fwupdtool

low-level firmware manipulation tool

TLDR

List every device the plugins can see, including the hidden ones

$ sudo fwupdtool get-devices --show-all

Show which plugins loaded and which failed

$ sudo fwupdtool get-plugins

Inspect a firmware file before flashing anything

$ fwupdtool get-details [path/to/firmware.cab]

Install firmware from a cabinet file

$ sudo fwupdtool install [path/to/firmware.cab]

Write a raw blob to one device

$ sudo fwupdtool install-blob [path/to/firmware.bin] [device_id]

Load only one plugin, which makes debugging tractable

$ sudo fwupdtool get-devices --plugins [uefi_capsule]

Parse a firmware image and print its structure

$ fwupdtool firmware-parse [path/to/firmware.bin]

List the firmware formats it understands

$ fwupdtool get-firmware-types

Dump the SMBIOS tables

$ sudo fwupdtool smbios-dump

Show the hardware IDs used to match firmware to this machine

$ sudo fwupdtool hwids

Report the host's firmware security attributes

$ sudo fwupdtool security

Run with full debug output

$ sudo fwupdtool get-devices --verbose

fwupdtool is a low-level firmware manipulation tool that works alongside fwupd. Unlike fwupdmgr which handles automated updates from LVFS, fwupdtool allows manual firmware operations including installing local firmware files, parsing firmware archives, and device verification.This tool is primarily used for debugging, development, and situations where firmware must be installed manually from a vendor-provided file rather than through the LVFS repository.

PARAMETERS

get-devices

List all devices detected by fwupd

install FILE

Install firmware from a local cabinet (.cab) file

get-details FILE

Show details about a firmware file

verify DEVICE

Verify firmware on a device

firmware-parse FILE

Parse and display firmware file structure

firmware-convert FILE

Convert firmware to different format

-h, --help

Display help message

-v, --verbose

Enable verbose output

INSTALL

sudo apt install fwupd

sudo dnf install fwupd

sudo pacman -S fwupd

sudo apk add fwupd

sudo zypper install fwupd

brew install fwupd

nix profile install nixpkgs#fwupd

CAVEATS

Manual firmware installation bypasses LVFS signature verification. Only install firmware from trusted sources. Incorrect firmware can brick devices. Most users should prefer fwupdmgr for routine updates.

HISTORY

fwupdtool is part of the fwupd project, created by Richard Hughes in 2015. It serves as the development and debugging companion to the main fwupdmgr tool.

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage