Prerequisites for SAM-BA® GUI

Last modified by Microchip on 2026/10/06 15:47

SAM-BA® GUI is a desktop application available for both Windows^® and Linux^® that simplifies programming Microchip microprocessors (MPUs). It provides an intuitive point-and-click interface for the SAM-BA CLI software, allowing users to perform operations without using command-line commands. With SAM-BA GUI, you can select a target board and execute tasks such as programming flash memory, erasing memory, and other device management operations.

The prerequisites required to set up and use SAM-BA GUI are briefly described in this document.

Refer to the "SAM-BA® In-System Programmer (ISPP) - Host Application Program" page.

System Requirements

To ensure compatibility and optimal performance, the SAM-BA GUI requires the following software environment:

Supported operating systems:

Windows 10 or newer

Linux Ubuntu^® 20.04 or newer

SAM-BA CLI Download

Download and unzip SAM-BA ISPP software v3.9.2 or the latest version.

Add the SAM-BA ISPP directory to your Path system environment variable.

Environment variable windows

Verify the installation. Open the Command Prompt and verify that the SAM-BA ISPP software is accessible by running: sam-ba –-version.

version check

Extract the JSON Files Package

The SAM-BA GUI requires additional JSON configuration files to identify supported devices, boards, and programming operations. These files are provided in the package named: sam-ba_json_pack-1.1_cli-3.9.2_gui-1.1.

Download the latest CLI/GUI.

Supporting collateral

Extract the contents of this sam-ba_json_pack-1.1_cli-3.9.2_gui-1.1 ZIP file directly into the SAM-BA CLI installation directory from step 1. After extraction, a new json folder will be created within the SAM-BA CLI directory structure.

For example:

JSON Extraction

Note: The SAM-BA GUI relies on the files in the json directory to populate the list of supported devices and boards. Ensure that the JSON package is extracted correctly before launching the GUI.

SAM-BA GUI Installation

Windows®

To install, unzip the SAM-BA GUI package (sam-ba_gui-<version>-win32-x64.zip) in the folder of your choice. We strongly recommend using a local folder and avoiding path names that are long or that contain space characters.

Then, double-click on the SAM-BA GUI executable (sam-ba_gui.exe) to launch it.

Linux®

Install via the provided .deb package:

sudo apt install ./sam-ba_gui_<version>-linux_x86_64.deb

Default installation path:

/usr/bin/sam-ba_gui

GUI Configuration Data Files

Once SAM-BA GUI is launched, a dialog appears asking you to locate the SAM-BA CLI folder.

Click Browse and navigate to the SAM-BA CLI directory, then click Save.

Set SAM-BA CLI Path dialog

CLI directory

Once configured, the menu bar displays the JSON pack version and the selected SAM-BA CLI version.

Sample SAM-BA GUI window:

SAM-BA GUI window

The SAM-BA GUI setup is complete and ready to use.