drivers: wifi: add Bouffalo Lab BL61x WiFi driver

[will-tm]

Summary

Add WiFi support for the Bouffalo Lab BL616/BL618 SoC family.

The driver interfaces with the vendor macsw binary blob through the wl80211 layer and implements the Zephyr wifi_mgmt API:

• Station mode: connect, disconnect, scan (WPA2-PSK, WPA3-SAE)
• AP mode: start/stop with WPA2-PSK
• WPA supplicant integration via hostap (including SAE external auth)
• MACSW variant selection: default, bridge, ack, coex

Supported station security types:

• WPA2-PSK (AES/CCMP)
• WPA2-PSK mixed (TKIP+AES)
• WPA2-PSK-SHA256
• WPA3-Personal (SAE)
• WPA2/WPA3 transition mode
• WEP (WEP-40/WEP-104)
• Open (no security)

Supported access point security types:

• WPA2-PSK (AES/CCMP)
• Open (no security)

Authentication is handled by the upstream hostap/wpa_supplicant subsystem (WIFI_NM_WPA_SUPPLICANT), not the vendor fork. The driver implements zep_wpa_supp_dev_ops to bridge hostap with the vendor MAC layer. This required a lot of reverse engineering and glue which I tried to comment as much as possible.

To facilitate WiFi RAM requirements, legacy ITCM relocations have been moved to RAM, this we be cleaned once rebased on #107223.

Test plan

• Build for ai_m61_32s_kit, ai_m62_12f_kit, bl618g0, maix_m0s_dock
• wifi scan
• wifi connect -s <ssid> -p <passphrase> -k <key type>
• wifi status
• net iface
• net dhcpv4 client start 1 (should be automatic)
• net ping to gateway and external host
• AP mode start/stop
• BLE still functional alongside WiFi (coex)

BL61x WiFi blobs architecture

graph TB
    subgraph Zephyr["Zephyr"]
        APP["Application"]
        MGMT["wifi_mgmt · net_if · net_pkt"]
    end

    WPA["hostap<br/>WPA supplicant · SAE · 4WHS"]

    DRV["WiFi Driver<br/>drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/"]

    PORT["Shim<br>wl80211_port.c<br/>blob → driver callbacks"]

    PLAT["Platform — soc/bflb/bl61x/wifi/<br/>wifi_task · IRQ · clock"]

    subgraph Blobs["Binary Blobs"]
        WL80211[/"<b>libwl80211</b><br/>Upper MAC<br/>scan · connect · 802.11 SM"/]
        MACSW[/"<b>libmacsw</b><br/>Lower MAC<br/>TX/RX · DMA · FW event loop<br/><i>default │ bridge │ ack │ coex</i>"/]
        PHYRF[/"<b>libbl616_phyrf</b><br/>PHY · RF calibration<br/><i>shared with BLE</i>"/]
    end

    HW["BL616 WiFi MAC + RF"]

    APP --> MGMT
    MGMT --> DRV
    WPA -- "driver_ops" --> DRV
    DRV -- "events" --> WPA
    DRV -- "wl80211_cntrl · wl80211_mac_*" --> WL80211
    WL80211 -- "wpa_cbs" --> PORT
    PORT -- "eapol_input" --> DRV
    WL80211 -- "ke_msg · MAC ops" --> MACSW
    MACSW -- "task suspend/resume · IRQ" --> PLAT
    PLAT -- "wifi_main · interrupt0_handler" --> MACSW
    MACSW --> PHYRF
    MACSW & PHYRF --> HW

    classDef zephyr fill:#2563eb,color:#fff,stroke:#1d4ed8
    classDef driver fill:#7c3aed,color:#fff,stroke:#6d28d9
    classDef hostap fill:#059669,color:#fff,stroke:#047857
    classDef shim fill:#d97706,color:#fff,stroke:#b45309
    classDef plat fill:#dc2626,color:#fff,stroke:#b91c1c
    classDef blob fill:#4b5563,color:#fff,stroke:#374151
    classDef hw fill:#1f2937,color:#fff,stroke:#111827

    class APP,MGMT zephyr
    class DRV driver
    class WPA hostap
    class PORT shim
    class PLAT plat
    class WL80211,MACSW,PHYRF blob
    class HW hw

Loading

[github-actions]

The following west manifest projects have changed revision in this Pull Request:

Name	Old Revision	New Revision	Diff
hal_bouffalolab	zephyrproject-rtos/hal_bouffalolab@6f8ee38 (main)	zephyrproject-rtos/hal_bouffalolab#22	zephyrproject-rtos/hal_bouffalolab#22/files

Additional metadata changed:

Name	URL	Submodules	West cmds	module.yml	Blobs
hal_bouffalolab				✏	1x ✏, 9x 🆕

⛔ DNM label due to: 1 project with PR revision, 1 project with metadata changes and 10 blob changes

Note: This message is automatically posted and updated by the Manifest GitHub Action.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds WiFi support for Bouffalo Lab BL616/BL618-based boards by introducing a new drivers/wifi/bflb driver that interfaces with the vendor WL80211/MACSW blobs (via a shim layer) and integrates with Zephyr’s wifi_mgmt + wifi_nm (hostap/wpa_supplicant) infrastructure. The PR also adjusts BL61x SoC/DT memory layout to reserve WiFi shared RAM, wires up blob linking/selection, and introduces build-only test coverage variants.

Changes:

• Add BL61x WiFi driver implementation (STA/AP/scan + hostap bridge) under drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/.
• Add BL61x WiFi platform + linker section support in soc/bflb/bl61x/ and a HAL shim for required blob entry points.
• Enable WiFi device nodes and memory overlays for several BL61x boards; add build-only tests for multiple MACSW variants.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 52 out of 52 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
west.yml	Updates hal_bouffalolab module revision (currently set to a PR ref).
tests/net/wifi/wifi_nm/testcase.yaml	Excludes additional BL61x boards from wifi_nm tests due to blob build requirements.
tests/drivers/wifi/bflb/testcase.yaml	Adds build-only test matrix for the new BFLB WiFi driver and MACSW variants.
tests/drivers/wifi/bflb/src/main.c	Minimal build-only test application entry point.
tests/drivers/wifi/bflb/prj.conf	Test config enabling WiFi + networking stack for build coverage.
tests/drivers/wifi/bflb/CMakeLists.txt	Test CMake wiring for the build-only application.
soc/bflb/bl61x/wifi/bflb_wl80211_platform.c	Implements WL80211 platform hooks (MAC, heap, country, time, randomness).
soc/bflb/bl61x/wifi/bflb_wifi_sections.ld	Adds linker sections for WiFi shared RAM and blob version section placement.
soc/bflb/bl61x/wifi/bflb_wifi_platform.c	Implements MACSW task/thread + IRQ plumbing and low-power stubs.
soc/bflb/bl61x/Kconfig	Adds BL61x PHY/RF retention memory sizing option for BLE/WiFi.
soc/bflb/bl61x/CMakeLists.txt	Adds WiFi platform sources/linker sections and linker options when WiFi is enabled.
soc/bflb/bl61x/bflb_rf.c	Extends RF init and adds RF TLV parsing/loading support shared by BLE/WiFi.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/src/bl61x/CMakeLists.txt	Selects and links WiFi blob libraries (wl80211/macsw variants) and shared phyrf blob.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/shim/wifi/wl80211_rtos_port.c	Provides RTOS abstraction layer required by the WiFi blobs.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/shim/wifi/wl80211_port.c	Provides supplicant bridge symbols and assoc-IE/hostap-private glue for blobs.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/shim/wifi/CMakeLists.txt	Builds WiFi shim sources and no-blob stubs conditionally.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/shim/wifi/blob_stubs.c	Link-time stubs for CONFIG_BUILD_ONLY_NO_BLOBS=y builds.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/shim/CMakeLists.txt	Adds shim WiFi subdirectory when WiFi is enabled.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/Kconfig	Introduces BFLB_WL80211_SHIM Kconfig symbol for the WiFi blob shim.
modules/hal_bouffalolab/CMakeLists.txt	Ensures shim subtree is included when CONFIG_BFLB_WIFI is enabled.
dts/riscv/bflb/bl61x.dtsi	Adds BL61x WiFi device node and adjusts SRAM region compatibility.
dts/riscv/bflb/bl61x_em_32kb_wifi.dtsi	New DT snippet to carve WRAM for WiFi shared RAM and reduce sram1 size.
dts/bindings/wifi/bflb,bl61x-wifi.yaml	New devicetree binding for the BL61x WiFi MAC.
drivers/wifi/Kconfig	Wires the new BFLB WiFi Kconfig into the WiFi driver menu.
drivers/wifi/CMakeLists.txt	Adds BFLB WiFi driver subdirectory to the WiFi build.
drivers/wifi/bflb/Kconfig.bflb_wifi	Adds top-level BFLB WiFi enable option and common selects.
drivers/wifi/bflb/CMakeLists.txt	Adds include paths and BL61x subdir for the BFLB WiFi driver.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/Kconfig	Adds BL61x WiFi tuning options (MACSW variant, BA params, task settings, etc.).
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/CMakeLists.txt	Adds BL61x driver sources (net/mgmt/scan/ap/wpa bridge).
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi.h	Defines driver device context and shared declarations.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_wpa_supp.h	Defines hostap bridge context and ops declarations.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_wpa_supp.c	Implements zep_wpa_supp_dev_ops bridge and SAE external-auth handling.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_scan.h	Declares scan and beacon/RSN cache helpers.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_scan.c	Implements scan result conversion and RSN/RSNXE/privacy caching.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_net.h	Declares event posting entry point used by the blob layer.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_net.c	Implements net_if offload driver, TX/RX paths, event dispatch, EAPOL handling.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_mgmt.h	Declares wifi_mgmt_ops table.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_mgmt.c	Implements wifi management APIs: scan/status/reg-domain/version/ps/mode/channel.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_ie.h	Provides small helpers for RSN/WPA IE serialization.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_blob_api.h	Centralizes extern declarations for blob-facing symbols and callbacks.
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_ap.h	Declares AP bridge and hostapd ops (guarded by AP config).
drivers/wifi/bflb/bl61x/bflb_wifi_ap.c	Implements AP mode bridge + hostapd-related operations.
drivers/bluetooth/hci/Kconfig.bflb	Removes duplicated BL61x RF retention memory option (moved to SoC Kconfig).
boards/sipeed/maix_m0s_dock/maix_m0s.dtsi	Enables WiFi node and switches to WiFi-capable WRAM partition DT snippet.
boards/sipeed/maix_m0s_dock/maix_m0s_dock.yaml	Updates board supported features and test ignore tags (netif:wifi).
boards/bflb/bl61x/bl618g0/bl618g0.dts	Enables WiFi node and switches to WiFi-capable WRAM partition DT snippet.
boards/bflb/bl61x/bl618g0/bl618g0.yaml	Updates board supported features and test ignore tags (netif:wifi).
boards/aithinker/ai_m62_12f_kit/ai_m62_12f.dtsi	Enables WiFi node and switches to WiFi-capable WRAM partition DT snippet.
boards/aithinker/ai_m62_12f_kit/ai_m62_12f_kit.yaml	Updates board supported features and test ignore tags (netif:wifi).
boards/aithinker/ai_m61_32s_kit/ai_m61_32s.dtsi	Enables WiFi node and switches to WiFi-capable WRAM partition DT snippet.
boards/aithinker/ai_m61_32s_kit/ai_m61_32s_kit.yaml	Updates board supported features and test ignore tags (netif:wifi).
boards/qcom/qcc744m_evk/qcc744m.dtsi	Removes zephyr,itcm chosen entry consistent with BL61x ITCM usage changes.

[josuah]

Just a few random things for me who is unaware of all the working of WiFi.

Thank you again for all the work!

[josuah]

Just confirming that it still works on a ai_m61_32s module:

uart:~$ wifi scan
Scan requested

Num  | SSID                             (len) | Chan (Band)   | RSSI | Security             | BSSID             | MFP     
1    | Freebox-66B335                   14    | 11   (2.4GHz) | -60  | WPA2-PSK             | 22:66:CF:AC:CD:64 | Disable 
2    | Home                             4     | 10   (2.4GHz) | -93  | WPA2-PSK             | 28:EE:52:62:7C:90 | Disable 
3    | Bbox-0724C354                    13    | 11   (2.4GHz) | -46  | WPA2-PSK             | D6:18:47:A3:99:7F | Disable 
Scan request done
uart:~$ wifi connect -k 1 -s Bbox-0724C354 -p hunter2
Connection requested
uart:~$ 
Connected
[00:01:52.714,682] <inf> net_dhcpv4: Received: 10.12.156.3
uart:~$ net ping 10.12.156.3
PING 10.12.156.3
28 bytes from 10.12.156.3 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.55 ms
28 bytes from 10.12.156.3 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.39 ms
28 bytes from 10.12.156.3 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.39 ms
uart:~$ 

[jukkar]

[00:01:52.714,682] net_dhcpv4: Received: 10.12.156.3
uart:~$ net ping 10.12.156.3
PING 10.12.156.3
28 bytes from 10.12.156.3 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.55 ms

@josuah Note that this will ping your local machine and the packets will not leave the host

[josuah]

this is embarrassing... I pasted the wrong snippet.

My ISP filters IPv4 ping somehow, so in the meantime, just pinging the gateway:

uart:~$ net route check 1.1.1.1
IPv4 route to 1.1.1.1 is via 10.12.156.161 (interface 1)
uart:~$ net ping 10.12.156.161
PING 10.12.156.161
28 bytes from 10.12.156.161 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=8.32 ms
28 bytes from 10.12.156.161 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=6.36 ms
28 bytes from 10.12.156.161 to 10.12.156.3: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=81.20 ms

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
22 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud