Visual Studio Code - Node debugger breakpoints not being hit - visual-studio-code

Question

I am trying to use VSCode to debug a node app I am running.
I launch the app in a separate terminal and then use the attach to process configuration to hook into it.
The attaching works correctly and I get a side panel that says 'loaded scripts' with the files in my project. If I click on one of those and set breakpoints there it will work correctly.
If I set a breakpoint on a file I open through the VSCode editor the breakpoint is greyed out and when I hover over it will say 'Breakpoint set but not yet bound'.
How can I make it so that the breakpoints I set on the code are bound?

Answer 1

Try this configuration in your launch file:
{
"name": "Attach to Process",
"type": "node",
"protocol": "inspector",
"request": "attach",
"stopOnEntry": false,
"port": 5858,
"localRoot": "${workspaceRoot}",
"remoteRoot": "/somepath/myprojectroot",
"sourceMaps": true
}
Make sure the remoteRoot is correct path, otherwise it won't know where to look for the source files.

Answer 2

On the VSCode settings search for 'debug javascript use preview', and then disable it. It should now bound all breakpoints.

Answer 3

I had a similar problem, I fixed it by appending /src to the "webRoot" path.
Here is an Example to Demonstrate What I Did:
Originally my "webRoot" property read:
"webRoot": "${workspaceFolder}"
Now my webRoot path reads:
"webRoot": "${workspaceFolder}/src",
Here is my ./.vscode/launch.json reads:
{
// Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
// Hover to view descriptions of existing attributes.
// For more information, visit: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=830387
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "chrome",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Chrome",
"url": "http://localhost:3000",
"webRoot": "${workspaceFolder}/src",
"trace": true
}
]
}

Answer 4

I had this issue with VSCode 1.52.1, the fix that worked for me was:
Disable debug.javascript.usePreview via Code > Preferences > Settings
Add "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}/" to launch.json
Add "remoteRoot": "${workspaceFolder}/" to launch.json

Answer 5

The plain truth is that VSCode 1.20 does not allow you to hit breakpoints.
I tried 1.21 too, it also does not let you do it.
I went back to 1.18 and it works just as expected, no problem.

Answer 6

I faced the same issue...
After i try a lot of launch config combinations, i found the correctly.
{
"type": "node",
"request": "attach",
"name": "Attach Program",
"protocol": "inspector",
"restart": true,
"skipFiles": [
"<node_internals>/**"
],
"localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
"remoteRoot": "/",
}
Ps: I'm launch node script with nodemon using the --inspect parameter (that allow debugger to attach node).

Answer 7

I faced this issue as recently as yesterday after upgrading to VSCode 1.52.1. Debugger which was previously working fine suddenly started showing "Unbound Breakpoint". This was happening for all the breakpoints I was trying to set regardless of the place/file/line in code. I then had to add the "localRoot" property and make it point to my source code folder for it to start working again. Hope this helps. My launch.json configuration now looks like this
{
"name": "Attach by Process ID",
"processId": "${command:PickProcess}",
"request": "attach",
"skipFiles": [
"<node_internals>/**"
],
"localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}/Source",
"type": "pwa-node"
}

Answer 8

For me, just adding "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}" to my default launch.json Configuration did the trick.
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Program",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/www",
"localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}"
}

Answer 9

I'm late to the party but wanted to share what was causing my "Unbound Breakpoint" errors.
I have file A and B. File A called into File B (and was required at the top of File A). File A's breakpoints were working perfectly. File B's sometimes let me hit them but I wasn't getting the full debugging experience if it worked at all.
I finally realized the require statement at the top of File A had different casing than the actual folder structure. It was requireing /path/to/file, where it should have been /Path/To/File.
I fixed the path casing and the breakpoints in File B starting working again.

Answer 10

The very first thing you should check is the entry point - the first line of code that gets executed. If that one can bound a breakpoint, then you know your other breakpoints are unbound because something between the time your other breakpoints are met is pre-empted by an error introduced. Your code is not reachable in that case and the IDE can detect that your module is not loaded at all.

Answer 11

If all this doesnt work - consider starting your vsCode in the correct folder
(the root directory, e.g. C:\Users\user\programming\RandomApp).
This is also why some people need to specify "/src" to their workspace variable (just a wild guess) and others dont.
Start it in the correct Folder and you dont need the /src parts in the launch.json file.
for me this launch.json works with vscode version 1.59.1
{
// Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
// Hover to view descriptions of existing attributes.
// For more information, visit: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=830387
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "pwa-chrome",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Chrome against localhost",
"url": "http://localhost:8100",
"webRoot": "${workspaceFolder}"
}
]
}

Answer 12

I have a TypeScript project, which suddenly didn't hit breakpoints anymore. In my case I had to move the project folder out of my iCloud Drive folder. There were other indicators that this path wasn’t ok, like missing git gutter indicators, as well. Here is my debug launch config. Breakpoints placed in app.ts are being hit.
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Debug",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/src/app.ts",
"sourceMaps": true,
"protocol": "inspector",
"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
"outFiles": [
"${workspaceFolder}/dist/**/*.js"
]
}

Answer 13

I'm using this configuration for debugging a TypeScript project:
{
"name": "Debug API",
"request": "attach",
"skipFiles": [
"<node_internals>/**"
],
"type": "pwa-node",
"sourceMaps": true,
"outFiles": [
"${workspaceFolder}/**/*.js",
"!**/node_modules/**"
]
},
outFiles did the trick and bound my breakpoints (VS Code 1.51.1).

Answer 14

I am running Docker Compose with the VSCode debugger and in my case, some of the breakpoints I set show unbounded and some show as bounded, even after trying the solutions above.
It seems the unbounded ones are outside of functions (on require or variable initialization statements for example).
I can only assume this is because the debugger attach runs after the docker containers have started (and hence these breakpoints are unreachable).

Answer 15

#alkasai has the correct answer.
But, it also matters which source code folder was added to your workspace. My repository structure is as such: C:\git\parent_folder\child_folder\src
My breakpoints were not working, so long as 'parent_folder' was the folder added to my workspace and my 'webRoot' entry looked like this:
"webRoot": "${workspaceRoot}",
But, if I added '/child_folder' to 'webRoot' (e.g. "webRoot": "${workspaceRoot}/child_folder"), the breakpoints worked.
However, if I removed 'parent_folder' from my VS Code workspace, and instead added 'child_folder' to the workspace (thus changing the underlying value of the '${workspaceRoot}' variable value), the original entry (without the '/child_folder' subfolder reference) caused the breakpoints to be activated.

Answer 16

For me the problem was that I forgot to set "sourceMap": true in my tsconfig.json file.

Answer 17

To hit breakpoints you need to compile in debug mode.
So when compiling the code using your tasks.json have debug flags enabled in your command attribute. C++ example :
{
"version": "2.0.0",
"tasks": [
{
"label": "Compile Test",
"type": "shell",
"command": "g++ -g test.cpp",
"presentation": {
"echo": true,
"reveal": "always",
"focus": false,
"panel": "shared",
"showReuseMessage": true,
"clear": true
},
"group": "build",
}
]
}
I am talking about the -g flag in the "command": "g++ -g test.cpp",