# Marus/cortex-debug

Visual Studio Code extension for enhancing debug capabilities for Cortex-M Microcontrollers

Repository: https://github.com/Marus/cortex-debug
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cortex-debug
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-09-03T00:22:43+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 100, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3165, "days_push": 0, "days_rel": 33, "gap_med": 35.0, "n_releases_24m": 9}
- flags: prerelease_only
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1243, forks 287 (observed 2026-09-03T02:15:06.593326+00:00)

## What it is
A Visual Studio Code extension that enhances debugging for ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers and other embedded targets via GDB servers like J-Link, OpenOCD, pyOCD, and ST-LINK. It adds SWO/RTT decoding, live ITM data graphing, RTOS thread awareness, disassembly support, and multi-core debugging.

## Use cases
- debug firmware on an STM32 with ST-LINK from VS Code
- decode SWO/ITM output and graph variables live while debugging a Cortex-M board
- debug RTOS threads and call stacks on an embedded target
- use SEGGER RTT console output during embedded debugging
- step through disassembly and set instruction breakpoints on a microcontroller
- debug RISC-V or Xtensa embedded targets through a GDB server

## When to choose
- you develop Cortex-M (or similar embedded) firmware and want rich debugging inside VS Code
- you need SWO, ITM, or RTT decoding and live graphing of target data
- you need multi-core or RTOS-aware debugging with J-Link, OpenOCD, or pyOCD

## When to avoid
- you debug only desktop or web applications with no embedded hardware
- you use a debugger or probe not supported by any of the integrated GDB servers
- you need ETM trace over SWO, which is not supported

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, embedded
- domain: embedded-systems, developer-tools, hardware
- platform: editor-plugin, cross-platform
- tags: vscode-extension, cortex-m, gdb, jlink, openocd, swo, rtt, microcontroller-debugging, debugging

## Member repositories
- Marus/cortex-debug (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-09-03T02:15:06.593326+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T05:08:26.550302+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/Marus/cortex-debug (fetched 2026-09-03T02:15:06.593326+00:00, sha 2a992bffcebd)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.