# openocd-org/openocd

Official OpenOCD Read-Only Mirror (no pull requests)

Repository: https://github.com/openocd-org/openocd
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/openocd
Homepage: https://openocd.org
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-26T08:19:30+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5542, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 7, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: prerelease_only, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2304, forks 1037 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:35.662350+00:00)

## What it is
OpenOCD (Open On-Chip Debugger) is a command-line tool providing on-chip programming and debugging for embedded systems via JTAG/SWD adapters. It exposes telnet, Tcl, and GDB server interfaces for flashing firmware, single-stepping, breakpoints, and boundary-scan/FPGA programming.

## Use cases
- flash firmware onto an STM32 discovery board
- debug embedded ARM firmware with GDB over SWD
- program an FPGA or CPLD via SVF playback
- set breakpoints and single-step a Cortex-M target
- connect GDB to a remote embedded target on localhost:3333
- script chip programming with embedded Tcl
- dump or write internal and NAND flash chips

## When to choose
- you need source-level debugging of embedded targets with GNU GDB
- you want a free, widely supported tool for flashing ARM, MIPS, RISC-V, or Xtensa chips
- you need support for many debug adapters like ST-LINK, CMSIS-DAP, FTDI, or Raspberry Pi GPIO
- you want scripted, automated flashing and boundary-scan workflows

## When to avoid
- you only need high-level IDE debugging without touching JTAG/SWD details
- your target hardware or adapter is unsupported by OpenOCD's driver list
- you need a graphical debugger UI rather than a command-line server

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, embedded
- domain: embedded-systems, hardware, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: jtag, swd, gdb-server, flash-programming, boundary-scan, embedded-debugging, tcl-scripting, arm, riscv, xtensa, debugging, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- openocd-org/openocd (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.662350+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 2026-08-30T02:39:43.731123+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/openocd-org/openocd (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.662350+00:00, sha 97dcb2f09893)
  - homepage: https://openocd.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:09.621347+00:00, sha f65dcd52533d)
  - site_page: https://openocd.org/pages/about.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:09.624597+00:00, sha d2bc9b0470ab)
  - site_page: https://openocd.org/pages/documentation.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:09.626352+00:00, sha a02a6b65d25f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.