Set env to extensionHost type in launch.json did not work

[leozdgao]

• VSCode Version: 1.10.1
• OS Version: MacOS 10.12.3

Steps to Reproduce:

I'm working on a vscode extension development, and my launch.json here:

{
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Launch Extension",
            "type": "extensionHost",
            "request": "launch",
            "runtimeExecutable": "${execPath}",
            "args": ["--extensionDevelopmentPath=${workspaceRoot}" ],
            "stopOnEntry": false,
            "env": {
                "NODE_ENV": "development"
            }
        }
    ]
}

And env seems not to be set. I try to follow the prompt here:

"node2" is no longer supported, use "node" instead and set the "protocol" attribute to "inspector".

And modify my launch.json like this:

{
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Launch Extension",
            "type": "node",
            "protocol": "inspector",
            "request": "launch",
            "runtimeExecutable": "${execPath}",
            "args": ["--extensionDevelopmentPath=${workspaceRoot}" ],
            "stopOnEntry": false,
            "env": {
                "NODE_ENV": "development"
            }
        }
    ]
}

But got the connection timeout error here:

Cannot connect to runtime process, timeout after 10000 ms - (reason: Cannot connect to the target: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:28486).

[roblourens]

That error message about 'node2' is wrong. I think it was fixed by #21596, but the problem is that 'extensionHost' doesn't support the attribute 'env'. Right @isidorn?

[ramya-rao-a]

@leozdgao Can you debug your extension using your initial launch.json configuration but without the env attribute?

[leozdgao]

@ramya-rao-a I'm not sure. I just want to find an approach to judge the debugging environment, so I could load some development configuration. Is there anyway to do so without set env? 😕

[ramya-rao-a]

I was currently trying to narrow down if debugging the extension works at all to begin with. Hence the question about trying without the env attribute.

[leozdgao]

@ramya-rao-a Oh, debugging the extension works well. But the env configuration did not work.

[isidorn]

@roblourens not sure if extensionHost supports env, forwarding to @weinand

[weinand]

The extensionHost debugger doesn't yet support setting the env (but it is planned for this milestone).

But the nasty problem is that the error squiggly is completely misleading:

It flags the type "extensionHost" as wrong and not the illegal use of "env".

If the key value pair "foo":"bar" is removed from the env structure the error is flagged correctly:

@aeschli Is there a way to let your validator know that the "type" attribute is special (and has higher priority)?

[leozdgao]

@weinand BTW, is there anyway to know the code is running in the debug environment besides set env?

[weinand]

Currently this feature is blocked by #22233

[aeschli]

@weinand It's difficult for the JSON validator to know which variant ('any of') is the right one.
Please file an issue against JSON.

[weinand]

@leozdgao with the latest Insiders build you can now access env variables in the extension that are defined in the launch config.