Debugger Auto Attach by Name

VS Code extension that monitors running Windows processes and auto-attaches the cppvsdbg debugger to processes whose names match the configured list.

Actual Extension Identity

• Package name: dbg-auto
• Display name: Debugger Auto Attach by Name
• Command: dbg-auto.toggle
• Configuration key: dbg-auto.processNames

Requirements

• Node.js: 20.10.0 or newer
• VS Code: 1.75.0 or newer
• Microsoft C/C++ extension installed: ms-vscode.cpptools
• Windows host (uses tasklist and cppvsdbg)

Build and Package

Run commands in this folder:

npm install
npm run compile

To create a .vsix package:

npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package --allow-missing-repository

Install

1. Open VS Code.
2. Open Extensions view.
3. Select ... in the Extensions panel.
4. Choose Install from VSIX... and pick the generated .vsix file.

How to Use

This extension does not add a custom launch.json debugger type.

1. Set process names in VS Code settings:

"dbg-auto.processNames": [
  "slch.exe",
  "ConverterSvr.exe"
]

2. Start monitoring with command:

Debug: Toggle Auto-Attach Monitoring

3. While monitoring is active, the extension polls process list every 1.5 seconds.
4. For each matching process that is not attached yet, it starts a debug attach session using:

• debugger type: cppvsdbg
• request: attach
• process id: detected PID

5. Use the same command again to stop monitoring.

UI and Logs

• Status bar button reflects monitoring state and toggles start/stop.
• Output channel: Debug: Auto Attach Log.

Development Notes

After changing src/extension.ts:

1. Run npm run compile.
2. Press F5 in the extension workspace to launch Extension Development Host.
3. Use Developer: Reload Window in that host to reload the extension.