Using Pitaya-Link with Visual Studio Code¶

Introduction¶

This guide explains how to configure the local debug toolchain using Pitaya-Link with Visual Studio Code.

Requirements¶

• A Pitaya-Link Debug Probe
• Visual Studio Code
• An nRF52 target board (e.g. nRF52840 MDK USB Dongle)

Install Visual Studio Code¶

You need to install Visual Studio Code with the C/C++ extensions to begin.

1. Install Visual Studio Code.

2. Open Visual Studio Code, and click on the Extensions button.

3. Search for the C/C++ plugin (by Microsoft) and click Install.

4. When prompted, restart the IDE.

Install pyOCD¶

The latest stable version of pyOCD may be installed via pip as follows. Skip this step if pyOCD already exists.

pip install -U pyocd

Install GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain¶

Download and install the GNU ARM Embedded Toolchain. Then ensure the path is added to your OS PATH environment variable:

# in ~/.bash_profile, add the following script
export PATH="<path to install directory>/gcc-arm-none-eabi-6-2017-q2-update/bin:${PATH}"

Type the following in your terminal to verify if arm-none-eabi-gcc works:

arm-none-eabi-gcc --version

Configuring the debugger¶

The launch.json file is used to configure the debugger in Visual Studio Code. Perform the following steps to configure the debugger for your project:

1. Open the project folder in Visual Studio Code.

2. Open the .vscode/launch.json file and add the example configurations:

   {
       "version": "0.2.0",
       "configurations": [
           {
               "name": "C++ Launch",
               "type": "cppdbg",
               "request": "launch",
               "program": "${workspaceRoot}/armgcc/_build/nrf52840_xxaa.out",
               "args": [],
               "stopAtEntry": true,
               "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}",
               "environment": [],
               "externalConsole": false,
               "debugServerArgs": "",
               "serverLaunchTimeout": 20000,
               "filterStderr": true,
               "filterStdout": false,
               "serverStarted": "GDB\\ server\\ started",
               "preLaunchTask": "make",
               "setupCommands": [
                   { "text": "-target-select remote localhost:3333", "description": "connect to target", "ignoreFailures": false },
                   { "text": "-file-exec-and-symbols ${workspaceRoot}/armgcc/_build/nrf52840_xxaa.out", "description": "load file", "ignoreFailures": false},
                   { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor endian little\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                   { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor reset\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                   { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor halt\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                   { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor arm semihosting enable\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                   { "text": "-target-download", "description": "flash target", "ignoreFailures": false }
               ],
               "logging": {
                   "moduleLoad": true,
                   "trace": true,
                   "engineLogging": true,
                   "programOutput": true,
                   "exceptions": true
               },
               "linux": {
                   "MIMode": "gdb",
                   "MIDebuggerPath": "arm-none-eabi-gdb",
                   "debugServerPath": "pyocd-gdbserver"
               },
               "osx": {
                   "MIMode": "gdb",
                   "MIDebuggerPath": "arm-none-eabi-gdb",
                   "debugServerPath": "pyocd-gdbserver"
               },
               "windows": {
                   "preLaunchTask": "make.exe",
                   "MIMode": "gdb",
                   "MIDebuggerPath": "arm-none-eabi-gdb.exe",
                   "debugServerPath": "pyocd-gdbserver.exe",
                   "setupCommands": [
                       { "text": "-environment-cd ${workspaceRoot}\\armgcc\\_build" },
                       { "text": "-target-select remote localhost:3333", "description": "connect to target", "ignoreFailures": false },
                       { "text": "-file-exec-and-symbols nrf52840_xxaa.out", "description": "load file", "ignoreFailures": false},
                       { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor endian little\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                       { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor reset\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                       { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor halt\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                       { "text": "-interpreter-exec console \"monitor arm semihosting enable\"", "ignoreFailures": false },
                       { "text": "-target-download", "description": "flash target", "ignoreFailures": false }
                   ]
               }
           }
       ]
   }
   

3. Create a make task in .vscode/tasks.json file:

   {
       // See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=733558
       // for the documentation about the tasks.json format
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "tasks": [
           {
               "label": "make",
               "options": {
                   "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}/armgcc"
               },
               "problemMatcher": {
                   "owner": "cpp",
                   "fileLocation": ["relative", "${workspaceRoot}"],
                   "pattern": {
                       "regexp": "^(.*):(\\d+):(\\d+):\\s+(warning|error):\\s+(.*)$",
                       "file": 1,
                       "line": 2,
                       "column": 3,
                       "severity": 4,
                       "message": 5
                   }
               },
               "args": [],
               "linux": {
                   "command": "make"
               },
               "osx": {
                   "command": "make"
               },
               "windows": {
                   "command": "make.exe"
               }
           }
       ]
   }
   

Connecting the target¶

Perform the following steps to connect the target board:

1. Connect the target board to Pitaya-Link using the provided 7-pin Cable.
2. Connect Pitaya-Link to the PC using the provided USB-C Cable.

Debugging your project¶

Click the menu Debug -> Start Debugging, and debugging starts. Click on the DEBUG CONSOLE tab to see the debug output:

Now you can explore the debugging capabilities for Variables, Breakpoints and more.

Example Sources¶

The example project files we are using in this guide are located in GitHub:

View Sources

Reference¶

• VS Code Launch Json Reference
• VS Code Tasks Documentation

Create an Issue¶

Interested in contributing to this project? Want to report a bug? Feel free to click here:

Create an Issue