Open-source educational IDE for STM32 – feedback from STM32 users

[Moussa1492]

Hi everyone,

I’m building an open-source desktop IDE for microcontroller learning and prototyping, mainly focused on Arduino and STM32.

The goal is not to replace professional tools like STM32CubeIDE, PlatformIO, Keil or IAR, but to provide a simpler learning-oriented workflow for students, technicians and training centers.

Current / planned features:

• Arduino and STM32 project creation
• Build / upload workflow
• Serial monitor and serial plotter
• STM32 debug with GDB/OpenOCD
• Register / memory / stack views
• Basic SVD peripheral view
• Static analysis with cppcheck / MISRA-light
• Coverage reports
• Crash / HardFault reporting
• Power profiling demo via UART/SWO-style events
• QEMU/Renode simulation experiments

I’m looking for honest feedback:

1. Would such a tool be useful for education or training?
2. Which feature would be most valuable?
3. What would make you trust or not trust this kind of tool?
4. Would it be better as a VS Code extension, standalone IDE, or educational toolkit?
5. What pain points do you have with current embedded IDEs?

I’m not trying to promote a paid product here. I’m trying to validate whether this project should continue as an open-source educational tool or pivot toward a smaller specialized utility.

Thanks for any critical feedback.

[Andrew Neil]

Doesn't the Arduino IDE already provide "a simpler learning-oriented workflow for students, technicians and training centers"?

Is it really beneficial to have students learn on something that is not used outside school?

Doing all the things you suggest would be a massive effort - Arduino, ST, et al have whole teams doing this stuff.

It does seem like an exercise in wheel-reinvention?

[Moussa1492]

You raise valid points, Andrew. The goal isn't to replace Arduino or CubeIDE but to layer an AI assistant on top of standard GCC/OpenOCD/GDB, across many MCU families. It's not a monolithic IDE built from scratch — it integrates existing toolchains and adds AI-driven fault explanation, code suggestions, and debugging guidance. The value is helping learners understand what's happening, not just where to click.

[Andrew Neil]

Well, that doesn't sound anything like what you described in the OP!

[Moussa1492]

You're right — the initial description didn't make that clear. 

 That's on me — the AI assistance and multi-MCU support were always part of the plan, but I clearly didn't explain them well in the original post. Appreciate you pointing out the mismatch; helps me get better at describing what's actually being built.

[Moussa1492]

I’m developing an open-source educational tool that helps learners understand and debug firmware, with a focus on STM32 but also covering AVR, ESP32, and other families.

It uses AI to:
- Explain build errors and runtime crashes in simple terms
- Suggest code fixes and generate peripheral setup code
- Guide debugging with register, memory, and SVD peripheral views

Underneath, it relies on GCC, GDB, and OpenOCD — the same toolchain STM32CubeIDE uses, so the skills transfer directly.

This is not a replacement for STM32CubeIDE. It’s a companion for students and trainees who need an intelligent, cross-platform learning environment.

I’m looking for feedback from the STM32 community:
- Would AI-guided debugging and error explanation help new STM32 users?
- Is there value in a multi-MCU learning tool, or would a dedicated STM32-only tool be better?
- What common CubeIDE stumbling blocks could AI help with?
- How should an AI assistant handle safety-critical firmware advice?

Not affiliated with ST. All honest thoughts welcome.

[Andrew Neil]

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@Moussa1492 wrote:

Here's a short reply that corrects it without sounding like you're changing your story:

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You're saying the quiet bit out loud!

:D