Case study

m-bootloader: reconstructing JieLi synthesizer boot and flash interfaces

m-bootloader reconstructs the boot and flash interfaces of the M-VAVE FM-1 and SMK-37 Pro/Elite synthesizers built around the JieLi AC791N chip. Its specification covers boot stages, SPI flash formats, retained-RAM handovers and the USB flash-loader command protocol. The C and pi32v2 assembly implementation provides a replacement bootloader, recovery menu and RAM flash loader for M-Flasher.

Targets: Firmware · Protocol
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-08

Stars: 39
Last commit: 2026-11-08
Language: C
License (GitHub): MIT

GitHub data as of 2026-11-09

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Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: An M-VAVE FM-1 or SMK-37 Pro/Elite and M-Flasher or a supported updater are required for installation; the source advises backing up the unit first.
Prerequisites: Building requires Python 3, GNU Make, Rust, a C compiler and the specified pi32v2 LLVM toolchain.
Limits: The SMK-37 Elite has not been tested as a physical Elite unit, and newer FM-1 flash chips have limited testing.
License: MIT license.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{m-bootloader-case,
  title = {{m-bootloader: reconstructing JieLi synthesizer boot and flash interfaces}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/jvitkauskas/m-bootloader}},
  url = {https://github.com/jvitkauskas/m-bootloader},
  urldate = {2026-11-08},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/m-bootloader-case/}}
}

Plain text

m-bootloader: reconstructing JieLi synthesizer boot and flash interfaces. https://github.com/jvitkauskas/m-bootloader (accessed 2026-11-08). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/m-bootloader-case/

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Primary sources

docs/SPEC.md GitHub · jvitkauskas/m-bootloader · Revision 724ae41
README.md GitHub · jvitkauskas/m-bootloader · Revision 724ae41