STM32 LED Blink — Register Coding Method

This repository contains a bare-metal STM32 project that blinks an LED on an STM32F446RET6 microcontroller by directly manipulating hardware registers — without using HAL or CubeMX.
It’s designed for developers who want to understand how the MCU really works at the hardware level.

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🚀 Why This Project Matters

• Shows how to control GPIO registers directly
• Demonstrates basic clock setup and digital output toggling
• Perfect for learners leveling up from HAL to register-level programming
• Explains the fundamentals behind what HAL does under the hood

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📦 Repository Structure

STM32-LED-blink-Register-Coding-Method/
├── Core/
│   ├── Inc/              → Header files
│   └── Src/              → Source files
├── Drivers/              → CMSIS and startup code
├── Startup/              → Reset and interrupt vectors
├── STM32F446RETX_FLASH.ld→ Linker script
├── STM32F446RETX_RAM.ld  → RAM layout
├── .project              → IDE project settings
├── .cproject             → Compiler/build settings
├── .gitignore            → Ignored build outputs

We don’t check in build artifacts like Debug/ to keep the repo clean and portable.

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🛠️ How to Build & Run

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/DanielRajChristeen/STM32-LED-blink-Register-Coding-Method.git
cd STM32-LED-blink-Register-Coding-Method

2. Open in STM32CubeIDE

• Open STM32CubeIDE
• File → Import → Existing Projects into Workspace
• Select this directory

Even though this project is register-level, CubeIDE still provides the build system and debugger.

3. Build the project

• Click the hammer icon (Build)
• Confirm there are no errors

4. Flash to your board

• Connect the STM32 board via ST-Link
• Click Run → Debug or Run → Run
• The LED should blink!

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🧠 What You Learn Here

This project teaches:

• GPIO configuration without HAL abstractions
• Register writes to enable clocks and set pin modes
• Why startup code and vector tables matter
• How bare-metal firmware is structured

This is the real firmware root-cause learning experience.

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🧩 Key Code Concepts

In main.c, you’ll see:

• Enabling peripheral clocks (RCC register magic)
• Setting GPIO modes using registers
• Creating simple delay loops

👉 This is the foundation of embedded software engineering.

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📌 Notes & Tips

• Register programming is powerful but less portable than HAL
• Use the datasheet and reference manual — they’re your best friends
• Blink delays here are blocking — suitable for demos, not production multitasking

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📜 License

This code is open-source. Learn from it, remix it, reuse it!

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❤️ Acknowledgements

Inspired by STM32 reference manuals and embedded learning walkthroughs.

Happy hardware hacking! ⚡