Using Tracealyzer with MPLAB X IDE

Percepio Tracealyzer is a stand-alone application for visualizing RTOS traces, and has a plugin for Microchip MPLAB X IDE. This allows you to save a trace snapshot from the Percepio TraceRecorder library via the MPLAB debugger and open them in Tracealyzer. This works with FreeRTOS, Zephyr and other platforms, including bare-metal applications.

Version 2.3.1 of the plugin was released in July 2025 and has been tested with several 32-bit Microchip MCUs including PIC32MZ, SAM-E70 and PIC32CK. This supports Arm-based devices and recent version of the MPLAB X IDE (v6.20+).

Plugin Installation
To install the Tracealyzer Export Plugin in MPLAB X IDE, follow these steps:

• Download mplab-plugin.zip and extract the plugin file, “org-percepio-tracealyzerexportplugin.nbm”.
• In MPLAB X IDE, select Tools -> Plugins.
• Select “Downloaded” tab, and there click “Add Plugins…”.
• In the file browser, find and select “org-percepio-tracealyzerexportplugin.nbm”.
• Click the “Install” button.

Usage

Integrate TraceRecorder in your project, as described here.

Before starting your debug session in MPLAB X IDE, first start the plugin (“Tracealyzer Export Plugin”). This is found in the “Tools” menu, under “Embedded”.

When in a debug session and the system is halted, i.e., on a breakpoint or during single-step debugging, the “Save Trace” button is enabled. This saves the trace data to the specified file, that you then open in Tracealyzer by selecting File -> Open -> Open File…

An example trace from a PIC32CK board is shown below.