All‑in‑One Docker Image for NXP MCUXpresso, VS Code and CI/CD Pipeline

Working with different toolchains, different versions and targets can be very challenging. To simplify the setup and distribution of the development environment I’m using the concept of containers.

I’m using different Docker images and containers for development and automated CI/CD integration. In the past weeks I have extended, simplified and consolidated my work flows. For example I have now an image with the MCUXpresso tools, with everything running in a container: both locally on my machine with Docker, with VS Code, and the same integrated in the CI/CD pipeline:

Running MCUXpresso Tools in Container
Running MCUXpresso Tools in Container

It not only simplifies my development flow: the same way I can easily deploy the installation and setup for a class room lab environment: basically everything is only one click away.

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Using Tracealyzer for Embedded Systems Analysis

In my latest research project I’m using the NXP FRDM-MCXN947 board. As part of that project I have to collect and export application trace data for later analysis. In that project I’m using the the Tracealyzer product from Percepio.

Trace Data in Percepio Tracealyzer
Trace Data in Percepio Tracealyzer

In this article I describe different ways to export trace data from the embedded target: using generic GDB commands or with an trace exporter in VS Code.

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Semihosting with LinkServer in VS Code

For an university research project, I need to write some console output and the same time write a file with data from the embedded board to the host. A logical choice for this is using semihosting.

Semihosting with LinkServer in VS Code
Semihosting with LinkServer in VS Code
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Build and Debug QEMU in Docker

For an university research project we are implementing a software simulator for the EZH (or SmartDMA) co-prozessor present on some NXP MCUs.

Debugging QEMU in container using VS Code
Debugging QEMU in container using VS Code

This article describes how to setup and build QEMU in a docker container, including debugging QEMU with VS Code.

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Building the MetaClockClock78: My Largest Clock Project Yet

From my previous MetaClockClock project, I still had some hardware available. So I decided to build my largest build so far: to clocks with 78 clocks each.

MetaClockClock78
MetaClockClock78
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Tutorial: Creating Self-Contained MCUXpresso SDK Projects

In Tutorial: Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK – Repositories with VS Code and Tutorial: Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK – west I showed how to get the MCUXpresso SDK. In this article it is about tweaking and streamlining the project.

The result is a clean, portable and self-contained MCUXpresso SDK project.

VS Code with streamlined NXP MCUXpresso project
VS Code with streamlined NXP MCUXpresso project
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Debugging Linux Apps with VS Code: A Step-by-Step Guide

Recently I have been asked “How can I debug a Linux application with VS Code?”. I’m covering that topic in my ‘Embedded Application Development Course on Linux”.

Debugging Linux Application with VS Code over SSH
Debugging Linux Application with VS Code over SSH

I realized, that I have never covered that topic in any of my blog articles. So here we go: I show how easy it is to use VS Code to debug a Linux application. You can use this for example with an Raspberry Pi. Or for example the NXP i.MX93 which I’m using in this article.

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Tutorial: Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK – west

In my earlier tutorial I showed how to install the necessary SDK tools. In this article I’m going to install the SDK sources. For this I’m going to use west. This is a command-line ‘meta-repository’ tool.

west update_board
west update_board
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Tutorial: Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK – Tool Installation

The engineering and development landscape is constantly changing. This includes the embedded tooling and SDKs.

Back in the year 2017 I have used the version 2 (see Tutorial: Using Eclipse with NXP MCUXpresso SDK v2 and Processor Expert). Back then, it was Eclipse with make. Now we are in 2026 and things have changed to VS Code, cmake, ninja, python and west.

VS Code with MCUXpresso Installer
VS Code with MCUXpresso Installer

Luckily, although more and different tools are needed these days, the installation experience has improved significantly. It has shifted from installing multiple different tools to a streamlined installation process.

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NXP LinkServer Now Supports ARM 64-bit for Enhanced Development

The latest release of the NXP LinkServer supports ARM 64bit (Debian) besides Windows, Linux and MacOS. With this, I can now develop on an NXP i.MX board. Plus, this enables an inexpensive way for automated on-target tests and CI/CD.

LinkServer running on Raspberry Pi
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