idea Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality in Python Ideas

Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

I_AM_ERROR — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:26:16 GMT

It would be great to have Microsoft VS Code supported as a debugging environment for ArcGIS Pro. Python scripts and tools are currently a bit cumbersome to debug, especially if there is a need to inspect variables that run through UpdateParameters or UpdateMessages.

Ideally, we could use to VS Code to:

- Debug using Attach to Process

- Set break points in code

- Execute tools in ArcGIS Pro

- Executing is paused at breakpoints to debug/inspect variables/ step over, etc.

I see that Visual Studio is supported per documentation here, please consider officially supporting debugging in VS Code as it's quite popular in the python community.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

mfcallahan — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 12:54:14 GMT

Upvoted - an officially supported "ArcGIS Pro debugger" VS Code extension would make all my GIS dreams come true 😃 I would love to see a workflow that allowed me to attach VS Code to a the Python environment of the running ArcGIS Pro instance, execute a script tool, and be able to hit breakpoints, step thru the code, etc. from within VS Code. Just like PyCharm and Visual Studio.

Dear Esri:

VS Code is used by 75% of the respondents to the 2022 StackOverflow survey! This would not necessarily be a niche tool, it could have a wide-reaching impact on developers. It's very likely that there a lot fewer GIS devs are using Visual Studio and PyCharm than there are using VS Code as their daily driver development environment. There is certainly precedent for something like this - are many such "Debugger" extensions available in the VS Code marketplace for a wide variety of languages/frameworks/platforms.

C'mon Esri...you're good at this type of stuff - the Adobe Suite plugins, ArcGIS for Teams, Office, etc. Y'all got tons of cool integrations with lots of things, especially from Microsoft. I know the community could develop this (and I'd love to participate in such a project) but I like staying in the Esri ecosystem if possible. And officially-supported VS Code extensions are always much higher quality.

Thanks,

A GIS dev

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality - Status changed to: Under Consideration

HannesZiegler — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 17:57:43 GMT

You've got our attention! We think this is a good suggestion and have entered it in our backlog. This does not guarantee that the idea will be developed so we encourage the community to continue voting and sharing feedback which will help teams gauge user demand.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

EmikoCarrell — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 19:11:19 GMT

Where I work (Washington State Department of Natural Resources) is recommending and supporting VS Code as the standard IDE for Python development, so being able to debug ArcGIS Pro scripts as described in this request could potentially be very much appreciated by a lot of people.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality - Status changed to: In Product Plan

HannesZiegler — Wed, 29 May 2024 14:30:21 GMT

We're working on this! This status does not guarantee that the functionality will be in the next release, but development work has begun. Release cycles vary by product so make sure to check the product life cycle information to get an idea of when to expect the next release.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

JVig — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:47:15 GMT

Very excited for this implementation, thanks!

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

DuncanHornby — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 13:46:08 GMT

This is good news indeed, looking forward to placing break points in my code during debugging! I hope the solution covers the scenario of the code embedded within an atbx as that is how I tend to code.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

LanceKirby2 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:23:00 GMT

They just demoed a vs code extension for this at the 2025 dev summit!

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

philnagel — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:25:31 GMT

I caught the end of the demo, looks great. Did they mention when it will be available? I did not see it in the Extension Marketplace.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

mfcallahan — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:44:56 GMT

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

LanceKirby2 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:40:39 GMT

No they didn’t, but I’ll make sure to ask them about it. I don’t see it yet either.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

BrandoCrozier — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:09:03 GMT

Thanks for looking into this @LanceKirby2

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

BrandoCrozier — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:33:19 GMT

At the create gp tools presentation they just mentioned that it probably won't come out until 3.5.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

LanceKirby2 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 21:19:17 GMT

@BrandoCrozier they said the same thing python expo station.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality

JoelBurley — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 04:19:02 GMT

I was excited when I heard about this today at the Dev summit. Heard it will be a beta in Pro 3.5.

Re: Debug ArcGIS Pro python tools in VS Code using Attach to Process functionality - Status changed to: Implemented

HannesZiegler — Tue, 20 May 2025 14:57:45 GMT

The ArcGIS Pro Debugger Extension for Visual Studio Code is now available on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace!

ArcGIS Pro Debugger - Visual Studio Marketplace

This extension allows debugging ArcGIS Pro script tools (.atbx, .pyt) using Visual Studio Code (VSC).

Our aim is to provide developers a seamless workflow to attach VSC to the Python process live in ArcGIS Pro. This integration allows developers to leverage VSC's native Python debugging experience while developing script tools for ArcGIS Pro.

Easily attach to ArcGIS Pro and stand-alone Python processes
Debug ArcGIS Pro Script Tools (.atbx) and Python Toolboxes (.pyt)
Debug code on the local machine or remotely on a different machine

If you run into any issues, please log an issue in our public repository,

Esri/arcgispro-vscode-debugger

Additional resources:
Debug Python code—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation