Cortex Debug MCP
VS Code extension for exposing Cortex-Debug / PlatformIO debug capabilities to MCP clients through stdio.
Upstream and secondary development
This project is open source at:
This project is a secondary development project.
Based on the upstream project:
Main changes in this fork:
- External MCP access changed from SSE to stdio
- Removed automatic
.mcp.json creation/update
- Renamed extension identity to
cortex-debug-mcp
- Renamed command IDs, config keys, output channel, and backend state file to avoid conflict with the upstream plugin
- Updated publisher/author information for this fork
What it can do
Current MCP tools mainly cover:
- session status and call stack
- variables, registers, memory, expression evaluation
- set/remove breakpoints
- pause / continue / step
- raw
gdb_command
- OpenOCD-based live memory and peripheral tools
Install from VSIX
code --install-extension cortex-debug-mcp-<version>.vsix
MCP client configuration
If you use VS Code User mcp.json (C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\mcp.json), a recommended version-independent config is:
{
"servers": {
"cortex-debug-mcp": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "powershell",
"args": [
"-NoProfile",
"-ExecutionPolicy",
"Bypass",
"-Command",
"$root = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE '.vscode\\extensions'; $ext = Get-ChildItem $root -Directory | Where-Object { $_.Name -like 'yuelongzhang.cortex-debug-mcp-*' } | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1; if (-not $ext) { throw 'cortex-debug-mcp extension not found' }; node (Join-Path $ext.FullName 'dist\\stdioProxy.js')"
]
}
}
}
This avoids editing the config every time the extension version changes.
How to use
- Install the
.vsix
- Start a Cortex-Debug or PlatformIO debug session in VS Code
- Run
Cortex Debug MCP: Start Bridge Server
- Restart or reload your MCP client
- Call tools such as
get_session_info, get_variables, set_breakpoint, remove_breakpoint, step, gdb_command
Limitations
- Most DAP read operations require the target to be paused
get_registers and get_memory depend on Cortex-Debug custom DAP requests- OpenOCD-based tools such as
get_chip_info, read_live_memory, and peripheral helpers may fail in J-Link-only sessions
gdb_command can be used as an escape hatch for reset / monitor commands
License
MIT
