load

load
	235.2. Common Commands

Name

load — Download programs or data to the RedBoot platform

Synopsis

load [-v ] [-d ] [-r ] [-m [{[[xmodem] | [ymodem] | [tftp] | [disk] | [file]]}] ] [-h IP_address] [-f location] [-b location] [-c channel] [ file_name ]

Arguments

Name	Type	Description	Default
-v	Boolean	Display a small spinner (indicator) while the download is in progress. This is just for feedback, especially during long loads. Note that the option has no effect when using a serial download method since it would interfere with the protocol.	quiet
-d	Boolean	Decompress data stream (gzip data)	non-compressed data
-r	Boolean	Raw (or binary) data. -b or -f must be used	formatted (S-records, ELF image, etc)
-m tftp		Transfer data via the network using TFTP protocol.	TFTP
-m http		Transfer data via the network using HTTP protocol.	TFTP
-m xmodem		Transfer data using X-modem protocol.	TFTP
-m ymodem		Transfer data using Y-modem protocol.	TFTP
-m disk		Transfer data from a local disk.	TFTP
-m file		Transfer data from a local filesystem such as JFFS2 or FAT.	TFTP
-m mem		Load data from a memory address. Enabled with the configuration option `CYGFUN_REDBOOT_LOAD_FROM_MEM`. Supply the memory address and length to load from by using a “filename” in the format: `ADDRESS`,`LENGTH` For example `0x10000400,0x54350`	TFTP
-h `IP_address`	Numeric IP or DNS name	The IP address of the TFTP or HTTP server.	Value set by ip_address
-b `location`	Number	Address in memory to load the data. Formatted data streams will have an implied load address which this option may override.	Depends on data format
-f `location`	Number	Address in flash to load the data. Formatted data streams will have an implied load address which this option may override.	Depends on data format
-c `channel`	Number	Specify which I/O channel to use for download. This option is only supported when using either xmodem or ymodem protocol.	Depends on data format
`file_name`	String	The name of the file on the TFTP or HTTP server or the local disk. Details of how this is specified for TFTP are host- specific. For local disk files, the name must be in disk: filename format. The disk portion must match one of the disk names listed by the disks command.	None

Description

The load command is used to download data into the target system. Data can be loaded via a network connection, using either the TFTP or HTTP protocols, or the console serial connection using the X/Y modem protocol. Files may also be loaded directly from local filesystems on disk. Files to be downloaded may either be executable images in ELF executable program format, Motorola S-record (SREC) format or raw data.

	Note
	When downloading an ELF image, RedBoot will forcibly terminate the transfer once all the relevant (loadable) ELF sections have been received. This behaviour reduces download time when using the X/Y modem protocol over a slow serial connection. However, the terminal emulator may report that the transfer is incomplete and has been cancelled. Such messages are normal and may be ignored.

Examples

Download a Motorola S-record (or ELF) image, using TFTP, specifying the base memory address.

RedBoot> load redboot.ROM -b 0x8c400000
Address offset = 0x0c400000
Entry point: 0x80000000, address range: 0x80000000-0x8000fe80

Download a Motorola S-record (or ELF) image, using HTTP, specifying the host [server] address.

RedBoot> load /redboot.ROM -m HTTP -h 192.168.1.104
Address offset = 0x0c400000
Entry point: 0x80000000, address range: 0x80000000-0x8000fe80

Load an ELF file from /dev/hda1 which should be an EXT2 partition:

RedBoot> load -mode disk hda1:hello.elf
Entry point: 0x00020000, address range: 0x00020000-0x0002fd70

Load an ELF file from /jffs2/applications which should be a directory in a JFFS2 filesystem:

RedBoot> load -mode file /jffs2/applications/hello.elf
Entry point: 0x00020000, address range: 0x00020000-0x0002fd70


ip_address		mcmp

2025-10-02

eCosPro Non-Commercial Public License