Solving USB Connection Issues on Linux

The Supernova, the Pulsar and the Atira need one udev rule on Linux, installed once. Without it, the current user cannot open the adapter. This applies to Mission Control 3 (desktop and mc3.binho.io), PyCosmicSDK and CosmicSDK.

On Windows and macOS, see Windows and macOS.

Symptoms

• The adapter is not found, although lsusb lists it.

• PyCosmicSDK lists the adapter with an empty serial number.

• Opening the adapter fails with an error such as:

  Open connection failed. Exception type: <class 'OSError'>. Exception message: open failed.

Install the udev Rule

This is the same rule that ships with CosmicSDK (udev/65-binho-hid.rules) and that PyCosmicSDK documents.

Note

Using the CosmicSDK Linux download? It already contains the rule and an installer: run sudo ./scripts/install_udev_rules.sh, then unplug and replug the adapter. Skip to Check the Adapter.

1. Create the Rules File

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/65-binho-hid.rules

Keep the 65- prefix: the uaccess tag only works from a rules file that sorts before 73-seat-late.rules.

2. Add the Rules

# Binho Supernova: commands (HID) and large transfers (USB). Same ID in the bootloader.
SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fc", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fc", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"

# Binho Pulsar: commands (HID) and large transfers (USB). Same ID in the bootloader.
SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fd", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fd", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"

# Binho Atira: HID control and USB (CMSIS-DAP and SPI bulk).
SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="8347", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="8347", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"

# Binho Atira bootloader.
SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fe", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fe", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev", TAG+="uaccess"

# Serial ports of the Supernova, Pulsar and Atira: keep the distribution's group, add the logged-in user.
SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fc", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="82fd", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="8347", TAG+="uaccess"

Part of the rule	What it does
hidraw lines	Access to the HID interface, which carries every command.
usb lines	Access to the USB interface used for large (bulk) transfers. Without them, ordinary transfers work but large transfers are unavailable.
TAG+="uaccess"	Gives the logged-in user access. This covers distributions without a plugdev group, such as Fedora and Arch.
GROUP="plugdev"	Also gives the plugdev group access, where it exists (Debian, Ubuntu). For remote or headless sessions, add the current user to it: sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER, then log out and back in.

Note

The Binho Nova appears as a serial port (/dev/ttyACM*) rather than a HID device. For the Nova, add the current user to the distribution’s serial group instead, usually dialout (sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER), then log out and back in.

3. Reload the Rules

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Then unplug and replug the adapter so the new permissions apply. If the adapter still cannot be opened, reboot the computer.

Caution

Earlier versions of this page used a binho group in /etc/udev/rules.d/99-binho.rules, or a SUBSYSTEM=="usb", MODE="0666" line without a vendor ID. Delete those files or lines: the 0666 line opens every USB device on the computer to all users. Then follow the steps above.

Check the Adapter

Check that the adapter’s HID node is readable by the current user. With the adapter plugged in:

ls -l /dev/hidraw*
getfacl /dev/hidraw* 2>/dev/null | grep -B3 "user:$USER"

A Binho node shows crw-rw---- with group plugdev, or an ACL entry for the current user. Then open the adapter from the tool. With PyCosmicSDK:

python -c "import pycosmicsdk; print(pycosmicsdk.list_devices())"