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, Claude Code, Cline, Cursor, Windsurf, Roo Code, and any MCP-compatible assistant. Compatible with any VS Code supported coding language.

🚀 DebugMCP CLI is now available on npm! Debug directly from the terminal without requiring VS Code or any IDE at all by connecting AI coding agents to explicitly configured Debug Adapter Protocol (DAP) adapters. The debug adapter and target process run in the background. Install it with npm install --global debugmcp, then run debugmcp configure --agent copilot-cli. The CLI also installs the debug-live skill automatically. View the package on npm

⭐ 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

2.4

• Standalone DebugMCP CLI — install debugmcp from npm and give MCP-compatible agents direct access to explicitly configured DAP adapters without running VS Code. The CLI supports any language with a DAP adapter that communicates over stdio, configures supported agents, and installs the debug-live skill automatically.

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