Breakpoint Server

A VS Code extension that serves all editor breakpoints and project info as JSON over HTTP.

Features

• HTTP server returns all VS Code breakpoints as JSON via GET /get-breakpoints
• Project info endpoint via GET /info — returns workspace name and path
• Command Palette commands:
  • Show Breakpoints Output — opens breakpoints in a new untitled JSON file
  • Get Breakpoint Server Port — shows a notification with the current active port
• Configurable port (default: 4567) with auto-fallback when port is in use
• Port changes are applied at runtime without reloading VS Code
• Auto-starts when VS Code opens

Usage

HTTP Server

The server starts automatically when VS Code opens. All endpoints are GET-only.

Get breakpoints

curl http://localhost:4567/get-breakpoints

Response:

[
  {
    "filepath": "/home/user/projects/app/src/main.c",
    "line_number": 42
  },
  {
    "filepath": "/home/user/projects/app/src/utils.c",
    "line_number": 15
  }
]

• filepath — Absolute file path using forward slashes (/) regardless of platform
• line_number — 1-based (matches what the editor shows in the gutter)

Get project info

curl http://localhost:4567/info

Response:

{
  "projectName": "my-app",
  "projectPath": "/home/user/my-app"
}

If no workspace is open, both values are null. With multiple workspace folders, the first folder is used.

Routes

Command Palette

• Show Breakpoints Output (Ctrl+Shift+P) — opens the breakpoint list in a new untitled JSON document
• Get Breakpoint Server Port (Ctrl+Shift+P) — shows a notification with the port the server is currently listening on

Multi-Instance Support

If you have multiple VS Code windows open, they can't share the same port. The extension handles this automatically:

1. Tries the configured port (e.g. 4567)
2. If it's in use, tries 4568, 4569, etc. (up to 10 attempts)
3. Shows a warning notification when falling back to an alternate port
4. Use Get Breakpoint Server Port to check which port any given instance is using

The configured port becomes the "preferred starting port" — each VS Code instance scans upward from it.

Configuration

Port values must be whole numbers from 1 to 65535. Invalid values fall back to 4567.

Set via VS Code Settings or settings.json:

{
  "breakpointServer.port": 8080
}

Changes take effect immediately — no reload required.

API

The extension uses the vscode.debug.breakpoints API to read all breakpoints set in the editor.

• Returns source breakpoints (file + line)
• Uses file path when available, falls back to URI
• Paths are absolute and normalized to forward slashes (/)
• Output is sorted by filepath, then line number

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

Build .vsix

npm run build

This compiles TypeScript and packages the extension into a .vsix file.

Run tests

npm run test

One-click tests in VS Code

• Open Run and Debug (Ctrl+Shift+D)
• Select Run Unit Tests
• Press F5

This runs all Node-based unit tests in the integrated terminal.

License

MIT