Run external tools

VS Code uses the launch.json and tasks.json configuration files to integrate with external tools. The following section shows how to configure these files for typical use cases.

Variables

VS Code supports variable substitution in the Debugging and Tasks configuration files and selected settings. Variable substitution uses the ${variableName} syntax, for example in launch.json and tasks.json files. In addition to the VS Code built-in variables, the CMSIS Solution extension provides the following variables.

Variable	Description
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFile}	The path and name of the first ELF/DWARF file available for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFiles}	The paths and names of the ELF/DWARF files (comma separated) available for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBoardName}	The board name for the Active Target as specified in the csolution.yml
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBspName}	The Board Support Pack (BSP) for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBspPath}	The path to the content of the BSP for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getCbuildRunFile}	The path to the cbuild-run.yml file for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDeviceName}	The device name for the Active Target as specified in the csolution.yml
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpName}	The Device Family Pack (DFP) for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpPath}	The path to the content of the DFP for the Active Target
${command:cmsis-csolution.getSolutionFile}	The path to the csolution.yml file for the Active Solution

Substitution examples

The following table illustrates the variable substition using the DualCore csolution example. Note that ... stands for the absolute path on the host computer that stores the csolution project or the CMSIS pack content.

Variable	Substitution
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFile}	.../DualCore/out/HelloWorld_cm4/FRDM-K32L3A6/Debug/HelloWorld_cm4.axf
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFiles}	.../DualCore/out/HelloWorld_cm4/FRDM-K32L3A6/Debug/HelloWorld_cm4.axf, .../DualCore/out/HelloWorld_cm0plus/FRDM-K32L3A6/Debug/HelloWorld_cm0plus.axf
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBoardName}	K32L3A60VPJ1A
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBspName}	NXP::FRDM-K32L3A6_BSP@19.0.0
${command:cmsis-csolution.getBspPath}	.../NXP/FRDM-K32L3A6_BSP/19.0.0
${command:cmsis-csolution.getCbuildRunFile}	.../DualCore/DualCore+FRDM-K32L3A6.cbuild-run.yml
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDeviceName}	K32L3A60VPJ1A
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpName}	NXP::K32L3A60_DFP@19.0.0
${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpPath}	.../NXP/K32L3A60_DFP/19.0.0
${command:cmsis-csolution.getSolutionFile}	.../DualCore/HelloWorld.csolution.yml

Examples

pyOCD

Use the following launch.json file to start debugging with pyOCD:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "type": "gdbtarget",
            "request": "launch",
            "name": "Debug with pyOCD",
            "program": "${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFile}",
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "verbose": true,
            "gdb": "/Applications/ArmGNUToolchain/13.3.rel1/arm-none-eabi/bin/arm-none-eabi-gdb",
            "initCommands": [
                "monitor set reset-type SW_EMULATED",
                "monitor reset halt"
            ],
            "target": {
                "server": "python",
                "serverParameters": [
                    "-mpyocd",
                    "gdbserver",
                    "--target",
                    "${command:cmsis-csolution.getDeviceName}",
                    "--pack",
                    "${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpPath}",
                    "--port",
                    "3333"
                ],
                "port": "3333"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Arm Debugger

Use the following launch.json file to start Arm Debugger:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Arm Debugger",
            "type": "arm-debugger",
            "request": "launch",
            "serialNumber": "${command:device-manager.getSerialNumber}",
            "programs": "${command:cmsis-csolution.getBinaryFiles}",
            "cmsisPack": "${command:cmsis-csolution.getDfpPack}",
            "deviceName": "${command:cmsis-csolution.getDeviceName}",
        }
    ]
}

Use µVision for debugging

The µVision debugger offers advanced debug features such as Event Recorder and Component Viewer to analyze applications.

To call µVision with the csolution project that you are using in VS Code, add the following task to the .vscode\tasks.json file. The command: is the path to the µVision executable on your computer.

    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "Start uVision",
            "type": "process",
            "command": "C:\\Keil_v5\\UV4\\UV4.exe",
            "args": [
                "${command:cmsis-csolution.getSolutionFile}"
            ],
            "problemMatcher": []
        }
    ]