Set up the Alif Ensemble E8 DevKit

Understand the Alif Ensemble E8 hardware

The Alif Ensemble E8 DevKit features a dual-core Arm Cortex-M55 processor and three neural processing units (NPUs): two Ethos-U55 and one Ethos-U85. In this Learning Path, you use the Cortex-M55 High-Performance (HP) core running at 400 MHz to orchestrate inference on the Ethos-U85 NPU.

Before writing any ML code, you need to verify that your toolchain, debug probe, and flashing workflow all function correctly. This section covers DevKit hardware setup, software installation, and a short validation build.

The instructions assume macOS on Apple Silicon. If you use Arm Linux, links are provided for the equivalent Linux packages.

Connect the DevKit

• Unplug all USB cables from the DevKit before changing any jumpers.

• Verify that the jumpers are in their factory default positions, as shown in the Alif Ensemble E8 DevKit (DK-E8) User Guide on alifsemi.com .

• Connect a USB-C cable from your computer to the PRG USB port on the bottom edge of the DevKit.

• Confirm that a green LED illuminates near the E1 device and the UART switch (SW4).

Leave SW4 in its default position. This routes the on-board USB UART to SEUART, which the Alif Security Toolkit (SETOOLS) uses for programming.

• Create a project directory:

    

        
        
mkdir ~/alif

    

Install the Alif Security Toolkit

The Security Toolkit (SETOOLS) programs firmware images onto the DevKit.

• Download the macOS version of SETOOLS from the Alif Ensemble E8 DevKit support page .

• Extract it into ~/alif. This creates the toolkit directory under a stable location, for example ~/alif/app-release-exec-macos/.

• Update the command below to reflect the filename that you download.

    

        
        
cd ~/Downloads
tar xvf replace_with_your_alif_security_toolkit_download.tar -C ~/alif

    

• Open a terminal in the SETOOLS directory and run:

    

        
        
cd ~/alif/app-release-exec-macos
./updateSystemPackage -d

    

On macOS, the system blocks this unsigned binary the first time. After that happens, open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section, and select Allow Anyway. Run the command again.

When prompted for a serial port, enter the DevKit’s USB modem port. On macOS, it usually appears as /dev/cu.usbmodemXXXXXXX. If SETOOLS detects the Ensemble E8 and asks to set it as the default, answer y.

Install SEGGER J-Link

SEGGER J-Link provides the debug connection for RTT (Real-Time Transfer) output, which you use later to view inference results.

Install it with Homebrew:

    

        
        
brew install --cask segger-jlink

    

Alternatively, download it from the SEGGER website . Run J-Link Commander once after installation to update the on-board probe firmware if needed.

Set up VS Code and the Alif template

Clone the Alif VS Code template repository

    

        
        
cd ~/alif
git clone https://github.com/alifsemi/alif_vscode-template.git
cd alif_vscode-template
git checkout 8b1aa0b09eacf68a28850af00c11f0b5af03c100
git submodule update --init

    

Open the project in VS Code

Open the project in VS Code from the alif_vscode-template/ directory:

    

        
        
code . &

    

Install the recommended extensions when prompted

VS Code might prompt you to install the recommended extensions for this workspace. If it does, install the following:

• Arm CMSIS Solution
• Arm Tools Environment Manager
• Cortex-Debug
• Microsoft C/C++ Extension Pack

When prompted, select Always Allow or Allow for Selected Workspace.

The recommended VS Code extensions are listed in .vscode/extensions.json.

If you don’t get an automatic trigger to enable them, you can open the Extensions view and look for a “Workspace Recommendations” section to install or enable them manually.

Restart VS Code if prompted.

Install CMSIS packs

Open the Command Palette by pressing Command+Shift+P (or Fn+F1) in VS Code, type Tasks: Run Task, and select First time pack installation. Press A to accept all licenses when prompted.

If you don’t see the task in the list, open the Command Palette (Command+Shift+P or Fn+F1) and run the Reload Window command.

Configure VS Code settings

Press Fn+F1, select Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON), and add the following entries.

Update both paths for your system, including using your username:

    

        
        
{
  "alif.setools.root": "/Users/username/alif/app-release-exec-macos",
  "cortex-debug.JLinkGDBServerPath": "/Applications/SEGGER/JLink/JLinkGDBServerCLExe"
}

    

If you have existing settings, add only the two lines of text inside the existing braces.

Verify your toolchain: build and flash Blinky

Before moving on to ML code, verify your entire toolchain works end to end with the built-in Blinky example.

• In VS Code, select the CMSIS icon in the left sidebar.
• Select the gear icon, then set Active Target to E8-HP and Active Project to blinky.
• Select the Build (hammer) icon.
• Press Fn+F1, select Tasks: Run Task, then select Program with Security Toolkit (select COM port).
• Choose the DevKit’s port when prompted.

If the DevKit’s red LED blinks, your toolchain, SETOOLS, and DevKit connection are all working correctly. You are ready to move on to model compilation.

What you’ve learned and what’s next

You’ve set up the Alif Ensemble E8 DevKit hardware, installed the Security Toolkit and J-Link tools, and verified the toolchain by building the Blinky example project.

Next, you’ll compile the MobileNetV2 model on an Arm cloud instance using ExecuTorch and the Vela compiler.