What causes "Toolchain type %(toolchain_type)s not known" in NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra?

Set toolchain_type to one of 'gcc', 'ccs', 'sdcc', 'llvm' (lowercase, exact).

NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · Exception

Toolchain type %(toolchain_type)s not known

Error message

Toolchain type %(toolchain_type)s not known

What it means

Raised by PCodeTestBuild.factory() in pcodetest.py when config.toolchain_type is not one of the recognized values ('gcc','ccs','sdcc','llvm'). The factory dispatches on toolchain_type to pick the right compiler wrapper; an unknown value means no build strategy exists. The message is produced via config.format() so %(toolchain_type)s is interpolated with the offending value.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Extensions/SleighDevTools/pcodetest/pcodetest.py:81

class PCodeTestBuild(BuildUtil):
    def __init__(self, pcode_test):
        super(PCodeTestBuild, self).__init__()
        self.config = Config(pcode_test.config)
        self.config.cwd = self.getcwd()

    @classmethod
    def factory(cls, pcode_test):
        if pcode_test.config.toolchain_type == 'gcc':
            return PCodeBuildGCC(pcode_test)
        elif pcode_test.config.toolchain_type == 'ccs':
            return PCodeBuildCCS(pcode_test)
        elif pcode_test.config.toolchain_type == 'sdcc':
            return PCodeBuildSDCC(pcode_test)
        elif pcode_test.config.toolchain_type == 'llvm':
            return PCodeBuildLLVM(pcode_test)
        else:
            raise Exception(pcode_test.config.format('Toolchain type %(toolchain_type)s not known'))

    def which(self, what):
        return self.config.format('%(toolchain_dir)s/%(' + what + ')s')

    def compile(self, input_files, opt_cflag, output_base):
        self.log_err(self.config.format('compile not implemented for %(toolchain_type)s'))

    # generic build a single PCodeTest for all variants
    def main(self):

        # make sure compiler exists and runnable
        self.config.compile_exe = self.config.exec_dir + self.config.exec_prefix + self.config.compile_exe
        self.config.strip_exe = self.config.exec_dir + str(self.config.exec_prefix) + str(self.config.strip_exe)
        self.config.objdump_exe = self.config.exec_dir + str(self.config.exec_prefix) + str(self.config.objdump_exe)
        self.config.readelf_exe = self.config.exec_dir + str(self.config.exec_prefix) + str(self.config.readelf_exe)
        self.config.nm_exe = self.config.exec_dir + str(self.config.exec_prefix) + str(self.config.nm_exe)
        
        if not self.is_executable_file(self.which('compile_exe')):

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

Set toolchain_type to one of 'gcc', 'ccs', 'sdcc', 'llvm' (lowercase, exact).
If you genuinely need a new toolchain, add a PCodeBuild subclass and a factory branch for it before using the type.
Check the test config file (the descriptor feeding pcode_test.config) for the typo and re-run.

Example fix

# before
toolchain_type: GCC   # case mismatch -> raises

# after
toolchain_type: gcc

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

KNOWN = {'gcc', 'ccs', 'sdcc', 'llvm'}
tt = pcode_test.config.toolchain_type
if tt not in KNOWN:
    raise ValueError(f"unsupported toolchain_type {tt!r}; must be one of {sorted(KNOWN)}")
PCodeTestBuild.factory(pcode_test)

Type guard

def is_known_toolchain(tt: str) -> bool:
    return tt in {'gcc', 'ccs', 'sdcc', 'llvm'}

Try / catch

try:
    builder = PCodeTestBuild.factory(pcode_test)
except Exception as e:
    if 'Toolchain type' in str(e):
        # fix toolchain_type in the test descriptor and re-run
        pass
    else:
        raise

Prevention

Use lowercase exact values 'gcc','ccs','sdcc','llvm' for toolchain_type.
Validate toolchain_type against the known set in your test descriptor schema.
Extend the factory (add a subclass + branch) before introducing a new type.

When it happens

Trigger: PCodeTestBuild.factory(pcode_test) where pcode_test.config.toolchain_type is misspelled (e.g. 'GCC', 'clang', 'arm-gcc') or unset; a test config (.pspec/.cfg) declares an unsupported toolchain.

Common situations: Adding a new target whose toolchain_type doesn't match the four known strings; typo in the YAML/JSON test descriptor; case mismatch ('GCC' vs 'gcc'); a toolchain type the build harness was never extended to support.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2f94f51aabafd71b. Report an issue: GitHub.