Anvil

Arduino project generator and build tool -- forges clean embedded projects.

A single binary that scaffolds testable Arduino projects with hardware abstraction, Google Mock infrastructure, and a streamlined build/upload/monitor workflow. Works on Linux and Windows.

Anvil is a Nexus Workshops project.

Install

Download the latest release binary for your platform:

# Linux
chmod +x anvil
sudo mv anvil /usr/local/bin/

# Windows
# Add anvil.exe to a directory in your PATH

Then run first-time setup:

anvil setup

This checks for arduino-cli, installs the arduino:avr core, and verifies your system is ready.

Quick Start

# Create a new project
anvil new blink

# Check system health
anvil doctor

# Find your board
anvil devices

# Compile, upload, and open serial monitor
cd blink
anvil build --monitor blink

# Run host-side tests (no board needed)
cd test && ./run_tests.sh

Commands

Command	Description
anvil new NAME	Create a new project with HAL and test scaffold
anvil doctor	Check system prerequisites
anvil setup	Install arduino-cli and AVR core
anvil devices	List connected boards and serial ports
anvil build DIR	Compile and upload a sketch
anvil upload DIR	Upload cached build (no recompile)
anvil monitor	Open serial monitor (--watch for persistent)

Project Architecture

Every Anvil project uses a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL):

your-project/
    your-project/your-project.ino   -- entry point
    lib/hal/hal.h                   -- abstract interface
    lib/hal/hal_arduino.h           -- real hardware (Arduino.h)
    lib/app/your-project_app.h      -- app logic (testable)
    test/mocks/mock_hal.h           -- Google Mock HAL
    test/test_unit.cpp              -- unit tests
    .anvil.toml                     -- project config

The app code depends on Hal, never on Arduino.h directly. This means your application logic compiles and runs on the host for testing.

Configuration

Each project has an .anvil.toml:

[project]
name = "blink"

[build]
fqbn = "arduino:avr:uno"
warnings = "more"
include_dirs = ["lib/hal", "lib/app"]
extra_flags = ["-Werror"]

[monitor]
baud = 115200

Building from Source

cargo build --release

The release binary is at target/release/anvil (Linux) or target\release\anvil.exe (Windows).

License

MIT -- see LICENSE.