Explore Extension - nxp-mcuxpresso/vscode-for-mcux GitHub Wiki

The NXP MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension can be easily enabled by selecting the MCUXpresso for VS Code icon from the toolbar on the left side. This will open a view that contains the main contributions of the extension, including Quickstart Panel, Installed Repositories, Projects, Debug Probes, Device Tree, Image Info, Heap and Stack Usage, and Analysis.

Note: You can use shortcut key (Alt-X for Windows and Linux / ⌘-X for macOS) to return to MCUXpresso view from anywhere inside Visual Studio Code .

Quickstart Panel

Expanding the Quickstart Panel view will display quick links to important components of the extension, including:

• Shortcut to add a new software repository from a remote server, local archive file, or local folder;
• Shortcut to add or create a project by importing it from an existing source repository, an existing project, an archived project or an executable file;
• Shortcut to a full featured Flash Programmer tool view;
• Shortcut to NXP Application Code Hub, a repository with software examples, code snippets, application software packs and demos for microcontroller applications.
• Link to open MCUXpresso Installer
• Link to Walkthrough (an organized tour that familiarizes new users with the installation and features of the extension);
• Link to online documentation (this documentation).

Installed Repositories

This area shows the user all installed source repositories. This includes MCUXpresso SDK, Open-CMSIS-Pack and/or Zephyr repositories. Multiple instances of each can be handled by this view. Each repository can be expanded to provide details on the installed version.

Projects

This is the equivalent of a workspace area, containing settings and details about all MCUXpresso projects that the user has loaded or created. Each project entry will contain project details:

• Settings - list of configuration files present under .vscode folder.
  • mcuxpresso-tools.json - settings for MCUXpresso for VS Code extension.
  • launch.json - debug configurations for the current project.
  • cmake-kits.json - description of the CMake kits.
  • cmake-variants.json - description of the CMake variants.
  • settings.json - other settings specific to current folder.
• Repository Information - generic information about the source repository which is linked to this project. In the case the repository was removed from the VS Code view, it can be restored from this Repository Information section. Follow Repository restoration paragraph from Software repository installation section for more details.
• MCU - hardware reference elements of the target like board, device, core, device package.
• Memory - list of memory areas as defined by the device's source repository.
• Build Configurations - list of available build configurations.

Note: Source files are available in the Explorer view within VS Code. A user can switch between the project and source views by selecting the desired project and pressing the "Go to Explorer" button in that project's toolbar.

Debug Probes

All connected and identified debug probes will be listed here. Debug probes can be associated with projects. Go to the Debug section for more details.

Device Tree

Provides a viewer for device tree system files used in the context of Zephyr development. Go to the Devicetree section for more details.

Image Info

Provides a binary image analysis consisting of a static function callgraph, memory usage and memory content. Go to the Image Info section for more details.

Baremetal Heap and Stack Usage

Offers a utility for Stack and Heap status allocation at runtime for baremetal applications. Go to the Heap and Stack section for more details.

Analysis

In this version, Analysis offers the capability to load an existing Energy Measurement archive file (which was generated by the MCUXpresso IDE) and to display the minimum, maximum and average values for the measured samples.

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