peakrdl-cheader

What it is and what it does

PeakRDL C Header is a code generator that converts SystemRDL register specifications into C header files. It sits on top of the systemrdl-compiler to parse hardware register definitions and uses jinja2 templates to produce C code. The package is designed for hardware-software co-development workflows where register layouts defined in SystemRDL need to be exposed to C firmware or driver code.

The tool is part of the broader PeakRDL ecosystem and targets developers working with register-level hardware abstractions. It automates the error-prone manual translation of register specifications into C headers, ensuring consistency between hardware documentation and software code. The package is production-stable, actively maintained, and has no known security vulnerabilities.

Use it for:

• Generate C headers from SystemRDL register models for embedded firmware development
• Automate register definition synchronization between hardware specs and C driver code
• Create consistent register access structures for SoC bring-up and validation
• Integrate register code generation into hardware-software build pipelines

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Generates C header files from SystemRDL register models, converting hardware register specifications into C code suitable for software development.

Yes. The package is production-stable, actively maintained, has low install friction, and solves a real problem in hardware-software co-development. The LGPLv3 copyleft license is standard for open-source tools and poses no barrier for most use cases. Install it if you work with SystemRDL register models and need C headers.

Install

peakrdl-cheader on PyPI

pip install peakrdl-cheader

uv add peakrdl-cheader

poetry add peakrdl-cheader

Installing peakrdl-cheader

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure Python wheel. Actively maintained as of March 2026 with recent commits. Depends on systemrdl-compiler and jinja2, both stable and widely available.

License in practice

Licensed under LGPLv3 (copyleft). You may use and modify the package freely, but any derivative work must also be licensed under LGPLv3 and source code must be made available.

Quickstart

pip install peakrdl-cheader

from peakrdl.cheader import CHeaderCompiler
from systemrdl import RDLCompiler

rdl = RDLCompiler()
rdl.compile_file('registers.rdl')
compiler = CHeaderCompiler(rdl.root)
compiler.write('output.h')

Requires a valid SystemRDL input file and systemrdl-compiler to parse it; jinja2 is used internally for template rendering.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package supports incremental compilation or batch processing of multiple register models
• What C standard or dialect the generated headers target
• Whether generated headers include register access macros or only struct definitions

Package facts

Evidence: peakrdl_cheader-1.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: SystemRDL, PeakRDL, CSR, compiler, tool, registers, generator, C, header, software

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