.NET Fast Debug
A minimal VS Code extension for starting and debugging .NET projects directly from a .csproj file.
Right-click a .csproj file and select .NET Fast Debug > Debug in New Terminal.
Features
- Builds the selected project in
Debug configuration.
- Finds the generated
.dll under bin/Debug.
- Starts the application with the VS Code
coreclr debugger.
- Uses the integrated terminal as the application console.
- Creates or updates a
.vscode/tasks.json build task.
- Uses that task as
preLaunchTask, so restarting the debugger rebuilds the project first.
Demo
Start debugging from the .csproj
Use the Explorer context menu to launch the selected project without manually creating a launch.json entry.
Reload debug and rebuild automatically
The green reload button in the VS Code debug toolbar works with the generated preLaunchTask, so restarting the session rebuilds the project before attaching again.
Requirements
This extension depends on the official C# extension (ms-dotnettools.csharp), which provides the coreclr debugger.
You also need the .NET SDK available in your terminal path.
Usage
- Open a workspace that contains a .NET project.
- Right-click a
.csproj file in the Explorer.
- Select
.NET Fast Debug > Debug in New Terminal.
- Use the debug toolbar reload button to restart the session with a fresh build when needed.
Development
This section is only for contributors or anyone who wants to run the extension from source. It is not required to use the extension after installing it in VS Code.
Install project dependencies:
npm install
Open this folder in VS Code and press F5 to start an Extension Development Host.
Useful scripts:
npm run compile: compile the extension.npm run watch: recompile automatically during development.npm run lint: run ESLint.npm test: compile the extension.
Packaging
Generate a local .vsix package:
npm run package
Install the generated package manually in VS Code with:
code --install-extension dotnet-fast-debug-1.0.0.vsix
Publish to the Visual Studio Marketplace:
npm run publish:marketplace
Publishing requires a Marketplace publisher account and a Personal Access Token configured for vsce.
