin

Note 1: Additional configuration file with same name but with .yaml extension will be generated. Both files are required by the manifest-tool. Only the output file specified by --output argument should be uploaded to Pelion storage.

Note 2: Compression block size has a direct impact on the amount of memory required by the device receiving the update. The device requires twice the amount of RAM in runtime to decompress and apply the patch.

Note 3: Compression block must be aligned with network (COAP/HTTP) buffer size used for download. Misalignment in sizes may result in device failure to process the delta patch file.

manifest-package-tool

Use this tool to generate combined package files for combined updates.

manifest-package-tool commands:

• manifest-package-tool create - Creates a combined package file for combined updates.
• manifest-package-tool parse - Parses and verifies existing combined package files.

Note: Run manifest-package-tool --help for more information about all commands, or manifest-package-tool <command> --help for more information about a specific command, including its parameters and how to use them.

manifest-package-tool create

Creates a combined package file based on a configuration file with information about firmware images for a combined update.

Prerequisites

• A configuration file in JSON or YAML format.

  Configuration file format:

  images:  # Two or more images
  - file_name:  ./my.fw1.bin     # Local path to one of the firmware images.
    sub_comp_name:  fw1_id       # Name of the subcomponent firmware image.
    vendor_data: fw1_vend        # Vendor data for the firmware image.
  - file_name:  ./my.fw2.bin     # Local path to another firmware image.
    sub_comp_name:  fw2_id       # Name of the subcomponent firmware image.
    vendor_data: fw2_vend        # Vendor data for the firmware image.

• New firmware images to be included in the combined package. In this example ./my/fw1.bin and ./my.fw2.bin.

Example

$ manifest-package-tool create --config combined_package_config.yaml --output combined_package_file

Where combined_package_config.yaml is the input configuration file.

The tool creates a tar-format combined package with the firmware images listed in the configuration file, where:

• file_name is the local path to the image file.
• sub_comp_name is the name the tool gives to the subcomponent firmware image file in the combined package. This must be the same as the name (sub_comp_name) defined on the device.
• vendor_data is the vendor information of the firmware image.

In addition to firmware image files, the tool creates a descriptor __desc__ file inside the tar package, which provides information about the contents of the combined package to the FOTA update client.

Note 1: The FOTA update client reports on a combined update as an update of a single component (defined as comp_name on the device), consisting of multiple subcomponents (each defined as sub_comp_name on the device). When you create a combined package, each sub_comp_name must correspond to a sub_comp_name on the device. For more information, see Implementing combined update

Note 2: When you create a manifest for a combined update using manifest-tool, in the manifest configuration file, set the format field to combined or encrypted-combined, set the component field to the name of the component you are updating, and set the file-path field to the path of the combined package file.

Note 3: To use a combined package file with the manifest-dev-tool create or update commands, set the path of the combined package file in the -p argument and pass the --combined-image flag to indicate that the current candidate payload is a combined image.

manifest-package-tool parse

Parses and validates existing combined package files.

Prerequisites

• A combined package file (in our example combined_package_file).

Example

$ manifest-package-tool parse --package combined_package_file
Contents of the tar package -
File name : _desc_
File name : fw1_id
File name : fw1_id
Information of update images:
OrderedDict([('id', b'fw1_id'), ('vendor-data', b'fw1_vend'), ('vendor-data-size', 8), ('image-size', 417053)])
OrderedDict([('id', b'fw2_id'), ('vendor-data', b'fw2_vend'), ('vendor-data-size', 8), ('image-size', 253482)])

manifest-dev-tool

manifest-dev-tool is a developer tool for running a simplified update campaign.

Use manifest-dev-tool for development flows only.

manifest-dev-tool commands:

• manifest-dev-tool init - Initializes the developer environment.
• manifest-dev-tool create - Simplified tool for creating manifests.
• manifest-dev-tool create-v1 - Simplified tool for creating manifests using the V1 schema.
• manifest-dev-tool update - Lets you perform end-to-end tests without leaving the command shell.
• manifest-dev-tool update-v1 - Lets you perform end-to-end tests without leaving the command shell using a V1-schema manifest.

Note: Run manifest-dev-tool --help for more information about all commands, or manifest-dev-tool <command> --help for more information about a specific command, including its parameters and how to use them.

manifest-dev-tool init

Initializes the developer environment.

• Generates credentials and a configuration file in the tool's cache directory:

  • dev.key.pem - An update private key.
  • dev.cert.der - An update public key certificate.
  • dev.cfg.yaml - Developer configuration file.

  The default cache directory name is .manifest-dev-tool.

• Generates an update resource C file with symbols that allow bypassing the provisioning step in the developer flow. Default name is update_default_resources.c.

Note 1: Use the credentials generated by manifest-dev-tool init in the development stage only.

Note 2: You can keep your access key in the .pelion-dev-presets.yaml file in your home directory and pass it using the --gw-preset option.

Example of .pelion-dev-presets.yaml:

usa:
    host: https://api.us-east-1.mbedcloud.com
    access_key: ak_SOME_VERY_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
japan:
    host: https://api.ap-northeast-1.mbedcloud.com
    access_key: ak_SOME_OTHER_VERY_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY

To obtain an access key and API host URL, in Device Management Portal, click Access Management > Access keys > New access key. Limit access to the .pelion-dev-presets.yaml file to your user only.

Example

manifest-dev-tool init --access-key [Device Management access key]

Or

manifest-dev-tool init --gw-preset usa

manifest-dev-tool create

Creates developer manifest files without requiring an input configuration file.

Example

manifest-dev-tool create \
    --payload-url http://test.pdmc.pelion.com?fileId=1256 \
    --payload-path new_fw.bin \
    --fw-version 1.2.3 \
    --component-name MAIN \
    --output update-manifest.bin

Note: To run a delta update, specifiy the manifest-delta-tool output in the --payload-path argument and make sure the .yaml output with the same name sit next to that output file.

Note: Add the --sign-image argument to update a device with a secure bootloader, which requires an image signature.

manifest-dev-tool create-v1

Creates developer manifest files in v1 format without requiring an input configuration file.

Example

manifest-dev-tool create-v1 \
    --payload-url http://test.pdmc.pelion.com?fileId=1256 \
    --payload-path new-fw.bin \
    --output update-manifest.bin

Note: To run a delta update, specifiy the manifest-delta-tool output in the --payload-path argument and make sure the .yaml output with the same name sit next to that output file.

manifest-dev-tool update

Same as manifest-dev-tool create but also lets you interact with Device Management to run a full update campaign.

The command:

1. Uploads the payload to Device Management and obtains the URL.
2. Creates a manifest file with the URL from the previous step and obtains a manifest URL.
3. Creates an update campaign with the manifest URL from the previous step.
4. Starts the update campaign if you pass the --start-campaign or --wait-for-completion argument.
5. If you pass the --wait-for-completion argument, the tool waits for campaign completion for the time period specified by --timeout or until the campaign reaches one of its terminating states.
6. If you pass the --wait-for-completion argument without the --no-cleanup flag, the tool removes the uploaded test resources from Device Management before exiting.

Example

manifest-dev-tool update \
    --payload-path my_new_fw.bin \
    --fw-version 1.2.3 \
    --wait-for-completion

Note: The tool creates the device filter for the campaign based on the unique class-id and vendor-id fields the manifest-dev-tool init command generates.

manifest-dev-tool update-v1

Same as manifest-dev-tool update with a v1-format manifest.

Example

manifest-dev-tool update-v1 \
    --payload-path my_new_fw.bin \
    --wait-for-completion

Developer workflow example for mbed-os devices

1. Clone the https://github.com/PelionIoT/mbed-cloud-client-example repository.

2. From within the repository, execute:

   manifest-dev-tool init -a $MY_ACCESS_KEY

   The tool initializes the developer environment and generates a update_default_resources.c file.

3. Build the firmware image for your device.

4. Save the mbed-cloud-client-example_update.bin file.

5. Flash the mbed-cloud-client-example.bin to the device.

6. Wait for the device to register in the cloud.

7. Make some changes to the source of the firmware application.

8. Build the firmware update candidate for your device.

   • To test delta update, create delta patch:

     manifest-delta-tool -c <original mbed-cloud-client-example_update.bin> -n <new mbed-cloud-client-example_update.bin> -o delta.bin

9. Issue an update campaign:

   manifest-dev-tool update --payload-path <new mbed-cloud-client-example_update.bin or delta.bin> --wait-for-completion

Upgrading from manifest tool v1.5.2 and lower

Manifest tool v2.0.0 is not compatible with previous versions.

This section explains how to migrate your existing configuration and credentials for use with manifest-tool version 2.2.0 and higher.

• Initializing the development environment using previously-defined configuration and credentials

  Run the manifest-dev-tool init command as follow:

  manifest-dev-tool init --api-url <API URL> \
                         --access-key <Access key> \
                         --vendor-id <Vendor ID> \
                         --class-id <Class ID> \
                         --key <private key path> \
                         --update-certificate <certificate path>

  Where <API URL> and <Access key> are the values from the previous .mbed_cloud_config.json file, <Vendor ID> and <Class ID> are the values from the previous .manifest_tool.json file, and <private key path> and <certificate path> are the paths to your private key and update certificate, respectively.

  When the command finishes successfully, you can remove the previously-created files.

• Adapting the create manifest configuration

  If you use manifest-tool (not manifest-dev-tool), create a new configuration file, as described in manifest-tool create, and copy the relevant information from your existing .manifest_tool.json file.

Troubleshooting

• Getting more context on unexpected errors.

  When the tool exits with a non-zero return code, it may be helpful to get more context on the failure.

  Solution: execute the tool with the --debug flag at the top argument parser level. For example:

  manifest-dev-tool --debug update

• manifest-dev-tool update ... --wait-for-completion takes longer than expected.

  manifest-dev-tool update creates a unique class-id and vendor-id generated per developer. Device Management expects a single device with these properties to connect to Device Management.

  In rare cases, during development, a device's device-id might change after you re-flash it. This may result in two devices having the same class-id and vendor-id in Device Management. In this scenario, Device Management will detect both devices and try to update them both, although one of them no longer exists

  Solution: Manually delete the unwanted device from Device Management. Alternatively, run manifest-dev-tool update ... --wait-for-completion with --device-id DEVICE_ID to override the default campaign filter and target a specific device by its ID.

• Update fails and manifest-dev-tool update ... --wait-for-completion cleans all resources.

  You might want to leave the resources (firmware image candidate, update manifest and update campaign) on a service for further investigation/retry.

  Solution: Execute manifest-dev-tool update ... --wait-for-completion with the --no-cleanup flag.

• Device does not support this manifest schema

  Solution: Your device does not support the created manifest schema. Switch from the create or update command to the create-v1 or update-v1 command respectively and vice versa.