SREC (file format)

Motorola S-record is a file format, created by Motorola, that

conveys binary information as hex values in ASCII text form. S-record
This file format may also be known as SRECORD, SREC, S19,
S28, S37. It is commonly used for programming flash memory
in microcontrollers, EPROMs, EEPROMs, and other types of
programmable logic devices. In a typical application, a compiler
or assembler converts a program's source code (such as C or
assembly language) to machine code and outputs it into a HEX
file. The HEX file is then imported by a programmer to "burn"
the machine code into non-volatile memory, or is transferred to
the target system for loading and execution.
A quick reference chart for the
Motorola SREC format. (Note that in
the record example image the word
Contents "bytes" is alternatively used to
specify characters.)
Overview
History Filename .s19, .s28,
extension .s37, .s, .s1,
Other hex formats
.s2, .s3, .sx,
Format .srec, .exo,[1]
Record structure .mot, .mxt
Text line terminators Developed by Motorola
Record types
Record order
Limitations
Examples
Checksum calculation
16-bit memory address
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Overview

History
The S-record format was created in the mid-1970s for the Motorola 6800 processor. Software
development tools for that and other embedded processors would make executable code and data in
the S-record format. PROM programmers would then read the S-record format and "burn" the data
into the PROMs or EPROMs used in the embedded system.

Other hex formats

There are other ASCII encoding with a similar purpose. BPNF, BHLF, and B10F were early binary
formats, but they are neither compact nor flexible. Hexadecimal formats are more compact because
they represent 4 bits rather than 1 bit per character. Many, such as S-record, are more flexible because
they include address information so they can specify just a portion of a PROM. Intel HEX format was
often used with Intel processors. TekHex is another hex format that can include a symbol table for
debugging.

Format

Record structure

S Type Byte Count Address Data Checksum

An SREC format file consists of a series of ASCII text records. The records have the following
structure from left to right:

1. Record start - each record begins with an uppercase letter "S" character (ASCII 0x53) which
stands for "Start-of-Record".[2]
2. Record type - single numeric digit "0" to "9", defining the type of record.
3. Byte count - two hex digits, indicating the number of bytes (hex digit pairs) that follow in the rest of
the record (address + data + checksum). This field has a minimum value of 3 for 16-bit address
field plus 1 checksum byte, and a maximum value of 255 (0xFF).
4. Address - four / six / eight hex digits as determined by the record type. The address bytes are
arranged in big endian format.
5. Data - a sequence of 2n hex digits, for n bytes of the data. For S1/S2/S3 records, a maximum of
32 bytes per record is typical since it will fit on an 80 character wide terminal screen, though 16
bytes would be easier to visually decode each byte at a specific address.
6. Checksum - two hex digits, the least significant byte of ones' complement of the sum of the values
represented by the two hex digit pairs for the byte count, address and data fields. See example
section for a detailed checksum example.

Text line terminators

SREC records are separated by one or more ASCII line termination characters so that each record
appears alone on a text line. This enhances legibility by visually delimiting the records and it also
provides padding between records that can be used to improve machine parsing efficiency.

Programs that create HEX records typically use line termination characters that conform to the
conventions of their operating systems. For example, Linux programs use a single LF character (line
feed, 0x0A as ASCII character value) character to terminate lines, whereas Windows programs use a
CR character (carriage return, 0x0D as ASCII character value) followed by a LF character.

Record types

The following table describes 10 possible S-records. S4 is reserved and not currently defined. S6 was
originally reserved but was later redefined.

Record Record Address Data Record

field purpose field field description
This record contains vendor specific ASCII text comment represented
as a series of hex digit pairs. It is common to see the data for this record
in the format of a null-terminated string. The text data can be anything
16-bit
S0 Header including a mixture of the following information: file/module name,
"0000"
version/revision number, date/time, product name, vendor name,
memory designator on PCB, copyright notice. It is common to see: 48
44 52 which is the ASCII H, D, and R - "HDR".[3]

This record contains data that starts at the 16-bit address field.[4] This
16-bit record is typically used for 8-bit microcontrollers, such as AVR, PIC,
S1 Data 8051, 68xx, 6502, 80xx, Z80. The number of bytes of data contained in
Address
this record is "Byte Count Field" minus 3 (that is, 2 bytes for "16-bit
Address Field" and 1 byte for "Checksum Field").

This record contains data that starts at a 24-bit address.[4] The number
24-bit of bytes of data contained in this record is "Byte Count Field" minus 4
S2 Data
Address (that is, 3 bytes for "24-bit Address Field" and 1 byte for "Checksum
Field").

This record contains data that starts at a 32-bit address.[4] This record is
32-bit typically used for 32-bit microcontrollers, such as ARM and 680x0. The
S3 Data number of bytes of data contained in this record is "Byte Count Field"
Address
minus 5 (that is, 4 bytes for "32-bit Address Field" and 1 byte for
"Checksum Field").
S4 Reserved N/A N/A This record is reserved.

16-bit This optional record contains a 16-bit count of S1/S2/S3 records.[4] This
S5 Count record is used if the record count is less than or equal to 65,535
Count
(0xFFFF), otherwise S6 record would be used.
This optional record contains a 24-bit count of S1/S2/S3 records. This
record is used if the record count is less than or equal to 16,777,215
24-bit
S6 Count (0xFFFFFF). If less than 65,536 (0x10000), then S5 record would be
Count
used. NOTE: This newer record is the most recent change (it may not
be official).[4]
This record contains the starting execution location at a 32-bit
Start
S7 Address
32-bit address.[4][5] This is used to terminate a series of S3 records. If a SREC
Address file is only used to program a memory device and the execution location
(Termination)
is ignored, then an address of zero could be used.
This record contains the starting execution location at a 24-bit
Start
S8 Address
24-bit address.[4][5] This is used to terminate a series of S2 records. If a SREC
Address file is only used to program a memory device and the execution location
(Termination)
is ignored, then an address of zero could be used.
This record contains the starting execution location at a 16-bit
Start
S9 Address
16-bit address.[4][5] This is used to terminate a series of S1 records. If a SREC
Address file is only used to program a memory device and the execution location
(Termination)
is ignored, then an address of zero could be used.
Record order

Although some Unix documentation states "the order of S-records within a file is of no significance
and no particular order may be assumed",[4] in practice most software has ordered the SREC records.
The typical record order starts with a (sometimes optional) S0 header record, continues with a
sequence of one or more S1/S2/S3 data records, may have one optional S5/S6 count record, and ends
with one appropriate S7/S8/S9 termination record.

S19-style 16-bit address records

1. S0
2. S1 (one or more records)
3. S5 (optional record)
4. S9

S28-style 24-bit address records

1. S0
2. S2 (one or more records)
3. S5 (optional record)
4. S8

S37-style 32-bit address records

1. S0
2. S3 (one or more records)
3. S5 (optional record)
4. S7

Limitations

Record length - Unix manual page documentation states, "An S-record file consists of a sequence of
specially formatted ASCII character strings. An S-record will be less than or equal to 78 bytes in
length". The manual page further limits the number of characters in the data field to 64 (or 32 data
bytes).[4] A record with an 8-hex-character address and 64 data characters would be 78 (2 + 2 + 8 +
64 + 2) characters long (this count ignores possible end-of-line or string termination characters). The
file could be printed on an 80-character wide teleprinter. A note at the bottom of the manual page
states, "This [manual page] is the only place that a 78-byte limit on total record length or 64-byte limit
on data length is documented. These values shouldn't be trusted for the general case".[4] If that
limitation is ignored, the maximum length of an S-record is 514 characters: 2 for Record Type field +
2 for Byte Count field (whose value would be 0xFF=255) + 2 * 255 for Address, Data, and Checksum
fields. Additional buffer space may be required for the line and string terminators. Using long line
lengths has problems: "The Motorola S-record format definition permits up to 255 bytes of payload,
or lines of 514 characters, plus the line termination. All EPROM programmers should have sufficiently
large line buffers to cope with records this big. Few do."[6]

Data field - Some documentation recommends a maximum of 32 bytes of data (64 hex characters) in
this field.[4] The minimum amount of data for S0/S1/S2/S3 records is zero. The maximum amount of
data varies depending on the size of the address field. Since the Byte Count field can't be higher than
255 (0xFF), then the maximum number of bytes of data is calculated by 255 minus (1 byte for
checksum field) minus (number of bytes in the address field). S0/S1 records support up to 252 bytes
of data. S2 record supports up to 251 bytes of data. S3 record supports up to 250 bytes of data.

Comments - The SREC file format does not support comments. Some software ignores all text lines
that do not start with "S" and ignores all text after the checksum field; that extra text is sometimes
used (incompatibly) for comments. For example, the CCS PIC compiler supports placing a ";"
comment line at the top or bottom of an Intel HEX file, and its manuals states "some programmers
(MPLAB in particular) do not like comments at the top of the hex file", which is why the compiler has
the option of placing the comment at the bottom of the hex file.[7]

Examples
Color legend

Record type Byte count Address Data Checksum

Checksum calculation

The following example record:

S1137AF00A0A0D0000000000000000000000000061

is decoded to show how the checksum value is calculated. Discussion uses the Motorola convention in
which a dollar sign ($) indicates a hexadecimal value:

1. Add: Add each byte $13 + $7A + $F0 + $0A + $0A + $0D + $00 + ... + $00 = $019E.
2. Mask: Discard the most significant byte ($01) of the sum and retain the least significant byte
(LSB), which is $9E.
3. Complement: Compute the ones' complement of the LSB, which is $61. Typically this is
accomplished on the Motorola 6800 microprocessor by exclusive-ORing the accumulator with
$FF.

16-bit memory address

S00F000068656C6C6F202020202000003C
S11F00007C0802A6900100049421FFF07C6C1B787C8C23783C6000003863000026
S11F001C4BFFFFE5398000007D83637880010014382100107C0803A64E800020E9
S111003848656C6C6F20776F726C642E0A0042
S5030003F9
S9030000FC

See also
Binary-to-text encoding, a survey and comparison of encoding algorithms
Intel hex format
MOS Technology file format
Tektronix hex format
References
1. "AR#476 PROMGen - Description of PROM/EEPROM file formats: MCS, EXO, HEX, and others"
(https://www.xilinx.com/support/answers/476.html). Xilinx. 2010-03-08. Motorola EXORmacs - File
Format Code 87. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20200303085851/https://www.xilinx.com/s
upport/answers/476.html) from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
2. Wiles, Mike; Felix, Andre (2000-10-21) [1975]. Holley, Michael (ed.). MCM6830L7 MIKBUG /
MINIBUG ROM (https://web.archive.org/web/20190616115550/http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MP
_A/MikbugEn100.pdf) (PDF) (Engineering note). Motorola Semiconductor Products, Inc. Note
100. Archived from the original (http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/MP_A/MikbugEn100.pdf) (PDF) on
2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-06-16. (23 pages)
3. Tareski, Val. "Motorola S-record description" (http://www.amelek.gda.pl/avr/uisp/srecord.htm).
www.amelek.gda.pl. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
4. "Motorola S-records from Unix man pages" (http://www.amelek.gda.pl/avr/uisp/srecord.htm).
Retrieved 2014-06-30.
5. "Appendix C". M68000 Family Programmer's Reference Manual (http://www.freescale.com/files/ar
chives/doc/ref_manual/M68000PRM.pdf) (PDF). Revision 1. Motorola (Freescale). 1992. pp. C-1–
C-5. ISBN 978-0-13723289-5.
6. "srec_examples" (http://srecord.sourceforge.net/man/man1/srec_examples.html). sourceforge.net.
7. CCS Compiler Reference Manual PCB/PCM/PCH (http://www.ccsinfo.com/downloads/ccs_c_man
ual.pdf) (PDF), Custom Computer Services, Inc., May 2014, p. 107, retrieved 2015-02-08

Further reading
"2.8. Microprocessor Formats 2.8.1. Input Requirements: Motorola Exorciser Format. Select Code
82". Operator Guide To Serial I/O Capabilities of Data I/O Programmers - Translation Format
Package (http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/test_equipment/dataIO/055-1901_System19_transPk
g.pdf) (PDF). Revision C. Data I/O Corporation. October 1980. p. 2-9. 055-1901. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20200301134810/http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/test_equipment/dataIO/0
55-1901_System19_transPkg.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
M1468705EVM Evaluation Module User's Manual (https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_motorola6
8ionModuleUsersManualDec83_3216374) (1 ed.). Motorola Inc. December 1983.
M1468705EVM/Dl. Retrieved 2020-03-01. [1] (https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_motorola68ion
ModuleUsersManualDec83_3216374/M146805EVM_Evaluation_Module_Users_Manual_Dec83_
djvu.txt)[2] (https://archive.org/download/bitsavers_motorola68ionModuleUsersManualDec83_321
6374/M146805EVM_Evaluation_Module_Users_Manual_Dec83.pdf)
Translation File Formats (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wC7iuE425G4
J:ftp://ftp.dataio.com/main/Manuals/UniFam/Translation%252520Formats.pdf+&cd=21&hl=de&ct=
clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-b-d). Data I/O Corporation. 1987-09-03. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20200301114550/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wC7iuE425G4
J:ftp://ftp.dataio.com/main/Manuals/UniFam/Translation%252520Formats.pdf+&cd=21&hl=de&ct=
clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-b-d) from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-01. [3] (ftp://ft
p.dataio.com/main/Manuals/UniFam/Translation%252520Formats.pdf) (56 pages)
Feichtinger, Herwig (1987). "1.8.5. Lochstreifen-Datenformate: Das Motorola-S-Format" [1.8.5.
Paper tape data formats]. Arbeitsbuch Mikrocomputer [Microcomputer work book] (in German)
(2 ed.). Munich, Germany: Franzis-Verlag GmbH. pp. 240–243 [242]. ISBN 3-7723-8022-0.
"Appendix A. S Record Information". M68HC05EVM Evaluation Module User's Manual (http://ww
w.68bits.com/M68HC05EVM.pdf) (PDF) (4 ed.). Motorola. 1990. p. A-1. "[…] For compatibility with
teletypewriters, some programs may limit the number of [data] bytes to as few as 28 (56 printable
characters in the S-record). […]"
 "How Do I Interpret Motorola S & Intel HEX Formatted Data? Motorola S-Records" (https://www.ke
ysight.com/main/editorial.jspx?ckey=25084%3Aatg%3Afaq&id=25084%3Aatg%3Afaq&nid=-3518
1.0.00&lc=ger&cc=DE). Home > Hardware > … > In-circuit Test Systems > Automated Test
Equipment [Discontinued] > Details. Keysight Technologies. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20200301171624/https://www.keysight.com/main/editorial.jspx?ckey=25084%3Aatg%3Afaq&id=
25084%3Aatg%3Afaq&nid=-35181.0.00&lc=ger&cc=DE) from the original on 2020-03-01.
Retrieved 2020-03-01.
Beard, Brian (2016) [20]. "Motorola S-record Format"
(http://www.lucidtechnologies.info/moto.htm). Lucid Technologies. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20200228153613/http://www.lucidtechnologies.info/moto.htm) from the original on 2020-02-
28. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
Strombergson, Joachim; Walleij, Linus; Faltstrom, Patrik (October 2005). "The S Hexdump
Format" (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4194). IETF. RFC 4194 (https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rf
c4194). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20200301225557/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4194)
from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-01.

External links
SRecord (http://srecord.sourceforge.net/) is a collection of tools for manipulating SREC format
files.
BIN2MOT (http://www.keil.com/download/docs/4.asp), BINARY to Motorola S-Record file
converter utility.
SRecordizer (https://github.com/BigWinston/SRecordizer/wiki) is a tool for viewing, editing, and
error checking S19 format files.
bincopy (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/bincopy) is a Python package for manipulating SREC format
files.
kk_srec (https://github.com/arkku/srec) is a C library and program for reading the SREC format.

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