| # Debugger (zxdb) | |
| Zxdb is a console debugger for native code compiled with DWARF symbols (C, C++ | |
| and Rust). The frontend runs on the host computer and connects to the on-device | |
| `debug_agent`. This document describes how to set up these processes. | |
| ## Connecting the client | |
| The `zxdb` client program is run on the host computer. It can be connected to | |
| the `debug_agent` via the interactive `connect` debugger command or it can | |
| automatically connect based on a command-line flag. Both IPv4 and IPv6 | |
| addresses are supported (see [ffx](https://fuchsia.dev/reference/tools/sdk/ffx.md) to find | |
| the address). | |
| ``` | |
| zxdb -c "[f370::5051:ff:1e53:589a%qemu]" | |
| ``` | |
| ### Connecting via a script | |
| Scripts may want to automatically launch the agent and client automatically. | |
| The script should wait for the port to be open on the target system before | |
| launching the client. Automatic retry is not yet implemented in the client. | |
| To clean up the debug agent gracefully when the client exits, pass the | |
| `--quit-agent-on-exit` command-line flag to the client. | |
| ## Specifying symbol paths | |
| The debugger expects unstripped ELF files to be available on the local host | |
| system. Symbols on the target are not used. The location where the local build | |
| stores symbols must be passed to the `zxdb` client. | |
| For more information on how to specify symbol paths, see [set the symbol | |
| location](/docs/development/debugger/README.md#set-symbol-location) |