IDE.md

All about Embedded IDEs and their features

Fully Abstracted IDE

STM32CubeIDE

IDE for STM32 MCUs.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux, macOS
Debugger Support	GDB, STLink, JLink, JTrace and more
IDE Framework	Eclipse
Compiler	GCC, Extensible
Cost	Free
License	Proprietary-freeware

ARM Mbed Studio

An IoT-focused platform that provides a very large middleware library and a consistent dev environment across many different hardare vendors.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, macOS or online (Mbed online)
Debugger Support	PyOCD for limited graphical debugging or GDB (console only)
IDE Framework	Theia
Compiler	ARM Compiler 6, GCC and IAR
Cost	Free
License	Apache2.0

Arduino IDE

Arduino IDE uses strictly structured libraries that expose a dislect of C/C++ for users to write sketches. It hides as many details about the underlying hardware as possible inside libraries.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, macOS, Linux or online
Debugger Support	None
IDE Framework	Proprietary Java, processing
Compiler	ARM Compiler 6, GCC and IAR
Cost	Free
License	GNU

Open source/free IDEs

AC6 System Workbench for STM32 (S4STM32)

AC6 is a consulting firm that has contributed an Eclipse-based IDE that targets STM32 MCUs. System Workbench adds some support for STM-based discovery boards to help get project set up quickly. Useful if you are developing an application with one of the multi-core devices (STM32MP1 family).

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux, macOS
Debugger Support	GDB
IDE Framework	Eclipse
Compiler	GCC
Cost	Free
License	Proprietary-freeware

Eclipse CDT and GCC

Eclipse CDT is the de facto standard for C/C++ development. You will need to provide a compiler.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux, macOS
Debugger Support	GDB
IDE Framework	Eclipse
Compiler	GCC
Cost	Free
License	Eclipse Public License (EPL)

Visual Studio Code

A text editor that provides the ability to add extensions.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux, macOS
Debugger Support	GDB, ST-link, and others
IDE Framework	VScode
Compiler	Many
Cost	Free
License	MIT

Proprietary IDE

ARM/Keil uVision

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows
Debugger Support	Many
IDE Framework	Proprietary
Compiler	armcc, armClang, GCC
Cost	Free-$$$
License	Proprietary

IAR Embedded Workbench

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows
Debugger Support	Many
IDE Framework	Proprietary
Compiler	Proprietary
Cost	$$-$$$
License	Proprietary

Rowley CrossWorks

Slightly lower priced entry point than Keil and IAR. Middleware is licensed sparatly from the IDE. FreeRTOS-aware task-based debugging is not available within the IDE.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux or macOS
Debugger Support	Many
IDE Framework	Proprietary
Compiler	GCC, LLVM
Cost	$-$$$
License	Proprietary

SEGGER Embedded Studio

Free of charge for non-commercial use. Middleware stack licensed sparately from IDE. FreeRTOS-aware debugging is available in the IDE.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux or macOS
Debugger Support	SEGGER
IDE Framework	Proprietary
Compiler	GCC, LLVM
Cost	$$-$$$, Free for non-commercial use
License	Proprietary

SysProgs Visual GDB

Is not really an IDE but a plugin for Visual Studio code. Its puprpose is to provide a consistent UI (Visual studio) for interacting with GDB-enabled debuggers and GNU make utilities.

Field	Supported Item
Host OS	Windows, Linux or macOS
Debugger Support	Yes
IDE Framework	Visual Studio/code
Compiler	GCC, ARM
Multi-core debug	Yes
Cost	$
License	Proprietary

IDE feature comparison table

IDE	Free?	No code size limit	J-link support	FreeRTOS kernel-aware debug	Multi-platform
Keil uVision	V	X	V	X	X
IAR	X	N/A	V	V	X
Visual GDB	X	N/A	V	V	V
Rowley CrossWorks	X	N/A	V	V	V
VS Code	V	V	V	V	V
Eclipse CDT	V	V	V	V	V
AC6 S4STM32	V	V	V	V	V
Arduino IDE	V	V	V	X	V
ARM MBed Studio	V	V	V	X	V
STM32CubeIDE	V	V	V	V	V
SEGGER Embedded Studio	V	V	V	V	V