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Programming CH32v003 with WCH-Link
aleok Posted: 18 Feb 2026, 09:11 PM
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Posts: 10
Joined: 31-July 24
 Good evening,

I recently ordered a couple of CH32v003 boards to play around with, along with a WCH-Link, more specifically this one: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005007517013734.html

Sadly, today I realized that apparently it is not possible to use this programmer to program CH32v003 boards :( Reading more about it, it seems I need the WCH-LinkE: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/programming-ch32v003-no-wch-linke/

I've already bought the LinkE but it won't arrive until next week. Is there anything I can do to get the one I have to work until then, or is it fundamentally incompatible? I'm using CNLohr's toolchain. Trying to flash with 
sudo ./minichlink -5 -u T
returns the following:


WARNING: You are not in the plugdev/dialout group, the canned udev rules will not work on your system.
Found WCH Link
Unknown WCH Programmer 00 (Ver 2.1)
link error, nothing connected to linker (4 = [81 55 01 01]).  Trying to put processor in hold and retrying.
link error, nothing connected to linker (4 = [81 55 01 01]).  Trying to put processor in hold and retrying.
link error, nothing connected to linker (4 = [81 55 01 01]).  Trying to put processor in hold and retrying.
link error, nothing connected to linker (4 = [81 55 01 01]).  Trying to put processor in hold and retrying.
link error, nothing connected to linker (4 = [81 55 01 01]).  Trying to put processor in hold and retrying.
Unknown chip type.  Report as bug with picture of chip.
marchid : ffffffff
HARTINFO: ffffffff
Could not setup interface.


Thanks in advance!

aleok

Last edit by aleok at 18 Feb 2026, 09:12 PM

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mit Posted: 19 Feb 2026, 10:58 AM
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yeah whatever

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Posts: 660
Joined: 4-May 16
 I don't know the specifics but I suspect it's not worth the trouble trying to get it to work, if you've already ordered the correct one.

But the protocol has been reverse engineered and there are a few unofficial programmers now, I haven't used them, but it's potentially as simple as flashing another microcontroller with the firmware and wiring it up. There is a list of supported boards in the readme for CNLohr's toolchain.


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aleok Posted: 26 Feb 2026, 08:00 AM
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Posts: 10
Joined: 31-July 24
 Hello,

Thanks for the reply. I didn't have anything else to program with so I ended up waiting. Thankfully I only had to wait one week and I was able to go yesterday to my local hackerspace to continue working with the chip. I was finally able to flash a blinky, yay!

One thing I am not a fan of is the reference manual, I am having a really hard time understanding the process to configure the advanced timer to my liking. I feel like Texas Instruments has done a much better job with the MSP430's reference manual.


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mit Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 04:18 PM
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yeah whatever

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 Yeah the reference manuals aren't great. They are mostly derived from the STM32 manuals, and in some places there are typos where they forgot to change the acronyms (e.g. PFIC / NVIC )

The best datasheets I've found are the Atmel ones, at least before the microchip merger, they were mostly well written and contained everything you needed to know about the chip, instead of splitting the CPU reference and electrical characteristics and so on into separate documents.

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