User Interface

The CMSIS Solution extension provides the Keil Studio GUI for project management and build tools with the CMSIS-Toolbox. Combined with other Arm and third-party extensions, it implements a powerful embedded development environment.

The GUI consists of these views:

View	Description
	Explorer view lists all local files.
	Search view enables search/replace across all files.
	Source Control view allows you to work with git.
	Extensions view lets you work with VS Code extensions.
	Run and Debug view switches the GUI to a dedicated debug view.
	CMSIS view is the main view for working with CMSIS solution-based projects.
	Trace and Live view shows trace and live data during debugging.

CMSIS view

The CMSIS view shows the content of the active projects included in the solution. Each project contains configuration settings, source code files, build settings, and other project-specific information. The main area of the CMSIS view shows:

• Board and device information and related documentation.
• Groups and files: Groups and user files that you add to the project and that you can edit
• constructed-files: Contains generated files such as the RTE_Components.h header file for each context
• linker: Contains a linker script file and a <regions>.h file (or other user-defined header files)
• Components: Shows the software components selected for the project with their source files, user code templates, and APIs. Click the files to open them in the editor. Click the book icon of a component to open the related documentation. If you are using a generator to configure your device or board, then a Run Configuration Generator option is available to start a generator session.
• Layer Type (if available): The software layers in the project with their source files, preconfigured software components, and configuration files

No solution loaded

If no CMSIS solution is active in VS Code, the view shows the following:

This allows you to:

• Create a solution from scratch.
• Convert a µVision project to a CMSIS solution.
• Browse Arm Examples that show the usage of Arm technology on various platforms.

The links below the buttons take you to the documentation and the overview of the VS Code extension.

Actions available through the CMSIS view

Once a CMSIS solution is loaded, the following action buttons are available:

Action	Description
	Build solution calls the compiler toolchain and builds the solution.
	Load & Run application flashes the binary onto the target and starts the application.
	Load & Debug application flashes the binary onto the target and starts a debug session.
	Open csolution.yml file opens the CMSIS solution YML file for editing.
	Open the Manage Solution view to configure project and debug settings.
	Show further commands.

Main area icons

Depending on the file and the context, various icons may appear:

Action	Description
	IntelliSense is active for this cproject file.
	Open the file.
	Manage the software components of the cproject file.
	Add groups or files to the cproject file.

Configure IntelliSense with clangd

The CMSIS Solution extension configures the clangd language server for the active project. Running cbuild setup generates a compile_commands.json compilation database and compiler macro headers in the project output directory. When Generate Clang Setup is enabled in the CMSIS Solution settings, the extension creates or updates the project .clangd file to use this generated build information.

For solutions containing multiple projects, click Activate Clangd Information next to the required *.cproject.yml file. The Clangd Information Active icon identifies the project that currently provides IntelliSense information.

Compiler predefined macros

CMSIS-Toolbox generates separate predefined macro headers for C and C++ in the project output directory:

• compile_macros_c.h for C source and header files.
• compile_macros_cxx.h for C++ source and header files.

For non-CLANG toolchains, the generated .clangd configuration includes the appropriate header according to the source file extension. Keeping the C and C++ macro sets separate prevents C++-only compiler macros from affecting C files. A native CLANG toolchain does not require these compatibility headers.

With the correct project active, clangd resolves compiler-specific conditional code and provides completion, navigation, hover information, and diagnostics that match the selected build context.

Troubleshoot IntelliSense

If editor diagnostics or completion do not match a successful build:

1. Check that Generate Clang Setup is enabled in the CMSIS Solution extension settings.
2. Run Refresh (reload packs, update RTE) and wait for solution conversion to complete.
3. Check that compile_commands.json, compile_macros_c.h, and compile_macros_cxx.h exist in the active context output directory.
4. Click Activate Clangd Information next to the project that contains the source file.
5. Open a C or C++ source or header file, then check the clangd status in the VS Code status bar. If indexing remains stale after regenerating the build information, run the clangd: Restart language server command from the Command Palette. If the problem persists, reload the VS Code window to regenerate .clangd and restart the extensions.

Configuration Wizard

Configuration Wizard annotations enable GUI-like elements in IDEs for configuration source files. This graphical approach makes it easier for users to review and edit configuration settings as required by the application.

For files containing configuration wizard annotations, open the graphical view by pressing the Open Preview button in the top right corner of the file window.

The view will be opened next to the original source file. You can switch back pressing the Show Source button .

Status bar

The VS Code status bar displays information about the status of your development environment and the project:

Status bar item	Description
clangd status	Displays the status message of the clangd extension that provides IntelliSense.
Solution target	You can inspect errors and warnings for the active csolution project when you move the cursor over the Solution target in the status bar. The indicator is red for errors and yellow for warnings. Click the indicator to open the Output - CMSIS Solution panel and the Manage Solution view.
cbuild setup message	Building compilation database... displays while the compile_commands.json file is created (during cbuild setup).
Tool installation information	The Arm Tools Environment Manager extension downloads, installs, and manages software development tools. Move your mouse over Arm Tools to review the current list of installed tools. Click on Arm Tools to get more options.
Active tool license	If you are using licensed Arm tools, the active license displays. Click it to manage the active license.
clangd indexing message	Shows the clangd indexing progress once a C, C++, or header file is opened in the editor.

Run and Debug view

Refer to the Debugger user interface section for more information.

Available commands

You can access commands to manage your solution and the related projects in the following ways:

• From the CMSIS view.
• With right-click to the *.csolution.yml file in the Explorer view.
• With the Command Palette that opens with Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows and Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS).

Command	Description
Open Solution in Workspace...	If your workspace contains several solutions, select the active solution to work with.
Create Solution...	Create a new csolution project.
Convert a µVision project to CMSIS solution...	Convert uvprojx files to csolution project format.
Close Solution	Close the current active solution.
Manage Solution Settings	Configure the target set (active target, projects, images, and debug adapter) for the solution.
Configure Solution	Set a compiler and add software layers.
Manage Software Components	Review, add, or remove software components.
Build solution	Build the solution with the current target set.
Rebuild solution	Rebuild the solution with the current target set.
Clean all out and tmp directories	Clean all out and tmp directories for the active solution.
Refresh (reload packs, update RTE)	Reload information from all installed packs and run cbuild setup update-rte.
Load & Run application	Load the application to target and run it with active GDB server (Debugger can be attached).
Load & Debug application	Load the application to target and start the debugger.
Erase target device	Erase the target device.
Load application to target	Load the application to target.
Run application on target	Run the current application in the target with active GDB server (Debugger can be attached).
Target Information	Show information about debug adapter and target.
Focus on Solution View	Open the CMSIS view.