[PATCH] soc: qcom: cmd-db: Add optional support for device programmer flows

[Casey Connolly]

On 13/04/2026 14:52, Sumit Garg wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 02:28:20PM +0200, Casey Connolly wrote:
>> On 2026-04-09 21:15 +0530, Balaji Selvanathan wrote:
>>> Add QCOM_COMMAND_DB_OPTIONAL Kconfig option to allow the Command DB
>>> driver to bind successfully even when CMD DB data is missing or has
>>> an invalid magic number.
>>>
>>> This is required for device programmer flows where U-Boot runs
>>> without AOP (Always On Processor) being invoked. Since AOP is
>>> responsible for populating CMD DB data, device programmer scenarios
>>> lack valid CMD DB and would otherwise fail to boot.
>>>
>>> Normal boot flows should keep this disabled
>>> as they require valid CMD DB data populated by AOP.
>>
>> Presumably this is only used for development and isn't meant to be a supported setup right? In that
>> case how about just using a normal macro rather than a whole kconfig option, then you can just
>> build with make CCFLAGS=-DQCOM_CMD_DB_OPTIONAL=1 or something?
> 
> Looks like the commit message lacks to describe the motivation here.
> This patch is a preparatory step to allow U-Boot to be used as a device
> flashing/provisioning tool. In that environment, there isn't TZ or HYP
> stage running and U-Boot is expected to be launched in EL3.

Hmm I see, so we just rely on BROM to set up the necessary regulators
and deal with the error spam? How does the firehose loader handle this
(is it equivalent?).

Maybe it would be best to send this along with the rest of the code
necessary to enable that functionality, it would be good to get a better
idea of the architecture here.

Kind regards,

> 
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Balaji Selvanathan <balaji.selvanathan at oss.qualcomm.com>
>>> ---
>>>  drivers/soc/qcom/Kconfig  | 16 ++++++++++++++++
>>>  drivers/soc/qcom/cmd-db.c | 10 ++++++++++
>>>  2 files changed, 26 insertions(+)
>>>
>>> diff --git a/drivers/soc/qcom/Kconfig b/drivers/soc/qcom/Kconfig
>>> index 8243805e46a..239d87e044f 100644
>>> --- a/drivers/soc/qcom/Kconfig
>>> +++ b/drivers/soc/qcom/Kconfig
>>> @@ -18,6 +18,22 @@ config QCOM_COMMAND_DB
>>>  	  resource on a RPM-hardened platform must use this database to get
>>>  	  SoC specific identifier and information for the shared resources.
>>>  
>>> +config QCOM_COMMAND_DB_OPTIONAL
>>> +	bool "Allow operation without Command DB data"
>>> +	depends on QCOM_COMMAND_DB
>>> +	help
>>> +	  Allow the Command DB driver to bind successfully even when CMD DB
>>> +	  data is not populated or has an invalid magic number.
>>> +
>>> +	  This is useful for platforms where CMD DB is not populated by
>>> +
>>> +	  When enabled, missing CMD DB will generate warnings but allow boot
>>> +	  to continue. Consumer drivers must handle cmd_db API failures
>>> +	  gracefully by checking return values.
>>> +
>>> +	  If unsure, say N. Most production Qualcomm platforms require
>>> +	  valid CMD DB data.
>>> +
>>>  config QCOM_RPMH
>>>  	bool "Qualcomm RPMh support"
>>>  	depends on QCOM_COMMAND_DB
>>> diff --git a/drivers/soc/qcom/cmd-db.c b/drivers/soc/qcom/cmd-db.c
>>> index d0a6047b8a6..b4682d811f7 100644
>>> --- a/drivers/soc/qcom/cmd-db.c
>>> +++ b/drivers/soc/qcom/cmd-db.c
>>> @@ -252,8 +252,18 @@ static int cmd_db_bind(struct udevice *dev)
>>>  
>>>  	cmd_db_header = base;
>>>  	if (!cmd_db_magic_matches(cmd_db_header)) {
>>> +#ifdef CONFIG_QCOM_COMMAND_DB_OPTIONAL
> 
> Switch to IS_ENABLED(QCOM_COMMAND_DB_OPTIONAL) check instead.
> 
>>> +		log_warning("%s: CMD DB magic not found (0x%02x%02x%02x%02x)\n",
>>> +			    __func__, cmd_db_header->magic[0], cmd_db_header->magic[1],
>>> +			    cmd_db_header->magic[2], cmd_db_header->magic[3]);
>>> +		log_warning("%s: CMD DB data unavailable, resource queries will fail\n",
>>> +			    __func__);
> 
> Convert these warning rather to log_debug() since this will be under
> special config check anyways.
> 
> -Sumit
> 
>>> +		cmd_db_header = NULL;
>>> +		return 0;
>>> +#else
>>>  		log_err("%s: Invalid Command DB Magic\n", __func__);
>>>  		return -EINVAL;
>>> +#endif
>>>  	}
>>>  
>>>  	return 0;
>>>
>>> ---
>>> base-commit: f0000b4a57e9edf8ff8454b9056d767466dff57f
>>> change-id: 20260409-cmddb-394afa003818
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>> -- 
>>> Balaji Selvanathan <balaji.selvanathan at oss.qualcomm.com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>

-- 
// Casey (she/her)