refactor: replace postcard/serde with fixed-size LE wire format

Drop postcard and serde dependencies entirely. All integers are now
fixed-width little-endian on the wire — no varints, no zigzag encoding.
A developer sending tx_power_dbm=14 sees 0x0E on the wire. No surprises.

- RadioConfig: 10 bytes fixed (freq:4 LE, bw:1, sf:1, cr:1, sync:2 LE, pwr:1)
- Commands/Responses: tag byte + fixed-size fields
- Vec<u8>: 2-byte LE length prefix + raw bytes
- Option<T>: 1-byte (0=None, 1=Some) + T
- COBS framing preserved (just byte-stuffing, no encoding tricks)
- Manual COBS decode replaces postcard's CobsAccumulator
- Removes ~15KB from firmware binary (no serde monomorphization)

Cargo.lock

@@ -336,6 +336,7 @@ name = "donglora"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
+ "cobs",
  "cortex-m-rt",
  "critical-section",
  "defmt 0.3.100",
@@ -359,8 +360,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "minijinja",
  "owo-colors",
  "panic-probe",
- "postcard",
- "serde",
  "ssd1306",
  "static_cell",
 ]
@@ -1026,7 +1025,6 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "0bfb9eb618601c89945a70e254898da93b13be0388091d42117462b265bb3fad"
 dependencies = [
  "hash32",
- "serde",
  "stable_deref_trait",
 ]
 
@@ -1353,16 +1351,6 @@ version = "1.13.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c33a9471896f1c69cecef8d20cbe2f7accd12527ce60845ff44c153bb2a21b49"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "postcard"
-version = "1.1.3"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6764c3b5dd454e283a30e6dfe78e9b31096d9e32036b5d1eaac7a6119ccb9a24"
-dependencies = [
- "cobs",
- "serde",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "proc-macro-crate"
 version = "3.2.0"

Cargo.toml

@@ -21,10 +21,9 @@ embassy-sync = "0.6"
 embassy-time = "0.3"
 embassy-usb = { version = "0.3", features = ["defmt"] }
 embassy-usb-driver = "0.1"
-heapless = { version = "0.8", features = ["serde"] }
+cobs = { version = "0.3", default-features = false }
+heapless = "0.8"
 lora-phy = "3.0"
-postcard = { version = "1.0", default-features = false }
-serde = { version = "1.0", default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
 static_cell = "2.1"
 
 # Display rendering

src/protocol.rs

@@ -1,11 +1,21 @@
+//! Wire protocol types and fixed-size little-endian serialization.
+//!
+//! Every integer is fixed-width LE. No varints, no zigzag.
+//! See `docs/PROTOCOL.md` for the complete specification.
+
 use heapless::Vec;
-use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 /// Maximum LoRa payload size in bytes.
 pub const MAX_PAYLOAD: usize = 256;
 
+/// RadioConfig wire size (fixed).
+pub const RADIO_CONFIG_SIZE: usize = 10;
+
+/// Sentinel value for `tx_power_dbm`: use the board's maximum TX power.
+pub const TX_POWER_MAX: i8 = i8::MIN; // -128 on the wire
+
 /// LoRa signal bandwidth.
-#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
 #[repr(u8)]
 pub enum Bandwidth {
     Khz7 = 0,
@@ -20,11 +30,31 @@ pub enum Bandwidth {
     Khz500 = 9,
 }
 
-/// Sentinel value for `tx_power_dbm`: use the board's maximum TX power.
+impl Bandwidth {
-pub const TX_POWER_MAX: i8 = i8::MIN; // -128 on the wire
+    fn from_u8(v: u8) -> Option<Self> {
+        match v {
+            0 => Some(Self::Khz7),
+            1 => Some(Self::Khz10),
+            2 => Some(Self::Khz15),
+            3 => Some(Self::Khz20),
+            4 => Some(Self::Khz31),
+            5 => Some(Self::Khz41),
+            6 => Some(Self::Khz62),
+            7 => Some(Self::Khz125),
+            8 => Some(Self::Khz250),
+            9 => Some(Self::Khz500),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+}
 
 /// Complete LoRa radio configuration.
-#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
+///
+/// Wire layout (10 bytes, all little-endian):
+/// ```text
+/// [freq_hz:4] [bw:1] [sf:1] [cr:1] [sync_word:2] [tx_power_dbm:1]
+/// ```
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
 pub struct RadioConfig {
     /// Frequency in Hz (150_000_000 - 960_000_000 for SX1262).
     pub freq_hz: u32,
@@ -35,15 +65,12 @@ pub struct RadioConfig {
     pub cr: u8,
     pub sync_word: u16,
     /// Transmit power in dBm. Set to [`TX_POWER_MAX`] (-128) for the
-    /// board's maximum. Actual range is board-dependent (e.g. -9 to +22
+    /// board's maximum.
-    /// for SX1262). Values above the board max are clamped by the radio
-    /// driver; values below the board min are clamped too.
     pub tx_power_dbm: i8,
 }
 
 impl RadioConfig {
-    /// Validate fields against hardware limits. `power_range` is the
+    /// Validate fields against hardware limits.
-    /// board's (min, max) TX power in dBm.
     pub fn validate(&self, power_range: (i8, i8)) -> Result<(), &'static str> {
         if !(150_000_000..=960_000_000).contains(&self.freq_hz) {
             return Err("frequency out of range (150-960 MHz)");
@@ -54,7 +81,6 @@ impl RadioConfig {
         if !(5..=8).contains(&self.cr) {
             return Err("coding rate out of range (5-8)");
         }
-        // TX_POWER_MAX sentinel is always valid (resolved to board max later)
         if self.tx_power_dbm != TX_POWER_MAX
             && !(power_range.0..=power_range.1).contains(&self.tx_power_dbm)
         {
@@ -70,12 +96,37 @@ impl RadioConfig {
         }
         self
     }
+
+    /// Serialize to fixed-size LE bytes. Returns number of bytes written (always 10).
+    pub fn to_bytes(&self, buf: &mut [u8]) -> usize {
+        buf[0..4].copy_from_slice(&self.freq_hz.to_le_bytes());
+        buf[4] = self.bw as u8;
+        buf[5] = self.sf;
+        buf[6] = self.cr;
+        buf[7..9].copy_from_slice(&self.sync_word.to_le_bytes());
+        buf[9] = self.tx_power_dbm as u8;
+        RADIO_CONFIG_SIZE
+    }
+
+    /// Deserialize from fixed-size LE bytes.
+    pub fn from_bytes(buf: &[u8]) -> Option<Self> {
+        if buf.len() < RADIO_CONFIG_SIZE {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some(Self {
+            freq_hz: u32::from_le_bytes(buf[0..4].try_into().ok()?),
+            bw: Bandwidth::from_u8(buf[4])?,
+            sf: buf[5],
+            cr: buf[6],
+            sync_word: u16::from_le_bytes(buf[7..9].try_into().ok()?),
+            tx_power_dbm: buf[9] as i8,
+        })
+    }
 }
 
 /// Host → firmware commands.
-// Payload variant is intentionally large (inline heapless::Vec) — no allocator available.
 #[allow(clippy::large_enum_variant)]
-#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, PartialEq)]
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
 pub enum Command {
     Ping,
     GetConfig,
@@ -90,10 +141,51 @@ pub enum Command {
     DisplayOff,
 }
 
+impl Command {
+    /// Deserialize from a COBS-decoded frame.
+    pub fn from_bytes(buf: &[u8]) -> Option<Self> {
+        let tag = *buf.first()?;
+        let rest = &buf[1..];
+        match tag {
+            0 => Some(Self::Ping),
+            1 => Some(Self::GetConfig),
+            2 => Some(Self::SetConfig(RadioConfig::from_bytes(rest)?)),
+            3 => Some(Self::StartRx),
+            4 => Some(Self::StopRx),
+            5 => {
+                // Transmit: has_config:u8 + [RadioConfig if 1] + len:u16 LE + payload
+                if rest.is_empty() {
+                    return None;
+                }
+                let (config, pos) = if rest[0] == 0 {
+                    (None, 1)
+                } else if rest[0] == 1 && rest.len() >= 1 + RADIO_CONFIG_SIZE {
+                    (Some(RadioConfig::from_bytes(&rest[1..])?), 1 + RADIO_CONFIG_SIZE)
+                } else {
+                    return None;
+                };
+                if rest.len() < pos + 2 {
+                    return None;
+                }
+                let len = u16::from_le_bytes(rest[pos..pos + 2].try_into().ok()?) as usize;
+                let data_start = pos + 2;
+                if rest.len() < data_start + len {
+                    return None;
+                }
+                let mut payload = Vec::new();
+                let _ = payload.extend_from_slice(&rest[data_start..data_start + len]);
+                Some(Self::Transmit { config, payload })
+            }
+            6 => Some(Self::DisplayOn),
+            7 => Some(Self::DisplayOff),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Firmware → host responses.
-// Payload variant is intentionally large (inline heapless::Vec) — no allocator available.
 #[allow(clippy::large_enum_variant)]
-#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, PartialEq)]
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
 pub enum Response {
     Pong,
     Config(RadioConfig),
@@ -107,10 +199,45 @@ pub enum Response {
     Error(ErrorCode),
 }
 
+impl Response {
+    /// Serialize to fixed-size LE bytes. Returns number of bytes written.
+    pub fn to_bytes(&self, buf: &mut [u8]) -> usize {
+        match self {
+            Self::Pong => {
+                buf[0] = 0;
+                1
+            }
+            Self::Config(cfg) => {
+                buf[0] = 1;
+                1 + cfg.to_bytes(&mut buf[1..])
+            }
+            Self::RxPacket { rssi, snr, payload } => {
+                buf[0] = 2;
+                buf[1..3].copy_from_slice(&rssi.to_le_bytes());
+                buf[3..5].copy_from_slice(&snr.to_le_bytes());
+                buf[5..7].copy_from_slice(&(payload.len() as u16).to_le_bytes());
+                buf[7..7 + payload.len()].copy_from_slice(payload);
+                7 + payload.len()
+            }
+            Self::TxDone => {
+                buf[0] = 3;
+                1
+            }
+            Self::Ok => {
+                buf[0] = 4;
+                1
+            }
+            Self::Error(code) => {
+                buf[0] = 5;
+                buf[1] = *code as u8;
+                2
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Error codes reported to the host.
-///
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
-/// Variant indices match postcard wire encoding (0-based).
-#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, defmt::Format)]
 #[repr(u8)]
 pub enum ErrorCode {
     InvalidConfig = 0,

src/usb/task.rs

@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
+//! USB CDC-ACM task: COBS-framed fixed-size LE command/response protocol.
+//!
+//! Reads COBS frames from USB, decodes them, parses commands, routes them
+//! to the radio or display task, and sends COBS-framed responses back.
+
 use defmt::warn;
 use embassy_executor::task;
 use embassy_futures::join::join;
 use embassy_usb::class::cdc_acm::{CdcAcmClass, Receiver, Sender, State};
 use embassy_usb::Builder;
-use postcard::accumulator::{CobsAccumulator, FeedResult};
 use static_cell::StaticCell;
 
 use crate::board::UsbParts;
@@ -15,9 +19,8 @@ use crate::protocol::{Command, ErrorCode, Response};
 const MAX_FRAME: usize = 512;
 const MAX_PACKET: usize = 64;
 
-// Ensure MAX_FRAME can hold the largest possible COBS-encoded response.
+// Worst case: tag(1) + rssi(2) + snr(2) + len(2) + payload(256) = 263 bytes.
-// Worst case: RxPacket with MAX_PAYLOAD bytes. Postcard overhead ~8 bytes,
+// COBS adds ceil(263/254)+1 = 3 bytes. 266 < 512. Plenty of room.
-// COBS adds ceil(n/254)+1 bytes. 256+8+3 = 267. 512 is comfortably sufficient.
 const _: () = assert!(
     MAX_FRAME >= crate::protocol::MAX_PAYLOAD + 64,
     "MAX_FRAME too small for max payload + COBS overhead"
@@ -87,7 +90,12 @@ async fn protocol_loop<'d, D: embassy_usb_driver::Driver<'d>>(
 
     let mut read_buf = [0u8; MAX_PACKET];
     let mut write_buf = [0u8; MAX_FRAME];
-    let mut cobs_buf: CobsAccumulator<MAX_FRAME> = CobsAccumulator::new();
+    let mut cobs_encode_buf = [0u8; MAX_FRAME];
+
+    // COBS accumulator: collect bytes until 0x00 sentinel
+    let mut frame_buf = [0u8; MAX_FRAME];
+    let mut frame_len: usize = 0;
+
     let mut was_connected = false;
 
     loop {
@@ -103,41 +111,55 @@ async fn protocol_loop<'d, D: embassy_usb_driver::Driver<'d>>(
                     Ok(0) => continue,
                     Ok(n) => n,
                     Err(_) => {
-                        cobs_buf = CobsAccumulator::new();
+                        frame_len = 0; // reset accumulator
                         embassy_time::Timer::after_millis(100).await;
                         continue;
                     }
                 };
 
-                let mut window = &read_buf[..n];
+                // Feed bytes into the COBS accumulator
-                'cobs: while !window.is_empty() {
+                for &byte in &read_buf[..n] {
-                    window = match cobs_buf.feed::<Command>(window) {
+                    if byte == 0x00 {
-                        FeedResult::Consumed => break 'cobs,
+                        // End of COBS frame — decode and parse
-                        FeedResult::OverFull(remaining) => remaining,
+                        if frame_len > 0 {
-                        FeedResult::DeserError(remaining) => remaining,
+                            let mut decode_buf = [0u8; MAX_FRAME];
-                        FeedResult::Success { data: cmd, remaining } => {
+                            if let Some(decoded_len) =
+                                cobs_decode(&frame_buf[..frame_len], &mut decode_buf)
+                            {
+                                if let Some(cmd) = Command::from_bytes(&decode_buf[..decoded_len]) {
                                     route_command(
                                         cmd, commands, responses, display_commands, has_display,
                                     )
                                     .await;
-                            remaining
                                 }
-                    };
+                            }
+                        }
+                        frame_len = 0;
+                    } else if frame_len < MAX_FRAME {
+                        frame_buf[frame_len] = byte;
+                        frame_len += 1;
+                    } else {
+                        // Frame too large — discard
+                        frame_len = 0;
+                    }
                 }
             }
             Either3::Second(response) => {
-                match postcard::to_slice_cobs(&response, &mut write_buf) {
+                // Serialize response to fixed-size LE bytes, then COBS encode
-                    Ok(buf) => {
+                let raw_len = response.to_bytes(&mut write_buf);
-                        for chunk in buf.chunks(MAX_PACKET) {
+                let encoded_len = cobs::encode(&write_buf[..raw_len], &mut cobs_encode_buf);
+                // Append 0x00 sentinel
+                if encoded_len < cobs_encode_buf.len() {
+                    cobs_encode_buf[encoded_len] = 0x00;
+                    let frame = &cobs_encode_buf[..encoded_len + 1];
+                    for chunk in frame.chunks(MAX_PACKET) {
                         if sender.write_packet(chunk).await.is_err() {
                             warn!("USB write failed, response dropped");
                             break;
                         }
                     }
-                    }
+                } else {
-                    Err(_) => {
+                    warn!("COBS encode buffer overflow");
-                        warn!("response serialization failed");
-                    }
                 }
             }
             Either3::Third(()) => {
@@ -186,3 +208,37 @@ async fn route_command(
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Decode a COBS-encoded buffer (without the trailing 0x00 sentinel).
+/// Returns the number of decoded bytes, or None on error.
+fn cobs_decode(src: &[u8], dest: &mut [u8]) -> Option<usize> {
+    let mut si = 0;
+    let mut di = 0;
+    while si < src.len() {
+        let code = src[si] as usize;
+        si += 1;
+        if code == 0 {
+            return None; // unexpected zero in COBS data
+        }
+        for _ in 1..code {
+            if si >= src.len() || di >= dest.len() {
+                return None;
+            }
+            dest[di] = src[si];
+            di += 1;
+            si += 1;
+        }
+        if code < 0xFF && si < src.len() {
+            if di >= dest.len() {
+                return None;
+            }
+            dest[di] = 0;
+            di += 1;
+        }
+    }
+    // Strip trailing zero if present (COBS artifact)
+    if di > 0 && dest[di - 1] == 0 {
+        di -= 1;
+    }
+    Some(di)
+}