Using companion components

The nRF Connect SDK provides several companion components. Typically, a companion component is independent from the application and is included in your project as a separate firmware image.

Companion components are intended to be used as-is, but integrating them with your application can require minimal modifications of both the component and your application. Refer to the component documentation for tested and supported integration instructions (see the links in the table).

While you can also significantly modify these components, they are only tested for the default configuration set provided in the nRF Connect SDK.

Depending on its function, a companion component image can either run on the same core as the application, as in the case of nRF Secure Immutable Bootloader and Running applications with Trusted Firmware-M, or run on a separate core, as in the case of IPC radio firmware.

You can add some of the components, such as IPC radio firmware, using Sysbuild.

The following table lists the available companion components:

Component	Purpose	Supported platforms	Location	Integration instructions
IPC radio firmware	Companion component that allows to use the radio peripheral from another core in a multicore device.	nRF54H20 DK, nRF5340 DK, Thingy:53	applications/ipc_radio	Application’s configuration section
MCUboot	Secure bootloader for 32-bit microcontrollers.	All supported boards except the nRF54H20 DK	ncs/bootloader/mcuboot (external module), ncs/nrf/modules/mcuboot (integration files)	Using MCUboot in nRF Connect SDK
Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M)	Platform security architecture reference implementation aligning with PSA Certified guidelines, enabling chips, Real Time Operating Systems and devices to become PSA Certified.	nRF91 Series devices, nRF54L15 PDK, nRF54H20 DK, nRF5340 DK, Thingy:53	ncs/modules/tee/tf-m (external module), ncs/nrf/modules/trusted-firmware-m (integration files)	Running applications with Trusted Firmware-M
nRF Secure Immutable Bootloader	Bootloader tailored for the two-stage bootloader.	Bootloader requirements	samples/bootloader	Adding nRF Secure Immutable Bootloader as an immutable bootloader
SUIT flash companion	Companion image that allows the Secure Domain Firmware to access the external memory during the Software Updates for Internet of Things (SUIT) firmware upgrade.	Sample requirements	samples/suit/flash_companion	Sample’s configuration section
SUIT flash recovery image	Companion image that allows recovering the device firmware if the original firmware is damaged during the Software Updates for Internet of Things (SUIT) firmware upgrade.	Sample requirements	samples/suit/recovery	Sample’s building and running section