TIL Debug any python file in VS Code

One of my frustrations with VisualStudio Code was creating a launch.json file whenever I wanted to debug a one-off Python file.

Today, I learned that you could add a debugger configuration to your user settings. This allows you always to have a debugging configuration available.

How to do this

Create a debugging (or launch) configuration:

Select the “Run and Debug” tab and click “create a launch.json file”

A screen capture that shows a VisualStudio Code window with the “Run and Debug” pane active. The link to create a launch.json file is highlighted.

2. Choose “Python File”

3. VS Code will generate a configuration for you. This is the one I used, where I changed the "justMyCode" to false , so I can step in to any Python code.

{
    "name": "Python: Current File",
    "type": "python",
    "request": "launch",
    "program": "${file}",
    "console": "integratedTerminal",
    "justMyCode": false
}

4. Copy the config (including the curly braces)

5. Open your user configuration ( ⌘ / Ctrl + , ) and search for “launch”.

6. Click “Edit in settings.json”

7. Add your configuration to the "configurations" list.

This is what mine looks like, for reference:

...
"launch": {
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Python: Current File",
            "type": "python",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${file}",
            "console": "integratedTerminal",
            "justMyCode": false
        }
    ],
    "compounds": []
}