STM32 BlackPill LED Tutorial: Step-by-Step Guide to GPIO Programming

06 Jun, 2025
Posted by: Anu Electronics

STM32 BlackPill LED Tutorial: Step-by-Step Guide to GPIO Programming

The STM32F401 BlackPill is a powerful, compact development board ideal for embedded systems learning. This tutorial walks you through setting up STM32CubeIDE, writing your first GPIO program, and flashing it onto the board.

🖼️ Board Overview

Top view of the Black Pill V1.2 board

🧭 Pinout Diagram

Pinout diagram for the STM32F401CCU6 BlackPill board

🛠 Setup Steps

1. Install STM32CubeIDE: Download STM32CubeIDE from STMicroelectronics and install it. Ensure ST-Link drivers are installed if needed.

2. Connect the Board: Use a Micro USB cable or ST-Link to connect the board. Connect SWDIO, SWCLK, GND, and 3.3V if using ST-Link.

3. Create a Project: Open STM32CubeIDE → File → New STM32 Project → Search for STM32F401CCU6 → Name your project BlinkLED.

🔌 ST-Link V2 to BlackPill Connection

ST-Link V2	BlackPill
SWDIO	SWDIO
SWCLK	SWCLK
GND	GND
3.3V	3.3V

ST-Link V2 connected to STM32F401 BlackPill using SWD interface

Initial setup of BlackPill in STM32CubeIDE

Creating a new project for STM32F401CCU6

Configuring GPIO pins in STM32CubeIDE

Additional GPIO settings and configuration

📦 Materials Required

· STM32F401 BlackPill board

· USB cable (Micro USB)

· ST-Link V2 Programmer (optional)

· LED (optional for breadboard test)

· Breadboard & jumper wires

🧑💻 Blink LED Code

// USER CODE BEGIN 2
HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOC, GPIO_PIN_13, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
// USER CODE END 2

// Infinite loop
// USER CODE BEGIN WHILE
while (1)
{
HAL_GPIO_TogglePin(GPIOC, GPIO_PIN_13);
HAL_Delay(500);
// USER CODE END WHILE

// USER CODE BEGIN 3
}
// USER CODE END WHILE