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Using Microchip Hardware Tools in Your Ecosystem of Choice (CMSIS-DAP)

Last modified by Microchip on 2026/04/17 16:38

Many developers prefer to work in Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and debug environments outside of MPLAB® X IDE, such as Keil®, IAR®, or open‑source tools like pyOCD and OpenOCD. The CMSIS‑DAP Switcher allows select Microchip programmer/debugger tools to integrate into these partner ecosystems, enabling a more flexible development workflow without changing hardware.

CMSIS-DAP Switcher

The CMSIS‑DAP Switcher updates the firmware running on the Microchip debug tool. When switched to CMSIS‑DAP v2 mode, the tool behaves like a standard Arm® CMSIS‑DAP probe and can be recognized by partner debug software that supports the CMSIS‑DAP protocol. When switched back, the tool resumes its native Microchip MPLAB tools functionality.

Some use cases for the CMSIS‑DAP Switcher are:

  • Debugging Arm‑based Microchip MCUs in Keil, IAR, or other CMSIS‑DAP‑compatible IDEs
  • Using open‑source debug stacks such as pyOCD or OpenOCD
  • Integrating Microchip hardware into CI/CD or automated test environments that rely on CMSIS‑DAP
  • Additionally, entering recovery mode for non-functioning programmer/debuggers 

The Switcher does have some limitations:

  • Switching to CMSIS‑DAP mode does not add support for non‑Arm targets.
  • Device support, debug features, and capabilities depend on the partner tool being used.
  • Some advanced features available in MPLAB tools may not be available in partner ecosystems.

Currently, the following Microchip programmer/debugger tools support CMSIS‑DAP switching:

  • MPLAB PICkit™ 5
  • MPLAB PICkit 4
  • MPLAB PICkit Basic
  • MPLAB Snap
  • Development boards incorporating the PKoB4 debugger

Support may vary depending on the board configuration and target device.

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