FAQ

FAQ

Short answers to the questions people ask most. Each links to the page with the details.

Is ChipWhisperer Studio official NewAE software?

No. It is an independent open source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NewAE Technology Inc. It uses NewAE's open source chipwhisperer Python library for all hardware access and downloads NewAE's firmware and tutorial notebooks from their public GitHub repositories. "ChipWhisperer" is a trademark of NewAE Technology Inc.

Has it been tested on real hardware?

Not yet. Studio has been tested with its built-in simulator and in automated builds on Linux, Windows and macOS, which download real compilers and build real ChipWhisperer firmware. Because every hardware call goes through the unmodified chipwhisperer library it is expected to work, but please report anything that does not (Troubleshooting).

Which hardware is supported?

The scopes supported by the chipwhisperer library: ChipWhisperer-Nano, Lite, Pro (CW1200), Husky and Husky Plus, with SimpleSerial v1 and v2 targets, the CW305 FPGA board, and the programmers for STM32F, XMEGA, AVR, SAM4S and NEORV32 targets and iCE40 and XC7A35T FPGA bitstreams. The models differ in what else they can do (SPI, JTAG/SWD, triggers, logic analyser); Studio offers exactly what the connected one supports, see Protocols and Interfaces. Firmware builds cover the 38 platforms in ChipWhisperer's firmware tree (see Firmware Builds).

Does it work with the ChipWhisperer-Husky?

Yes, Husky and Husky Plus are among the supported scope types, their extra settings appear in the settings tree, and the Husky's built-in target is built with platform CWHUSKY and programmed with the SAM4S programmer. Their extras have their own controls: the logic analyser in the Logic tab, the USERIO header, UART pattern trigger, edge counter, trigger sequencer and bit-banger in the Interfaces tab, and SWO program counter sampling in the Code tab.

Do I need Python installed?

No, if you use the standalone bundle from the releases page: it contains its own Python, the chipwhisperer library and libusb. With the pip package you need Python 3.10 to 3.12 (see Installation).

Does it replace Jupyter?

For most everyday work, yes: connecting, configuring, programming, capturing, CPA and glitch sweeps need no code at all. When you want code, the Notebook tab runs Python cell by cell against the same hardware, and it runs NewAE's tutorial notebooks unmodified. Notebooks are standard .ipynb files, so you can keep using Jupyter for anything Studio does not do. See Notebooks.

Do I need a Husky for the logic analyser?

No. The Husky's built-in logic analyser is one source; any ChipWhisperer can record one digital line through its analog input, external analysers work through sigrok, and you can import VCD, CSV and sigrok files from other tools. The decoders work on all of them. See Logic Analyser.

Can Studio talk I2C or CAN to my target?

No ChipWhisperer has I2C or CAN hardware, so Studio cannot send on these buses, but the Logic Analyser decodes them (and UART, SPI, 1-Wire, JTAG, SWD and SimpleSerial) from a capture.

Can I see which code runs at a point in the trace?

Yes. The Code tab emulates your firmware's ELF for the inputs of a captured trace and shows the functions and source lines on the waveform. It supports Arm Cortex-M, RISC-V RV32 and AVR/XMEGA firmware.

Can I use my own firmware?

Yes. Program any .hex or .bin from the Target tab, build your own projects by pointing Studio at your ChipWhisperer checkout (Use my own firmware folder), or run make from a notebook. The simulator even runs your firmware's ELF in an emulator. See Target and Programming, Firmware Sources and Simulator.

Can I build firmware without installing compilers?

Studio installs them for you. The first time a build needs a compiler, the Toolchains card downloads the official release for your operating system, checks its SHA-256 and uses it offline from then on. See Toolchains.

Does it work offline?

Yes, once the compilers, firmware sources and (if you want them) tutorial notebooks are downloaded. Capturing, analysis, glitching, notebooks, notes and the calculator never need the internet.

Where are my files?

In the data folder, ~/ChipWhispererStudio by default (or the folder you pass with --data-dir): exports, firmware builds, compilers, notebooks and notes. See Command Line and Configuration.

How do I get NewAE's latest firmware and examples?

Open the Firmware tab and press Check for updates, then Update now. Studio follows NewAE's develop branch by default; you can follow the latest release or a specific tag instead. No new Studio release is needed. See Firmware Sources.

Can I try it without hardware?

Yes. Set Device to Simulator (no hardware) on the Connect tab or start with --simulate, and choose which ChipWhisperer it should pose as under Simulate as. The simulated target is an unprotected AES implementation (or your own firmware, run in an emulator), so capture, CPA and glitching all work. See Simulator.

Can two people use it at the same time?

Several windows can open the same Studio and see the same live session, which is handy for demonstrations. They share one scope and one set of traces, so coordinate who starts captures. Only one hardware job (capture, glitch sweep or logic capture) runs at a time, and notebooks open in several windows stay in sync.

Does it open in a browser or in its own window?

In its own window, using the operating system's web engine (Edge WebView2 on Windows, WebKit on macOS, WebKitGTK on Linux). The ChipWhisperer Studio Web build, cw-studio-web and --browser open it in your web browser instead. See Installation.

Can I use it from another computer?

Yes: start it with --host 0.0.0.0 on the machine with the hardware and open http://that-machine:8765/. Read the security notes first. See Command Line and Configuration.

Is it safe to expose Studio to the network?

Only on a network you trust. The API has no authentication, and anyone who can reach it can control your hardware and run Python code on the Studio machine through notebooks. Use an SSH tunnel or an authenticating reverse proxy for anything else.

Can I script it or use it from CI?

Yes. Every feature is available through the HTTP API, and AI agents can use the MCP Server. Studio can run headless with --no-browser.

Can AI assistants control it?

Yes, through the MCP server (cw-studio mcp), which offers 106 tools covering every feature, from capture and CPA to the hardware interfaces, the logic analyser and the code map. The agent can share your browser session so you watch what it does. See MCP Server.

Why are the downloads so large?

Each download is about 72 MB. The standalone bundles contain a complete Python runtime, numpy, matplotlib, the chipwhisperer library (with its FPGA bitstreams), libusb and the Unicorn CPU emulator, so they run without anything installed. Compilers and OpenOCD are not included; they are downloaded only when you need them.

Why does clang fail for some platforms?

A few HALs in ChipWhisperer's firmware tree use GCC-only constructs (for example naked functions containing C code). Use GCC for those platforms. See Firmware Builds.

Does it run on Intel Macs?

The macOS bundle is built for Apple Silicon. On Intel Macs, install the pip package in Python 3.10 to 3.12.

What license is it under?

Apache License 2.0, the same as ChipWhisperer. Downloaded compilers and bundled third-party components keep their own licences (see the NOTICE file).

How do I report a problem or contribute?

Open an issue on GitHub with your version, operating system and the log. Pull requests are welcome; see Development and Releases.