| # Using the VS Code Debugger | |
| ## Debug configurations | |
| The Next.js monorepo provides configurations in the [`.vscode/launch.json`](../../.vscode/launch.json) file to help you [debug Next.js from VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/debugging). | |
| The common configurations are: | |
| - **Launch app**: Run `next dev`, `next build`, or `next start` in a directory of your choice, with an attached debugger. | |
| - **Launch current directory**: Run `next dev`, `next build`, or `next start` in the directory of the currently active file, with an attached debugger. | |
| - **Run e2e test**: Run an e2e test using the currently active file, with an attached debugger. | |
| ### Run a specific app | |
| Any Next.js app inside the monorepo can be debugged with these configurations. | |
| 1. Use the status bar, or the "Run and Debug" item in the Activity Bar, to select the "Launch app" launch configuration. | |
| 2. Enter the app dirname, e.g. `examples/hello-world` or `test/e2e/app-dir/app`. | |
| 3. Select the `next` command from the presented options (`dev`, `build`, or `start`). | |
| To see the changes you make to the Next.js codebase during development, you can run `pnpm dev` in the root directory, which will watch for file changes in `packages/next` and recompile the Next.js source code on any file saves. | |
| ## Breakpoints | |
| When developing/debugging Next.js, you can set breakpoints anywhere in the `packages/next` source code that will stop the debugger at certain locations so you can examine the behavior. Read more about [breakpoints in the VS Code documentation](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/nodejs/nodejs-debugging#_breakpoints). | |
| To ensure that the original names are displayed in the "Variables" section, build the Next.js source code with `NEXT_SERVER_NO_MANGLE=1`. This is automatically applied when using `pnpm dev`. | |