Extract and save the state of a Cyclone V device using CLI

[MilosNovotny]

I need to automate the process of Examining a Cyclone V device and save the resulting .jic file. That's for the purpose of saving a device state in the case of a failed test.
After some experimentation and many error messages I arrived at this command:

quartus_pgm -c USB-Blaster -m JTAG -o ei;init_state.jic;5CGXFC5C7@1

This doesn't do anything (not even an error message). I essentially want to do the same thing as if I Examined the device from GUI, after which I have the option to save a .jic file representing the device state. Any suggestions what to try next?

More requests and details:
I'm also interested in automating the programming the device using a .jic file (to ensure reproducibility of tests). I tried this command:

quartus_pgm -c USB-Blaster -m JTAG -o "p;init_state.jic"

where init_state.jic is the state I got from Examining the device within GUI. When I do this, I get this error: Error (213021): Device index 4 must be less than device index of physical JTAG chain. Check board or choose legal device index.

I found a workaround for this last step: When I program the device from the GUI, I can save the result in a .cdf file  This file references the .jic file used. If I then run this command:

quartus_pgm -c USB-Blaster state_uploader.cdf

The device is succesfully programmed. Any pointers as to what I'm doing wrong with the more direct approach would be welcome.

Also, I noticed that when I last tried this, I was using a different device identificator(?). As when I now open the same device, I get 5CGXFC5F7 instead of 5CGXFC5C7 (the next to last letter changed, I don't know why)

P.S. sorry if I chose the wrong label, I'm new to this

[MilosNovotny]

I'm using Quartus 20.1.1

[MilosNovotny · Accepted solution]

I found a workaround here:
Why can't I use the Examine feature using command-line executable... (intel.com)

[Fakhrul]

Hi MilosNovotny,

Great to hear you found the solution! I'll now move this to community support, making it a helpful reference for others in the forum.

Regards,

Fakhrul