Debugging can either make or break your development experience. Fortunately, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has become a powerful tool for developers wanting to debug effectively. Whether you are just starting or you code for a living, being able to debug confidently in VS Code can help you be more productive and produce cleaner code, without errors.
In this tutorial, we’ll share the debugging tools available to you in VS Code, and explain how to use them step-by-step.
🔧 Why Use VS Code for Debugging?
VS Code is not just a text editor; it is a lightweight integrated development environment (IDE) with many smart features. This is why developers prefer it for debugging:
Integrated debugger allowing breakpoints, watch expressions and conditional breakpoints
Integrated terminal
Real-time variable inspection
Extensible, with debugging extensions such as Dart/Flutter
Multiple language support JavaScript, Python, C++, etc.
🚀 Step-by-Step Guide to Debugging in VS Code
- Install the Correct Language Extension
Before you can debug in VS Code, make sure you have installed the language extension for the programming language you are using; for example:
🔗 Pro Tip: Check out the VS Code Marketplace for more language support tools!
- Set Breakpoints
A breakpoint stops your program at a specific line of code (your breakpoint) so you can inspect the running code.
Click to the left of the line number or press F9
You can set multiple breakpoints to track the execution of your code
🧠 Use them to see how variable changes from line to line!
- Once you have set your breakpoints:
Open the Run and Debug panel (the left side bar or Ctrl + Shift + D)
Click Run and Debug or press F5
Select the appropriate environment (e.g. Node.js, Python…)
VS Code may automatically create a launch.json configuration file for you.
- Use the Debug Toolbar
Now the debugger is running, use the debug toolbar to operate debugging execution:
▶️ Continue (F5)
⏸ Pause
⏩ Step Over (F10)
⬇️ Step Into (F11)
⬆️ Step Out (Shift+F11)
🛑 Stop (Shift+F5)
- Watch Variables and Expressions
Use the WATCH Panel for elements you would like to follow:
Add variables by hand and they will keep track of the value
Variables will be kept updated in real time as you move through code
You can also hover over variables in the editor to see the current value.
- Use Call Stack & Breakpoint Log
In the CALL STACK panel you can see the order of function executions.
You can also see logs if you use console.log() or print() for extra information when debugging.
🛠 Pro tips for faster debugging
🧩Use Extensions such as Quokka.js for
🔄Turn on Auto Save to not miss updates while debugging
⚙️ Tailor the launch.json for intricate multi-file applications
🗂Employ Debug Console to run expressions ad hoc
📌 Final Words
Keep learning about breakpoints, watch expressions, and stack tracing — all of which contribute to an even more efficient debugging experience in the future.
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