> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/vedderb/bldc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hardware configuration overview

> How VESC firmware selects and loads hardware configuration files, and which boards are supported by manufacturer.

Every VESC firmware build is tied to a specific hardware target. The hardware configuration system uses two preprocessor macros — `HW_SOURCE` and `HW_HEADER` — to inject the correct pin assignments, peripheral configuration, and electrical limits for a given board at compile time.

## How hardware config files work

The build system passes `HW_SOURCE` and `HW_HEADER` as compiler `-D` defines. `conf_general.h` enforces that both are set before any other headers are included:

```c theme={null}
// conf_general.h
#if !defined(HW_SOURCE) && !defined(HW_SOURCE_ALT)
#error "No hardware source file set"
#endif

#ifndef HW_HEADER
#error "No hardware header file set"
#endif
```

`hw.h` then includes the board header through the macro:

```c theme={null}
// hwconf/hw.h
#include HW_HEADER
```

This means `HW_HEADER` must expand to a quoted string containing the path to a `.h` file, for example `"hwconf/trampa/vesc6/hw_vesc6.h"`. The `HW_SOURCE` macro works the same way for the corresponding `.c` file.

After including the board header, `hw.h` conditionally pulls in the appropriate gate driver header based on which driver the board declares:

```c theme={null}
#ifdef HW_HAS_DRV8301
#include "drv8301.h"
#endif
#ifdef HW_HAS_DRV8305
#include "drv8305.h"
#endif
#ifdef HW_HAS_DRV8316
#include "drv8316.h"
#endif
#ifdef HW_HAS_DRV8320S
#include "drv8320s.h"
#endif
#ifdef HW_HAS_DRV8323S
#include "drv8323s.h"
#endif
```

The board header defines `HW_NAME`, which is required. If it is missing, the build fails immediately:

```c theme={null}
#ifndef HW_NAME
#error "No hardware name set"
#endif
```

`hw.h` also provides safe defaults for any optional macros a board does not define — for example gate control, phase filters, temperature sensors, and current measurement. A board only needs to override the macros that differ from the defaults.

## Hardware types

Every board belongs to one of three hardware types defined in `datatypes.h`:

```c theme={null}
typedef enum {
    HW_TYPE_VESC = 0,
    HW_TYPE_VESC_BMS,
    HW_TYPE_CUSTOM_MODULE
} HW_TYPE;
```

Most motor controller boards use `HW_TYPE_VESC`. BMS boards that run VESC firmware use `HW_TYPE_VESC_BMS`. Custom peripheral modules use `HW_TYPE_CUSTOM_MODULE`.

## Supported boards by manufacturer

All hardware configuration files live under `hwconf/`. Each manufacturer has its own subdirectory.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Trampa">
    The primary VESC hardware designer. Configurations are in `hwconf/trampa/`.

    | Target        | Directory               |
    | ------------- | ----------------------- |
    | VESC 6        | `trampa/vesc6/`         |
    | VESC 6 GP     | `trampa/vesc_gp/`       |
    | VESC EDU      | `trampa/vesc_edu/`      |
    | 60/75         | `trampa/60_75/`         |
    | 60 Alva       | `trampa/60_alva/`       |
    | 75/300        | `trampa/75_300/`        |
    | 75/300 MKIV   | `trampa/75_300_MKIV/`   |
    | 100/250       | `trampa/100_250/`       |
    | 100/250 MKIII | `trampa/100_250_MKIII/` |
    | 100/500       | `trampa/100_500/`       |
    | 140/300       | `trampa/140_300/`       |
    | HD            | `trampa/hd/`            |
    | RB            | `trampa/rb/`            |
    | Sparkf        | `trampa/sparkf/`        |
    | STR500        | `trampa/str500/`        |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="VESC">
    Official VESC boards. Configurations are in `hwconf/vesc/`.

    | Target    | Directory        |
    | --------- | ---------------- |
    | Basic     | `vesc/basic/`    |
    | Classic   | `vesc/classic/`  |
    | Classic P | `vesc/classicp/` |
    | Duet      | `vesc/duet/`     |
    | Duet XS   | `vesc/duet_xs/`  |
    | Maxim     | `vesc/maxim/`    |
    | Maxim P   | `vesc/maximp/`   |
    | Minim     | `vesc/minim/`    |
    | Pronto    | `vesc/pronto/`   |
    | STR365    | `vesc/str365/`   |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="FlipSky">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/flipsky/`.

    | Target                            |
    | --------------------------------- |
    | `hw_75_100`                       |
    | `hw_75_100_V2`                    |
    | `hw_fsesc_75_200_alu`             |
    | `hw_fsesc_75_300`                 |
    | No-limits variants for each board |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="FlipSky Official">
    Additional official FlipSky boards in `hwconf/flipsky_official/`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="MakerX">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/makerx/`.

    | Target              |
    | ------------------- |
    | `hw_go_foc_dv6_pro` |
    | `hw_go_foc_g300`    |
    | `hw_go_foc_hi200`   |
    | `hw_go_foc_hv200`   |
    | `hw_go_foc_m100`    |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Makerbase">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/makerbase/`.

    | Target     | Directory               |
    | ---------- | ----------------------- |
    | 75/100     | `makerbase/75_100/`     |
    | 75/100 V2  | `makerbase/75_100_V2/`  |
    | 75/200 V2  | `makerbase/75_200_V2/`  |
    | 100/300 HP | `makerbase/100_300_HP/` |
    | 84/100 HP  | `makerbase/84_100_HP/`  |
    | 84/200 HP  | `makerbase/84_200_HP/`  |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="StormCore">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/stormcore/`.

    | Target | Directory         |
    | ------ | ----------------- |
    | 60D    | `stormcore/60D/`  |
    | 100D   | `stormcore/100D/` |
    | 100S   | `stormcore/100S/` |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Ubox">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/Ubox/`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Luna">
    E-bike motor controllers. Configurations are in `hwconf/luna/`.

    | Target | Directory     |
    | ------ | ------------- |
    | BBSHD  | `luna/bbshd/` |
    | M600   | `luna/m600/`  |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="ENNOID">
    Configurations are in `hwconf/ENNOID/`.

    | Target | Directory     |
    | ------ | ------------- |
    | MK8    | `ENNOID/MK8/` |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Other boards">
    Additional boards in `hwconf/other/`:

    | Target                  |
    | ----------------------- |
    | `hw_axiom`              |
    | `hw_gesc`               |
    | `hw_mbot`               |
    | `hw_r2`                 |
    | `hw_raiden7`            |
    | `hw_spesc`              |
    | `hw_unity`              |
    | `hw_warrior6`           |
    | VESC 4 (`other/vesc4/`) |

    Community boards from `hwconf/fungineers/`, `hwconf/ipm/`, `hwconf/itr/`, `hwconf/JetFleet/`, `hwconf/repas/`, `hwconf/shaman/`, `hwconf/teamtriforceuk/`, and `hwconf/tronic/` are also included.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Selecting hardware at build time

The top-level `Makefile` automatically discovers all `hw_*.h` files under `hwconf/` and generates a build target for each one. To see all available targets, run:

```bash theme={null}
make
```

The output lists every board name under `[Firmware]`.

To build for a specific board, use the `fw_<board>` pattern:

```bash theme={null}
# Build for the VESC 100/250
make fw_100_250

# Build for the Trampa 75/300
make fw_75_300

# Build for MakerX GO-FOC HV200
make fw_go_foc_hv200
```

You can also pass `PROJECT` directly:

```bash theme={null}
make PROJECT=100_250 fw
```

Under the hood, the Makefile resolves the board name to its header and source files and passes them to the compiler:

```makefile theme={null}
$(1)_BUILD_MACROS = \
  -DHW_SOURCE=\"$$($(1)_HW_SRC_FILE)\" \
  -DHW_HEADER=\"$$($(1)_HW_HEADER)\" \
  ...
```

Flash a built image directly to the target over SWD:

```bash theme={null}
make fw_100_250_flash
```

<Note>
  Some boards have a `_no_limits` variant (for example `hw_75_100_no_limits.h`). These disable the hardware safety limits on configuration parameters. They are intended for advanced use cases such as testing. The `DISABLE_HW_LIMITS` define sets `FW_NAME` to `"no_hw_limits"` to make it visible in VESC Tool.
</Note>