Build Zephyr projects with Workbench for Zephyr in VS Code
Introduction
Set up the Workbench for Zephyr development environment
Build a Zephyr application with Workbench for Zephyr
Analyze and debug a Zephyr application
Next Steps

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Set up your Zephyr development board and environment

In this section, you’ll learn how to create and build your first Zephyr application using Workbench for Zephyr. This step prepares you to customize, test, and expand real firmware projects on Arm Cortex-M boards. For this demonstration, you’ll use an NXP FRDM-MCXN947 development board as your target device. The same process works for any Zephyr-supported Arm Cortex-M board.

To see all compatible boards, visit the Zephyr Supported Boards list .

Depending on your board, you might need to install a different debug tool aka runner. The next section covers this setup.

Create the application

In the Workbench for Zephyr panel, select Create New Application.

Configure your project: - Select the workspace and SDK version. - Choose your target board (for example, NXP FRDM-MCXN947). - Select a sample application (for example, hello_world). - Enter a project name.

After you complete these steps, Workbench for Zephyr creates the project and prepares it for building.

Image Alt Text:Workbench for Zephyr Create New Application panel in VS Code showing fields for workspace selection, SDK version, target board, sample application, and project nameWorkbench for Zephyr Create New Application panel

Build the application

Select the Build button in Workbench for Zephyr or press Ctrl+Shift+B.

The build system compiles your application and links it against the Zephyr kernel and board-specific drivers.

Image Alt Text:Workbench for Zephyr build output panel in VS Code confirming a successful build, showing the memory region summary with FLASH and SRAM usage for the hello_world applicationWorkbench for Zephyr build output

Install board-specific debug utilities

To enable debugging on your target hardware, you might need to install additional tools based on the board vendor.

For the NXP FRDM-MCXN947, download and install the LinkServer debug utility:

Once installed, Workbench for Zephyr attempts to detect it automatically during a debug session. If you’re using a different board, see your vendor’s documentation to install the appropriate debug utility.

Note

If Workbench for Zephyr doesn’t automatically detect the installed debug runner, you can manually configure it. Open the Debug Manager from the Zephyr sidebar, and enter the full path to the runner executable.

Review the output

Check the build output in the VS Code output panel. Make sure there are no errors or warnings. A successful build displays:

    

        
        Building ‘hello_world’ for frdm_mcxn947
Memory region         Used Size  Region Size  % Used
           FLASH:      19844 B         1 MB      1.9%
            SRAM:       4048 B       256 KB      1.5%

Code walkthrough: hello_world

The following code shows a basic Zephyr application that prints a message to the console:

    

        
        
#include <zephyr/kernel.h>
#include <zephyr/stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    printk("Hello World! %s\n", CONFIG_BOARD_TARGET); // Prints board name to serial console
    return 0;
}

CONFIG_BOARD_TARGET expands to your target board and revision identifier.

Try this: modify and rebuild

Now that the app works, try editing the message in printk() or changing the board target in the application settings. Then rebuild and observe the output. This helps verify that your toolchain and workspace respond correctly to code and config changes.

With your first Zephyr application successfully built, you’re ready to take the next step, which is debugging. In the next section, you’ll launch a debug session, set breakpoints, and perform memory analysis using Workbench for Zephyr. These skills help you validate and optimize applications running on real Arm Cortex-M hardware.

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