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Visual Studio Code extension for the IAR C-SPY debugger

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IAR C-SPY Debugger

Use IAR System's C-SPY Debugger to debug embedded programs using Visual Studio Code, with support for a wide range of embedded devices and debug probes. This extension can be used with IAR Embedded Workbench (.ewp) projects, or with other build systems such as CMake. An IAR Embedded Workbench installation using IDE version 8 or newer is required to use this extension. See Compatibility table below for detailed information.

A VS Code window with a C-SPY debug session

Getting Started

To debug an IAR Embedded Workbench (.ewp) project, we recommend also installing the IAR Build extension. The extension will then automatically provide debug configurations for your project. If you do not have a launch.json file in the workspace, simply press Run and Debug in the Debug view to start debugging the current project and configuration.

A user clicking 'Run and Debug' and starting a debug session

If you already have a launch.json file, automatic C-SPY debug configurations can be accessed by pressing IAR C-SPY Debug... in the debug configuration dropdown.

A user hovering over the 'IAR C-SPY Debug...' option

To debug a program without an IAR Embedded Workbench project (e.g. from a CMake project) you need to manually provide a debug configuration in the form of a launch.json file. There are two ways to do this:

For more help, see Debugging a stand-alone application.

Documentation

Click here to view the full documentation.

Compatibility

This extension is compatible with selected IAR Embedded Workbench (EW) products. The following table decsribes the level of support for your specific product:

IAR EW - Compatibility table
IAR EW version Limitation
Arm v9.30 or later
RISC-V 3.11.1 or later
RL78 v5.10 or later
AVR v8.10 or later
RX v5.10 or later
None
RISC-V v3.10 Terminal I/O is not supported
Arm v8.50-9.20.4
RH850 v3.10 or later
An initial debug session with EW is required prior to debugging in VSCode
Arm v8.40-8.50 The variables view is not supported

Note: You may experience crashes using multicore debugging with Arm 9.10.2 and earlier, as well as RH850 3.10.2 and earlier.

Feedback

If you are unable to start a debug session in Visual Studio Code, please verify that debugging in IAR Embedded Workbench works (to rule out any non-Visual Studio Code related issues). Depending on the type of feedback you want to share with us, here are our preferred options:

  • For urgent matters with the extension, or if you have issues with the underlying IAR Embedded Workbench product, report this via the IAR Systems technical support channel at IAR Technical Support.

  • For other matters isolated to this extension, file a New issue using the provided template. We will reply on a "best effort basis".

  • If you have ideas on how to improve this extension, see CONTRIBUTING.md on how to proceed.