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Debugging STM32 with PlatformIO

Let's debug the LED blink code using PlatformIO.

Debugging STM32​

Debugging STM32 with PlatformIO is easy. You can set breakpoints, watch variables, and step through the code using the ST-LINK V2 programmer.

Prerequisites​

In this tutorial, the following hardware is used:

Blackpill STM32 board​

MCU: STM32F411CEU6
Board: WeAct Black Pill V2.0
Schematic

You can purchase a cheap clone Blackpill STM32 board under $4. You can use other STM32 boards, but you need to modify platformio.ini file and the LED pin number.

You need this to upload the firmware to the board and debug the code. You can purchase a cheap clone ST-LINK V2 under $5.

Installation​

VScode with PlatformIO​

You can install PlatformIO from the VSCode extension marketplace.

STM32CubeProgrammer​

You need this to flash the firmware to the board.

Clone the repository​

git clone --branch blackpill-led-blink-arduino https://github.com/yuichiroaoki/stm32-tutorial.git
cd stm32-tutorial

Quickstart​

  1. Connect the Blackpill STM32 board to the ST-LINK V2 programmer.

    ST-LINK V2 Clone
    Connect the ST-LINK V2 programmer to the Blackpill STM32 board as shown in the image above.

  2. Connect the ST-LINK V2 programmer to your computer.

  3. Open the project folder in VSCode.

  4. Open main.cpp and click any line number to set a breakpoint.

    You can stop the program execution at the breakpoint and check the variable values.

    Set a breakpoint

  5. Click Run and Debug on the left sidebar and click on the Start Debugging button to start debugging.

    The program execution will stop at the breakpoint, and you can check the variable values. For example, SystemCoreClock is a variable that stores the system clock frequency. In the image below, the system clock frequency is 96 MHz.

    Debug-stm32

In this tutorial, we used the Arduino framework to debug the STM32 board with PlatformIO. However, you can debug with STM32Cube as well.

References​