Introduction to STM32CubeIDE

STM32CubeIDE with STM32CubeMX integrated


1. What is STM32CubeIDE

STM32CubeIDE is an all-in-one multi-OS development tool, which is part of the STM32Cube software ecosystem.
For a complete description of STM32CubeIDE, as well as download links refer to the STM32CubeIDE product page.

2. Getting started with STM32 and STM32CubeIDE

Getting started in STM32CubeIDE. Maybe you are a completely new user to the STM32 products and ecosystem or maybe you are looking to migrate a legacy STM32 project into STM32CubeIDE.

Regardless of your background and your ambitions with STM32CubeIDE, we recommend that you start by creating a simple Empty project to try out the build and debug related features on a minimal project. Consult the STM32CubeIDE Quick start guide for basic information and the STM32CubeIDE User manual for detailed information. Or why not watch a quick video tutorial on how to create an STM32Cube project?

If your ambition is to migrate a project from the Ac6 System Workbench for STM32 or Atollic TrueSTUDIO®, then the documentation on how to import and convert your project is available on "Manuals and release notes" section below.

There are also specific application notes on how to get started with application development for more complex STM32 products such as STM32H7 dual-core, STM32L5 with TrustZone. These application notes are available on Application Notes section below.

Documentation is also available as part of STM32CubeIDE installation. To access documentation go to Help > Information Center.

STM32CubeIDE Information Center, accessed via Help menu


The STM32 device specific application notes are deliberately not part of installation since they may be updated more frequently.

3. Videos related to STM32CubeIDE

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How to use STM32CubeIDE

Some videos tutorials have been created to explain the STM32CubeIDE's principles around project creation, build and launch configurations, debug:

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STM32CubeIDE Tutorials

A specific video has been created to show users how to quickly get started with STM32L5 using various STM32Cube tools including STM32CubeIDE:

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How to enable TrustZone® and start a project with STM32L5

The following YouTube playlists contains several videos where you can learn about STM32CubeIDE basics and advanced debug features:

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MOOC - STM32CubeIDE Basics (12 videos)

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STM32CubeIDE Advanced Debug Features (5 videos)

4. Other resources related to STM32CubeIDE

The documentation resources related to STM32CubeIDE are continuously growing and hosted in different formats. The sub chapters below list various documents, with links for easy access.

4.1. Release note and errata

RN0114 STM32CubeIDE release note

The list of known and fixed issues were part of the release note up to and including 1.6.1. For later releases the list of known and fixed issues are hosted as wiki articles to facilitate quick and easy updates.

4.2. Manuals

UM2609 STM32CubeIDE User manual
UM2553 STM32CubeIDE Quick start guide
UM2563 STM32CubeIDE installation guide
UM2576 STM32CubeIDE ST-LINK GDB server user manual
UM2578 Migration guide from TrueSTUDIO to STM32CubeIDE
UM2579 Migration guide from System Workbench to STM32CubeIDE
UM1718 STM32CubeMX for STM32 configuration and initialization C code generation

4.3. Data Brief and License agreement

DB3871 STM32CubeIDE data brief
SLA0048 STM32CubeIDE license agreement

4.4. Application Notes

AN5361 Getting started with projects based on dual-core STM32H7 microcontrollers in STM32CubeIDE
AN5394 Getting started with projects based on the STM32L5 Series in STM32CubeIDE
AN5564 Getting started with projects based on dual-core STM32WL microcontrollers in STM32CubeIDE
AN4296 Use STM32F3/STM32G4 CCM SRAM with IAR Embedded Workbench®, Keil® MDKARM, STMicroelectronics STM32CubeIDE and other GNU-based toolchains

4.5. Toolchain and Build tools manuals (GNU, Binary utilities, Newlib, Make, GDB…)

The following manuals are available in STM32CubeIDE and can be opened from STM32CubeIDE Information Center. To access documentation go to Help > Information Center.

  • GNU Assembler
  • GNU Compiler collection
  • GNU C Library
  • GNU C preprocessor
  • GNU Linker
  • GNU Binary utilities
  • Red Hat Newlib C library
  • Red Hat Newlib Math library
  • Newlib nano readme
  • Make
  • Debugging with GDB
  • GDB Quick reference card
  • GNU Tools for STM32 patch list

4.6. Forum Knowledge Articles

The STM32CubeIDE forum contains Knowledge Articles which answers many common questions. Examples:

  • How to use semihosting with STM32CubeIDE and STM32
  • How to install STM32CubeIDE on Mac with M1 core
  • How to import CA certificates into JRE truststore
  • etc.

The forum knowledge articles are available here

4.7. STM32MPU Wiki

The STM32 Arm Cortex - based MPUs user guide wiki is available here

5. Example projects

Example projects are available in the various STM32Cube firmware packages. Not all devices have example projects in native STM32CubeIDE formats, in these cases the import/convert features from System Workbench for STM32 format can be used.