It is definitely possible to debug on real hardware, but it typically requires a JTAG interface. The actual requirements vary by board and MCU. It is sometimes very easy, and sometimes impossible.

Some environments have debug information configured in them (or defaulted in PlatformIO), but they are going to reflect whatever a developer had used on them previously, and won't necessarily match what you have on hand.

from marlin.

There probably aren't really Marlin-specific instructions for this, but you can find information about how to configure debugging with PlatformIO to get started.

from marlin.

Here's an STM32F1 example:

Debug Marlin 2.x with VSCode & PlatformIO using an ST-Link V2 (STM32F1)

Table of Contents

• Connect ST-Link V2 to SWD Pins
• Configure Marlin
• Configure & Run GDB
  • macOS
  • Windows
• Basic GDB Debugging Commands

Connect ST-Link V2 to SWD Pins

This will vary depending on the board.

Configure Marlin

Using your desired config settings, you will also need to:

1. Disable USE_WATCHDOG

2. Enable MARLIN_DEV_MODE

3. Possibly disable DISABLE_DEBUG and/or DISABLE_JTAG depending on your board (check the board's pins file).

4. Build Marlin

Configure & Run GDB

macOS

1. In VSCode, open Terminal (CTRL + `) and run the following to configure OpenOCD (STM32F1):

   ~/.platformio/packages/tool-openocd/bin/openocd -d2 -s ~/.platformio/packages/tool-openocd/scripts -f interface/stlink.cfg  -f target/stm32f1x.cfg
   

   💡 See ~/.platformio/packages/tool-openocd/scripts/target for a full list of *.cfg files 💡

2. Then open a new Terminal (CTRL + SHIFT + `) and run the following to launch GDB for debugging:

   ~/.platformio/packages/toolchain-gccarmnoneeabi/bin/arm-none-eabi-gdb /path/to/marlin/.pio/build/YOUR_PIO_ENV/firmware.elf
   

   💡 Be sure to change the path to firmware.elf in the command above to match your build environment. 💡

3. In the same Terminal window as Step 2, run the following command to connect GDB to the ST-Link:

   tar ext:3333
   

Windows

1. In VSCode, open Terminal (CTRL + `) and run the following to configure OpenOCD (STM32F1):

   %USERPROFILE%\.platformio\packages\tool-openocd\bin\openocd -d2 -s %USERPROFILE%\.platformio\packages\tool-openocd\scripts -f interface\stlink.cfg  -f target\stm32f1x.cfg
   

   💡 See %USERPROFILE%\.platformio\packages\tool-openocd\scripts\target for a full list of *.cfg files 💡

2. Then open a new Terminal (CTRL + SHIFT + `) and run the following to launch GDB for debugging:

   %USERPROFILE%\.platformio\packages\toolchain-gccarmnoneeabi\bin\arm-none-eabi-gdb C:\path\to\marlin\.pio\build\YOUR_PIO_ENV\firmware.elf
   

   💡 Be sure to change the path to firmware.elf in the command above to match your build environment. 💡

3. In the same Terminal window as Step 2, run the following command to connect GDB to the ST-Link:

   tar ext:3333
   

Basic GDB Debugging Commands

from marlin.