Skip to content

cubemonitor-shared-mode.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
80 lines (59 loc) · 4.05 KB

cubemonitor-shared-mode.md

File metadata and controls

80 lines (59 loc) · 4.05 KB

Run STM32CubeMonitor and IDE Debug at the Same Time (Shared ST-LINK)

By default STM32CubeMonitor takes the ST-LINK for itself, so if you try to debug in the IDE while CubeMonitor is running, one of them fails to connect. Shared mode routes both tools through the ST-LINK server so they can use the probe at the same time. You can step through code in STM32CubeIDE while CubeMonitor live-plots your variables.

Why it is needed

Protocol How it connects Can it share the probe
p2p (default) It connects straight to the probe and gives the highest data rate. No, because it locks out every other application.
tcp It connects through the ST-LINK server, which shares access between apps. Yes, and this is the mode that shared mode uses.

Shared mode means you run CubeMonitor in tcp mode and tell the IDE to use the shared ST-LINK. A J-Link probe supports p2p only, so shared mode is an ST-LINK feature.

Step 1 — Make sure the ST-LINK server is installed

Shared mode passes through a helper called the ST-LINK server, which normally installs together with STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeProgrammer. If you have either tool you already have it. On Windows you can find it inside Program Files in a folder named stlink_server.

Step 2 — Switch CubeMonitor to tcp mode

The protocol is set in CubeMonitor's settings.js file, and the change only takes effect the next time the app starts.

  1. Close STM32CubeMonitor if it is open.
  2. Open the settings.js file for your operating system from the table below.
  3. Find the line that starts with connectionType and change its value to tcp.
  4. Save the file and start STM32CubeMonitor again.
Operating system settings.js location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\.STMicroelectronics\stm32cubemonitor\settings.js (i.e. C:\Users\<you>\.STMicroelectronics\stm32cubemonitor\settings.js)
Linux ~/.STMicroelectronics/stm32cubemonitor/settings.js
macOS ~/Library/stm32cubemonitor/settings.js 
connectionType: "tcp",

Step 3 — Turn on shared mode in STM32CubeIDE

  1. Open Run > Debug Configurations.
  2. Select your debug configuration on the left.
  3. Open the Debugger tab.
  4. Check Enable shared ST-LINK.
  5. Click Apply, then click Debug to start the session.

Step 4 — Start the acquisition in CubeMonitor

With the debug session running, start your acquisition in CubeMonitor as usual by pressing the start button on the acquisition node and opening the dashboard. When it works the probe in the flow shows the text tcp connected, and both tools keep running together.

Other IDEs

IDE Where to switch it on
STM32CubeIDE Debug Configurations > Debugger tab > Enable shared ST-LINK
IAR Embedded Workbench Project > Options > Debugger > Extra Options, then add --stlink_use_server
Keil uVision Project > Options for Target > Debug tab > ST-Link settings, then set Debug adapter to Shareable ST-Link

If something fails

  • If CubeMonitor still cannot connect while the IDE is debugging, the connectionType is probably still p2p or you did not restart CubeMonitor after the edit, so redo Step 2 and start the app again.
  • If the IDE debug session will not start while CubeMonitor is open, Enable shared ST-LINK is not checked or the ST-LINK server is not installed, so check Step 1 and Step 3.
  • If it connects but the data is slow or drops samples, that is the cost of tcp mode, so lower the sampling rate or switch back to p2p when you do not need the IDE attached.
  • If you use a J-Link probe, shared mode is not available because J-Link supports p2p only, so use an ST-LINK to debug and monitor together.

References