vscode-cpptools/Documentation/Building the Extension.md

How to build and debug the Microsoft CppTools Extension

These steps will allow you to debug the TypeScript code that is part of the Microsoft CppTools extension for Visual Studio Code.

Prerequisite steps:

• Clone the release branch of this repository.
  • git clone -b release https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-cpptools
• Install node.
• Install yarn.
• From a command line, run the following commands from the Extension folder in the root of the repository:
  • yarn install will install the dependencies needed to build the extension.
  • (optional) yarn global add vsce will install vsce globally to create a VSIX package that you can install.
• (optional) Set an environment variable CPPTOOLS_DEV=1.
  • This enables the local developer workflow when testing the debugger, copying dependencies from the node_modules folder. Testing the language server does not require this step.
• Open the Extension folder in Visual Studio Code and press F5. This will launch a VS Code Extension Host window and activate the TypeScript debugger. You can set breakpoints on the extension source code and debug your scenario.