10. Quick Start for Renesas RX

10.1. Supported Environments

Operating System	Windows: Windows 10 / Windows 11 Linux: Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04 macOS: macOS 14 Sonoma (Apple silicon)
VS Code version	1.96.0 (minimum)

VS Code can be downloaded and installed from this page https://code.visualstudio.com/.

10.2. Installation

Windows

To utilise the Renesas VS Code extensions on Windows, it’s necessary to install “CMake” and “Ninja Build” for project build operations.

Manual Steps

You can install “CMake” and “Ninja Build” by downloading their latest installers.

Step 1: Install the latest “CMake” for Windows.

1. Download the latest version of CMake for Windows.

   https://cmake.org/download/

2. Install CMake for Windows.

   Important

   You must add the CMake folders to the “Path” environment variable. The Windows Installer of CMake has an option to modify the system’s environment variables and add the CMake folders to the “Path” variable. Please select this option during installation. If you are not using the installer or this option is not selected during installation, please use the following notes to manually add CMake’s bin folder to the Path variable.

Step 2: Install the latest “Ninja Build” for Windows.

1. Download the latest version of Ninja for Windows.

   https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja/releases/

2. Extract the downloaded zip file (ninja-win.zip) and place the ninja.exe into a folder.

   (e.g.: C:\Tools\ninja-build\ninja.exe).

Step 3: Configure the “Path” environment variable.

1. Open the System Environment Variables configuration, and add the following variables:

   1. Add the path of CMake’s bin folder if it is not defined during the CMake installation.

      (e.g. C:\Program Files\CMake\bin).

   2. Add the path of the ninja.exe folder. (e.g. C:\Tools\ninja-build).

   Guide for managing System Environment Variables

   1. Use Windows Search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      

   2. In the “Advanced” tab, click on the “Environment Variables…” button to open the “Environment Variables” dialog.

   3. Select to edit the “Path”.

      

   4. Add CMake’s bin folder to the “Path” environment variable, then perform the following steps:

   5. Add the path of CMake’s bin folder if it is not defined during the CMake installation. (e.g. C:\Program Files\CMake\bin).

   6. Add the path of the ninja.exe folder. (e.g. C:\Tools\ninja-build).

Using “winget”

Alternatively, Windows Prerequisites can be installed with Windows Package Manager Command Line Tool winget ^(*). Please run the following commands in Windows Command Prompt:

winget install Kitware.CMake
winget install Ninja-build.Ninja

^(*) The winget is a command line tool enables users to discover, install, upgrade, remove and configure applications on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers. This tool is the client interface to the Windows Package Manager service. It is a straightforward process if you want to use winget package manager for CMake and Ninja Build installation. For more information about winget, please visit: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/

Installing Python 3.10:

1. Install the 64-bit version of the Python 3.10 into your system.

   https://www.python.org/downloads/

2. Add the path of the folder the Python 3.10 into the “Path” environment variable.

   Guide to add Python 3.10 folder into the “Path” environment variable

   1. Use Window search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      

   2. In “Advanced” tab, click on “Environment Variables…” button to open “Environment Variables” dialog

   3. Select to edit “Path”

      

   4. Add the path of Python 3.10 folder

      

   5. Click OK to close the dialog

Installing the latest RX Smart Configurator (RX SC):

Download and install the latest version of RX Smart Configurator

• https://www.renesas.com/en/software-tool/rx-smart-configurator#downloads

Installing Toolchains for RX Development:

Install one of the preferred toolchains for RX Project Build. It is recommended to use either “CC-RX” or “GCC for Renesas GNURX”.

Installing and Configuring “CC-RX” toolchain

For installing “CC-RX”:

1. Download and install the latest toolchain:

   https://www.renesas.com/us/en/software-tool/cc-compiler-package-rx-family

2. Add the bin folder of the toolchain as “RENESAS_RXC_TOOLCHAIN_PATH” to the environment variables.

   Configuring RENESAS_RXC_TOOLCHAIN_PATH environment variable

   1. Use Window search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      

   2. In “Advanced” tab, click on “Environment Variables…” button to open “Environment Variables” dialog

   3. Click to “New…”.

      

   4. Enter the “RENESAS_RXC_TOOLCHAIN_PATH” to the Variable name field, and click to “Browse Directory…” to select the bin folder of the toolchain. Then click “OK”.

      

Note

For building CC-RX projects without using RX Smart Configurator, add “BIN_RX”, “INC_RX” and “TMP_RX” variables to the environment variables with the following values:

• BIN_RX: bin folder of the CC-RX toolchain (e.g.: C:\Toolchains\CCRX\3_6_0\bin).

• INC_RX: include folder of the CC-RX toolchain (e.g.: C:\Toolchains\CCRX\3_6_0\include).

• TMP_RX: root folder of the CC-RX toolchain (e.g.: C:\Toolchains\CCRX\3_6_0).

Installing and Configuring “GCC for Renesas GNURX” toolchain

For installing “GCC for Renesas GNURX”:

1. Download and install the latest toolchain:

   https://llvm-gcc-renesas.com/rx-download-toolchains/

2. Add the bin folder of the toolchain as “RENESAS_GCCRX_TOOLCHAIN_PATH” to the environment variables.

   Note

   Configuring RENESAS_GCCRX_TOOLCHAIN_PATH environment variable:

   1. Use Window search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      

   2. In “Advanced” tab, click on “Environment Variables…” button to open “Environment Variables” dialog

   3. Click to “New…”.

      

   4. Enter the “RENESAS_GCCRX_TOOLCHAIN_PATH” to the Variable name field, and click to “Browse Directory…” to select the bin folder of the toolchain. Then click “OK”.

      

Installing Emulator Drivers

You may need to download and install additional USB drivers for establishing a proper connection with the emulators and devices. Please install the latest drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the drivers suitable for your operating system and device:

Using Renesas Emulators:

If you are using Renesas Emulators, please install the latest drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the drivers suitable for your operating system and device:

• E1 Emulators

• E2/E2 Lite Emulators

For other Renesas emulators, please check for any recommended drivers:

• https://www.renesas.com/eu/en/design-support/software-and-tool

Using SEGGER J-Link Connection:

Install the latest SEGGER J-Link drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the J-Link drivers suitable for your operating system:

• Segger JLink Downloads

Ubuntu 22.04

Installing the Dependent Packages:

• Run the following commands to refresh the package lists, and install the dependent packages:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install cmake ninja-build libusb-1.0-0-dev python3.10-dev
  

Ubuntu 24.04

Installing the Dependent Packages:

• Run the following commands to refresh the package lists, and install the dependent packages:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install cmake ninja-build libusb-1.0-0-dev
  

Installing Python 3.10:

• Install Python 3.10 libraries for debugging in device families Dialog, RA, RL78, RX and RZ. Python 3.10 is not directly accessible at the default APT repository of Ubuntu 24.04, you can use the 3rd party repository (ppa:deadsnakes/ppa) to install Python 3.10 by following the instructions below:

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install python3.10-dev
  

macOS

Note

Installation steps for macOS are using Homebrew (brew), which is an open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software for macOS. For installation and more information about Homebrew, please refer to https://brew.sh/.

To utilise the build and debug with Renesas extensions on macOS, it’s necessary to install:

• CMake

• Ninja Build

• XZ Archive Utilities

• Python 3.10: Specific version of the Python is required for debugging Dialog, RA, RL78 and RX device families on macOS

You can install these dependencies by performing the following steps:

1. Install the required packages by using brew install cmake ninja xz python@3.10 command.

   $ brew install cmake ninja xz python@3.10
   

2. Check CMake version: You can verify the current installed version of CMake by running cmake –version command as shown below:

   $ cmake --version
   

3. Check Ninja Build version: You can also verify the current installed version of Ninja Build by running ninja –version command as shown below:

   $ ninja --version
   

10.3. Creating a Project

Smart Configurator can be accessed from the VS Code command palette to create a project for the RX device family.

1. Open [Command Palette] and select [Renesas: Create RX Project with Smart Configurator] from the commands.

   

2. VSCode will show installed [RX Smart Configurator] list, select a [Smart Configurator] from the list.

   

   Note

   If an RX Smart Configurator is not detected automatically, the message “No RX Smart Configurator installation found!” will be displayed in VSCode:

   

   Please click “Browse RX SC”, then select the location of the RX Smart Configurator binary (“SmartConfigurator.exe” for Windows). When a select file dialog window appears, the extension will automatically store the location of the RX Smart Configurator for the next use.

3. Select a [Folder] to create the project.

   

4. Enter [File name], configure your board and device type, select either [Renesas RXC Toolchain] or [GCC RX Toolchain], and then click [Next].

   

5. Choose one of the [Bank mode setting] (applicable for some devices) then click [Finish] to complete the project creation steps.

   

6. Click [Generate Code] and close [RX Smart Configurator] after generation of the project files completes.

   

10.4. Building the Project

For building a project, which has been created with RX Smart Configurator, please follow the steps below:

1. In the VS Code Command Palette, run the “CMake: Delete Cache and Reconfigure” command.

   

2. In the first time of running, a kit selection is shown. Select “[Unspecified]”.

   

3. In VS Code, click [Terminal] ⇒ [Run Build Task] from the menu. Alternatively, press ctrl+shift+B to quickly open the Build task.

   

4. Select [Build Project] from the commands.

   

TIP: For more information about RX Smart Configurator, click here to visit the RX Smart Configurator page.

10.5. Debugging the Project

A debug session can be started by selecting the created configuration and clicking the [Start Debugging] button in the [Run and Debug] tab, or pressing [F5] from the keyboard.

When VS Code starts the debug session, common debug control flow functions like resume, suspend, step into, step over, step out, restart, terminate debug session can be performed via the debug flow control buttons. Also, the [Debug Console] view will contain useful messages during the debug session.

During the debug session, details about the local variables, device registers, call stack, watched variables, states of the peripherals can be accessed at the primary sidebar of VS Code in the [Run and Debug] tab.