Copy Launch Command
Copies the shell command equivalent of a launch.json debug configuration to the clipboard,
so you can paste it into a terminal, a Slurm script, or a bug report.
Currently generates commands for Python (debugpy / python) launch configurations.
Where the action lives
VS Code does not expose the ... overflow at the top of the Run and Debug container to
extensions, so the action is surfaced in the four places that are available:
| Location |
How |
launch.json |
A Copy launch command CodeLens above each Python configuration. Most direct. |
| Command palette |
Copy Launch Command — pick any configuration from a list. |
launch.json editor |
Right-click in the file, or the editor title ... menu. |
| Run and Debug panel |
The ... overflow of the Variables / Watch / Call Stack / Breakpoints views. |
What it handles
program, module (-m), and code (-c) targetsargs as an array (each element quoted) or as a string (passed through verbatim)env (KEY=value cmd on POSIX, $env:KEY='value'; cmd on PowerShell)envFile (set -a && . file && set +a && on POSIX)cwd (prefixes cd only when it differs from the workspace folder)- The interpreter selected in the Python extension, or a per-config
python / pythonPath
- Variable substitution:
${workspaceFolder}, ${file} and its variants, ${env:X},
${config:x.y}, ${userHome}, ${pathSeparator}, ${lineNumber}, ${selectedText},
${workspaceFolder:name}, and ${input:id} (prompts you, exactly like a real launch)
Anything that cannot be represented in a shell — ${command:...}, envFile on PowerShell,
template debugging flags — is reported as a caveat next to the copied command, with a
Show details button that opens the full list.
Attach configurations and non-Python types are declined with an explanation rather than a
guessed command.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Meaning |
copyLaunchCommand.pythonInterpreter |
"" |
Override the interpreter. Empty means ask the Python extension, then fall back to python3. |
copyLaunchCommand.shell |
auto |
posix or powershell quoting. auto picks by platform. |
copyLaunchCommand.includeCwd |
auto |
When to prefix cd. |
copyLaunchCommand.relativePaths |
true |
Shorten paths inside the working directory to ./relative. |
copyLaunchCommand.codeLens |
true |
Show the CodeLens in launch.json. |
Developing
npm install
npm run compile # or: npm run watch
Press F5 to open an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.
