Debug remotely with CDB

In remote mode, the local CDB process talks to a CDB process that runs on the remote machine. The process is started with special command-line options that switch it into server mode. The remote CDB process must load the Qt Creator CDB extension library that is shipped with Qt Creator:

  1. Install the Debugging Tools for Windows on the remote machine. The installation folder has the CDB command-line executable (cdb.exe).
  2. Copy the Qt Creator CDB extension library and the dependencies from the Qt installation directory to a new folder on the remote machine (32 or 64 bit version depending on the version of the Debugging Tools for Windows used):
    • \lib\qtcreatorcdbext32 (32 bit)
    • \lib\qtcreatorcdbext64 (64 bit)
  3. Set the _NT_DEBUGGER_EXTENSION_PATH environment variable to point to that folder.
  4. To use TCP/IP as communication protocol, launch remote CDB as follows:
    cdb.exe -server tcp:port=1234 <executable>
  5. On the local machine running Qt Creator, select Debug > Start Debugging > Attach to Remote CDB Session.
  6. In the Connection field enter the connection parameters. For example, for TCP/IP:
    Server:Port

    If you chose some other protocol, specify one of the alternative formats:

    tcp:server=Server,port=Port[,password=Password][,ipversion=6]
    tcp:clicon=Server,port=Port[,password=Password][,ipversion=6]
    npipe:server=Server,pipe=PipeName[,password=Password]
    com:port=COMPort,baud=BaudRate,channel=COMChannel[,password=Password]
    spipe:proto=Protocol,{certuser=Cert|machuser=Cert},server=Server,pipe=PipeName[,password=Password]
    ssl:proto=Protocol,{certuser=Cert|machuser=Cert},server=Server,port=Socket[,password=Password]
    ssl:proto=Protocol,{certuser=Cert|machuser=Cert},clicon=Server,port=Socket[,password=Password]
  7. Click OK to start debugging.

To specify settings for managing the CDB process, go to Preferences > Debugger > CDB.

See also How To: Debug, CDB, Debugging, Debuggers, and Debugger.

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