Software Command Reference

Command-Line Validation Modes

Use these modes before powering the gantry:

Mode

Purpose

--simulate

Interactive move-by-move mode. It uses the same GameController to GrblController dry-run execution path as physical mode, but prints G-code instead of sending it to serial hardware.

--dryrun [MOVES [DEPTH]]

Engine-vs-engine dry run. It exercises setup, path planning, capture-slot routing, blocker relocation, and restoration G-code without connected hardware.

--sensor-diag [HOLD_MS]

Scanner-only mux diagnostic. It initializes the GPIO scanner and prints the BCM/header pin reference plus channel-by-channel mux readings without requiring a gantry serial connection or homing. HOLD_MS controls how long each mux address is held in the channel matrix; the default is 1000 ms.

--gpio-led GPIO [HOLD_MS]

Minimal GPIO output test. It opens the same GPIO chip path used by the scanner, requests one BCM GPIO as an output, drives it high for HOLD_MS milliseconds, then drives it low and releases it. The default hold time is 5000 ms.

Command-line validation modes

Physical Mode Commands

Quick reference for all commands available in physical mode:

Command

Description

`play [white

black]`

`newgame [white

black]`

move <uci>

Manually enter a move in UCI format (e.g., move e2e4, move e7e8q for promotion).

go

Engine makes one move.

scan

Scan and display all 96 sensors (board + storage zones).

diag

Run full sensor diagnostic — reads each sensor individually with channel-by-channel output.

board

Display the engine’s internal board position.

physical

Display the physical board occupancy tracking.

fen <fen>

Set position from a FEN string.

home

Home the gantry to (0,0).

test

Run gantry hardware test (move to e4, d5, test magnet).

quit

Exit the program.

Physical mode commands

Note

The --oled-test command-line flag starts only the OLED test screen. It is useful for verifying display wiring before testing the full physical board. The --sensor-diag command-line flag starts only the GPIO scanner diagnostic, and --gpio-led performs a minimal GPIO output test. The Start, Stop, and Reset buttons mirror safe prompt actions as documented in the Operator UI chapter.