DebugMCP

Name: DebugMCP
Author: microsoft

Warning

Gift your VS Code agent a real debugger: breakpoints, stepping, inspection.

442stars

47forks

TypeScript

Installation

# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/DebugMCP

Getting Started

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Security ReportWarning

Last scanned: 5/27/2026

{
  "issues": [
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "@vscode/test-cli: Vulnerability found",
      "severity": "medium"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "brace-expansion: brace-expansion: Zero-step sequence causes process hang and memory exhaustion",
      "severity": "medium"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "express-rate-limit: Vulnerability found",
      "severity": "medium"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "ip-address: ip-address has XSS in Address6 HTML-emitting methods",
      "severity": "medium"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "mocha: Vulnerability found",
      "severity": "medium"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm-audit",
      "message": "serialize-javascript: Serialize JavaScript is Vulnerable to RCE via RegExp.flags and Date.prototype.toISOString()",
      "severity": "high"
    }
  ],
  "status": "WARNING",
  "scannedAt": "2026-05-27T08:04:41.992Z",
  "semgrepRan": false,
  "npmAuditRan": true,
  "pipAuditRan": true
}

README.md

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DebugMCP?

DebugMCP is an open-source ai agents skill for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT, built by microsoft. Gift your VS Code agent a real debugger: breakpoints, stepping, inspection. It has 442 GitHub stars.

Is DebugMCP safe to use?

DebugMCP returned warnings in SkillsLLM's automated security scan. It has no critical vulnerabilities, but review the flagged issues in the Security Report section before adding it to your workflow.

How do I install DebugMCP?

Clone the repository with "git clone https://github.com/microsoft/DebugMCP" and add it to your Claude Code skills directory (see the Installation section above).

What programming language is DebugMCP written in?

DebugMCP is primarily written in TypeScript. It is open-source under microsoft on GitHub, so you can review or fork the full source.

Are there alternatives to DebugMCP?

Yes. SkillsLLM lists many other AI Agents skills you can browse and compare side by side. Open the AI Agents category from the badge at the top of this page, or use the Related Skills and comparison links further down to weigh DebugMCP against similar tools.

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DebugMCP (MCP Server) - Empowering AI Agents with Operational Debugging Capabilities

Let AI agents debug your code inside VS Code - set breakpoints, step through execution, inspect variables, and evaluate expressions. Works with Codex, GitHub Copilot, GitHub Copilot CLI, Cline, Cursor, Windsurf, Roo Code, and any MCP-compatible assistant. Compatible with any VS Code supported coding language.

⭐ If you find DebugMCP useful, please star the repo on GitHub! It helps others discover the project and motivates continued development.

📢 Developers Notice: This extension is maintained by ozzafar@microsoft.com and orbarila@microsoft.com. We welcome feedback and contributions to help improve this extension.

🎬 Watch DebugMCP in action — your AI assistant autonomously sets breakpoints, steps through code, and inspects variables directly in VS Code.

✨ What's New

2.2

Cross-agent debug-live skill install — the systematic debugging workflow ships as an Agent Skill and is now installed into the standard skills directories — ~/.agents/skills/ (the cross-agent location honored by skills-compatible harnesses, including VS Code agent mode) and ~/.copilot/skills/ when present — so it's discoverable everywhere instead of being copied next to each agent's config where nothing scans it (fixes #105, where VS Code never loaded the skill). The server also advertises MCP instructions and the start_debugging tool points at the skill for the full workflow.
Pause running programs — new pause_execution tool interrupts a freely-running program and stops at its current location, even with no breakpoint set (great for busy loops and embedded/bare-metal targets), so you can then inspect state or step from there.
Robust debugging via the VS Code Testing API — start_debugging with a testName uses the VS Code Testing API to discover and launch the test, producing consistent breakpoint hits inside individual test cases across language test runners (pytest, Jest/Vitest, Java, .NET, Go, etc.).

🚀 Quick Install

Install from VS Code Marketplace or use the direct link: vscode:extension/ozzafar.debugmcpextension

Overview
Features
Installation
Quick Start
Supported AI Assistants
Supported Languages
Configuration
FAQ
Troubleshooting
How It Works
Contributing
License

Overview

DebugMCP is an MCP server that gives AI coding agents full control over the VS Code debugger. Instead of reading logs or guessing, your AI assistant can autonomously set breakpoints, launch debug sessions, step through code line by line, inspect variable values, and evaluate expressions — just like a human developer would. It runs 100% locally, requires zero configuration, and works out of the box with any MCP-compatible AI assistant.

Features

🔧 Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
start_debugging	Start a debug session for a source code file	`fileFullPath` (required)`workingDirectory` (required)`testName` (optional)`configurationName` (optional)
stop_debugging	Stop the current debug session	None
step_over	Execute the next line (step over function calls)	None
step_into	Step into function calls	None
step_out	Step out of the current function	None
continue_execution	Continue until next breakpoint	None
pause_execution	Interrupt a freely-running program and stop at its current location (no breakpoint needed)	None
restart_debugging	Restart the current debug session	None
add_breakpoint	Add a breakpoint at a specific line (optionally conditional)	`fileFullPath` (required)`line` (required, 1-based)`condition` (optional)
add_logpoint	Add a logpoint that logs a message (instead of pausing) when a line is reached	`fileFullPath` (required)`line` (required, 1-based)`logMessage` (required, `{expr}` interpolated)`condition` (optional)
remove_breakpoint	Remove a breakpoint from a specific line	`fileFullPath` (required)`line` (required)
clear_all_breakpoints	Remove all breakpoints at once	None
list_breakpoints	List all active breakpoints	None
get_variables_values	Get variables and their values at current execution point	`scope` (optional: 'local', 'global', 'all')
evaluate_expression	Evaluate an expression in debug context	`expression` (required)

Note: The MCP server exposes tools for debugger actions, while the procedural workflow guidance (when to debug, how to structure a root-cause investigation, language-specific quirks) lives in the companion Agent Skill. Tool descriptions stay terse and behavioral; the extension installs the debug-live skill into the standard skills directories (~/.agents/skills/, plus ~/.copilot/skills/ when present) so skills-compatible harnesses load the full workflow on demand. The server also advertises MCP instructions pointing agents at it before debugging.

🎯 Debugging Best Practices

DebugMCP follows systematic debugging practices for effective issue resolution:

Start with Entry Points: Begin debugging at function entry points or main execution paths
Follow the Execution Flow: Use step-by-step execution to understand code flow
Root Cause Analysis: Don't stop at symptoms - find the underlying cause

🛡️ Security & Reliability

Secure Communication: All MCP communications use secure protocols
Local Operation: The MCP server runs 100% locally with no external communications and requires no credentials
State Validation: Robust validation of debugging states and operations

Installation

Quick Install Options

Option 1: Direct Link (Fastest)

Click this link: vscode:extension/ozzafar.debugmcpextension
Or copy and paste in your browser: vscode:extension/ozzafar.debugmcpextension

Option 2: VS Code Marketplace

Visit: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ozzafar.debugmcpextension
Click "Install"

Option 3: Within VS Code

Open VSCode
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "DebugMCP"
Click Install
The extension automatically activates and registers as an MCP server

Verification

After installation, you should see:

DebugMCP extension in your installed extensions
MCP server automatically running on port 3001 (configurable)
Debug tools available to connected AI assistants

📝 Note: No additional debugging rule instructions are needed - the extension works out of the box.

💡 Tip: Enable auto-approval for all debugmcp tools in your AI assistant to create seamless debugging workflows without constant approval interruptions.

Quick Start

Install the extension (see Installation)
Open your project in VSCode
Ask your AI to debug - it can now set breakpoints, start debugging, and analyze your code!

Supported AI Assistants

DebugMCP works with any MCP-compatible AI assistant. It auto-detects and offers to register itself with:

Assistant	Auto-Registration	Manual Config
GitHub Copilot	✅	See config
GitHub Copilot CLI	✅	See config
Cline	✅	See config
Cursor	✅	See config
Codex	✅	See config
Windsurf	✅	See config
Roo Code	✅	See config
Antigravity	✅	See config
Any MCP-compatible assistant	—	See manual setup

Supported Languages

DebugMCP supports debugging for the following languages with their respective VSCode extensions:

Language	Extension Required	File Extensions	Status
Python	Python	`.py`	✅ Fully Supported
JavaScript/TypeScript	Built-in / JS Debugger	`.js`, `.ts`, `.jsx`, `.tsx`	✅ Fully Supported
Java	Extension Pack for Java	`.java`	✅ Fully Supported
C/C++	C/C++	`.c`, `.cpp`, `.cc`	✅ Fully Supported
Go	Go	`.go`	✅ Fully Supported
Rust	[rust-analyzer](https://marketplace.visualstudio.co

DebugMCP

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DebugMCP?

Is DebugMCP safe to use?

How do I install DebugMCP?

What programming language is DebugMCP written in?

Are there alternatives to DebugMCP?

Related Skills

DebugMCP (MCP Server) - Empowering AI Agents with Operational Debugging Capabilities

✨ What's New

2.2

🚀 Quick Install

Table of Contents

Overview

Features

🔧 Tools

🎯 Debugging Best Practices

🛡️ Security & Reliability

Installation

Quick Install Options

Verification

Quick Start

Supported AI Assistants

Supported Languages