Debug80 Documentation
Technical documentation for the Debug80 Z80 debugger extension and the AZM assembler for Visual Studio Code. The reader-facing Debug80 and AZM books come first. Engineering manuals for the TypeScript codebases are collected separately below.
Publications
Debug80 Book 1 — Getting Started
A guided Debug80 book that starts from installation and walks through creating a TEC-1G project, building and stepping code, inspecting the machine, using the panel, reading artifacts, and sending HEX to hardware.
For readers who want a book-shaped route through the Debug80 workflow.
AZM Books and Manual
A three-book course in Z80 assembly programming, plus a supplementary AZM assembler manual, using the AZM assembler (@jhlagado/azm from the terminal, or the same assembler when you assemble and debug .asm with Debug80 in VS Code).
- AZM Book 1 — Z80 Fundamentals starts from no prior knowledge and covers the Z80 from bare machine code through ops, layout types, and register contracts.
- AZM Book 2 — Programming the TEC-1G is an in-progress hardware-focused book on MON-3, Debug80, keypad input, LCD text, seven-segment scanning, sound, the 8x8 RGB add-on, and larger TEC-1G programs.
- AZM Book 3 — Algorithms and Data Structures works through sorting, searching, recursion, composition, pointer structures, and larger AZM program design.
- AZM Book 4 — Assembler Manual is a supplementary reference-style book for experienced assembly programmers learning AZM syntax, directives, layout types, ops, diagnostics, and output formats.
For programmers learning Z80 assembly or the AZM language.
Engineering Manuals
These manuals are for contributors working on the TypeScript implementations rather than readers learning Z80, AZM, or the Debug80 user workflow.
Debug80 Engineering Manual
A seventeen-chapter engineering reference covering every layer of the Debug80 codebase: the DAP session model, the launch pipeline, the Z80 CPU emulator, all three platform runtimes, the extension UI and webview panels, source mapping, and a practical guide to extending the debugger.
For engineers who need to understand, modify, or extend Debug80.
AZM Engineering Manual
A technical reference for engineers working on the AZM assembler implementation: repository layout, source loading, parsing, assembly, Z80 emission, ops, register-care analysis, artifact writing, public APIs, and verification.
For engineers who need to understand, modify, or extend AZM.
About Debug80
Debug80 is a VS Code debugger extension for Z80 assembly programs targeting the TEC-1, TEC-1G, and compatible hardware. It provides full source-level debugging: breakpoints, step over/into/out, memory inspection, register editing, and platform-specific hardware emulation.
Source: github.com/jhlagado/debug80