VSCode Debugger

by jasonjmcghee

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About

Integrates with VS Code's debugging capabilities to enable interactive code debugging and expression evaluation.

Details

Author
jasonjmcghee
Repository
jasonjmcghee/claude-debugs-for-you
GitHub stars
301
License
MIT License
Categories
Design, Developer Tools, AI, Frontend, Infrastructure

Setting up with Highlight

This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:

  1. Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
  2. Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
  3. Configure the plugin with the settings below
    Plugin Name VSCode Debugger
    Command (node, npx, python, etc.) node
    Arguments
    • Argument 1 /Users/jason/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/jasonmcghee.claude-debugs-for-you/mcp-debug.js

    Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.

  4. Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches

From the repository

1. Download the extension from releases or VS Code Marketplace
2. Install the extension
- If using .vsix directly, go to the three dots in "Extensions" in VS Code and choose "Install from VSIX..."
3. You will see a new status menu item "Claude Debugs For You" which shows if it is running properly (check) or failed to startup (x)

<img width="314" alt="Screenshot 2025-03-22 at 9 51 22 PM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2cd65e0d-4c1d-4fb6-b9ea-3995149b4043" />

You can click this status menu for the commands available

<img width="510" alt="Screenshot 2025-03-22 at 9 59 22 PM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/54e339e3-81f8-4ef2-a201-6742aa2c97a8" />

<details>
<summary>If using stdio (classic, required for Claude Desktop)</summary>

4. Copy the stdio server path to your clipboard by searching vs code commands for "Copy MCP Debug Server stdio path to clipboard"

5. Paste the following (BUT UPDATE THE PATH TO THE COPIED ONE!) in your claude_desktop_config.json or edit accordingly if you use other MCP servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "debug": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-debug.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

6. Start Claude desktop (or other MCP client)
1. Note: You may need to restart it, if it was already running.
2. You can skip this step if using Continue/Cursor or other built-in to VS Code
</details>

<details>
<summary>If using /sse (e.g. Cursor)</summary>

4. Retrieve the MCP server sse address by using the "Copy MCP Debug Server sse address to clipboard" command
1. You can just write it out server URL of "http://localhost:4711/sse", or whatever port you setup in settings.
5. Add it wherever you need to based on your client
1. You may need to hit "refresh" depending on client: this is required in Cursor
6. Start MCP client
1. Note: You may need to restart it, if it was already running.
2. You can skip this step if using Continue/Cursor or other built-in to VS Code

</details>

Claude Desktop / Cursor

Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "vscode debugger": {
            "env": {},
            "args": [
                "/Users/jason/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/jasonmcghee.claude-debugs-for-you/mcp-debug.js"
            ],
            "shell": false,
            "command": "node"
        }
    }
}

Linux

{
    "env": [],
    "args": [
        "/Users/jason/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/jasonmcghee.claude-debugs-for-you/mcp-debug.js"
    ],
    "shell": false,
    "command": "node"
}

Macos

{
    "env": [],
    "args": [
        "/Users/jason/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/jasonmcghee.claude-debugs-for-you/mcp-debug.js"
    ],
    "shell": false,
    "command": "node"
}

Windows

{
    "env": [],
    "args": [
        "/Users/jason/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/jasonmcghee.claude-debugs-for-you/mcp-debug.js"
    ],
    "shell": false,
    "command": "node"
}
# <img src="./images/claude-debugs-for-you.png" width="64" height="64" alt="description" align="center"> Claude Debugs For You [![Badge](https://img.shields.io/badge/Visual%20Studio%20Marketplace-0.1.2-blue.svg)](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=JasonMcGhee.claude-debugs-for-you) _aka Vibe Debugging_ ### Enable Claude (or any other LLM) to interactively debug your code This is an [MCP](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/mcp) Server and VS Code extension which enables claude to interactively debug and evaluate expressions. That means it should also work with other models / clients etc. but I only demonstrate it with Claude Desktop and Continue here. It's language-agnostic, assuming debugger console support and valid launch.json for debugging in VSCode. ## Getting Started 1. Download the extension from [releases](https://github.com/jasonjmcghee/claude-debugs-for-you/releases/) or [VS Code Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=JasonMcGhee.claude-debugs-for-you) 2. Install the extension - If using `.vsix` directly, go to the three dots in "Extensions" in VS Code and choose "Install from VSIX..." 3. You will see a new status menu item "Claude Debugs For You" which shows if it is running properly (check) or failed to startup (x) <img width="314" alt="Screenshot 2025-03-22 at 9 51 22 PM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2cd65e0d-4c1d-4fb6-b9ea-3995149b4043" /> You can click this status menu for the commands available <img width="510" alt="Screenshot 2025-03-22 at 9 59 22 PM" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/54e339e3-81f8-4ef2-a201-6742aa2c97a8" /> ### Follow one of the options below, depending on your setup <details> <summary>If using stdio (classic, required for Claude Desktop)</summary> 4. Copy the stdio server path to your clipboard by searching vs code commands for "Copy MCP Debug Server stdio path to clipboard" 5. Paste the following (BUT UPDATE THE PATH TO THE COPIED ONE!) in your `claude_desktop_config.json` or edit accordingly if you use other MCP servers ``` { "mcpServers": { "debug": { "command": "node", "args": [ "/path/to/mcp-debug.js" ] } } } ``` 6. Start Claude desktop (or other MCP client) 1. Note: You may need to restart it, if it was already running. 2. You can skip this step if using Continue/Cursor or other built-in to VS Code </details> <details> <summary>If using `/sse` (e.g. Cursor)</summary> 4. Retrieve the MCP server sse address by using the "Copy MCP Debug Server sse address to clipboard" command 1. You can just write it out server URL of "http://localhost:4711/sse", or whatever port you setup in settings. 5. Add it wherever you need to based on your client 1. You may need to hit "refresh" depending on client: this is required in Cursor 6. Start MCP client 1. Note: You may need to restart it, if it was already running. 2. You can skip this step if using Continue/Cursor or other built-in to VS Code </details> ### You're ready to debug! _[VS Code Debugging Documentation](https://code.visualstudio.com/Docs/editor/debugging)_ Open a project containing a `.vscode/launch.json` with the first configuration setup to debug a specific file with `${file}`. See [Run an Example](#run-an-example) below, and/or watch a demo video. ## Contributing Find bugs or have an idea that will improve this? Please open a pull request or log an issue. Does this readme suck? Help me improve it! ## Demo ### Using [Continue](https://github.com/continuedev/continue) It figures out the problem, and then suggests a fix, which we just click to apply
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