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86 changes: 86 additions & 0 deletions Documentation/Debugger/gdb/Windows Subsystem for Linux.md
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# Windows 10's Windows Subsystem for Linux
With the release of Windows 10 Creators Update, you will now be able to use Visual Studio Code and the Microsoft C/C++ extension to debug your `Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)` [Bash on Ubuntu](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/commandline/wsl/about) projects.

Code can be written on Windows itself using VSCode and debugged through `bash.exe` to the Bash on Windows layer.

**NOTE: Creator's Update is required due to bugfixes within the subsystem that we rely on to provide debugging. Debugging using a previous version of WSL is unsupported and likely will not work.**

## Prerequisites
* [Windows 10 Creators Update with Windows Subsystem for Linux and Bash](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/commandline/wsl/install_guide) installed.
* Install g++/gcc and gdb within `WSL` to allow compiling and debugging. You can use the package manager to do this. For example, to install g++, you can run `sudo apt install g++` in the Bash window.
* [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com) + Microsoft C/C++ extension for VSCode.

## How-To
To debug, commands will be routed from Windows through `bash.exe` to set up debugging. Because our extension runs as a 32-bit process, it will need to use the `C:\Windows\SysNative` folder to access the `bash.exe` executable that is normally in `C:\Windows\System32`. We will be using the `"pipeTransport"` ability within the extension to do debugging and `"sourceFileMap"` to map the source from the subsystem's paths back to Windows path.

**NOTE: Applications will need to be compiled in the `Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)` prior to debugging.**

### Example `launch.json` for Launching

In the following example, I have a local drive, `Z:\` that has my source code within windows for an app called kitchensink. I have set up the `"program"` and `"cwd"` paths to point to the directory within `WSL`. I have set up the `"pipeTransport"` to use `bash.exe`. I have also set up a `"sourceFileMap"` to have everything that is returned by `gdb` that starts with `/mnt/z` to point to `Z:\\` in Windows.

```
{
"name": "C++ Launch",
"type": "cppdbg",
"request": "launch",
"program": "/mnt/z/Bash/kitchensink/a.out",
"args": ["-fThreading"],
"stopAtEntry": false,
"cwd": "/mnt/z/Bash/kitchensink",
"environment": [],
"externalConsole": true,
"windows": {
"MIMode": "gdb",
"setupCommands": [
{
"description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
"text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
"ignoreFailures": true
}
]
},
"pipeTransport": {
"pipeCwd": "",
"pipeProgram": "c:\\windows\\sysnative\\bash.exe",
"pipeArgs": ["-c"],
"debuggerPath": "/usr/bin/gdb"
},
"sourceFileMap": {
"/mnt/z": "z:\\"
}
}
```

### Example `launch.json` for Attaching to an Existing Process

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Maybe I'm dumb, but I don't understand when I'd use the latter? This is like Debug / Attach to Process in 'full' VS, right?

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@pieandcakes pieandcakes Apr 11, 2017

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If you have a process already running in Bash on Windows and want to debug it, this is how you do it.


This configuration similar to the launch process above. I have chosen to start the same application above from the Bash command line and now I want to attach to it for debugging. I have changed the `"processID"` to use the remote process picker by specifying the command `"${command:pickRemoteProcess}"` and set up the same `"sourceFileMap"`. When I press F5 to attach, I get a picker drop down showing the running processes within `WSL`. I can scroll or search for the process I want to attach to and start debugging.

```
{
"name": "C++ Attach",
"type": "cppdbg",
"request": "attach",
"program": "/mnt/z/Bash/kitchensink/a.out",
"processId": "${command:pickRemoteProcess}",
"windows": {
"MIMode": "gdb",
"setupCommands": [
{
"description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
"text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
"ignoreFailures": true
}
]
},
"pipeTransport": {
"pipeCwd": "",
"pipeProgram": "c:\\windows\\sysnative\\bash.exe",
"pipeArgs": ["-c"],
"debuggerPath": "/usr/bin/gdb"
},
"sourceFileMap": {
"/mnt/z": "z:\\"
}
}
```