Debug Django with VS Code

Debug Python Django with VS Code

Summary

This document will explain how to set up a Python (specifically Django) debugging environment inside VS Code. These instructions should work on any system: Windows, Mac, or Linux. Prerequisites

• Python 3.x – Most of our Django projects utilize 3.8.
• Pip
• Virtual Environment packages from Pip:
  • virtualenvwrapper (for Linux and Mac)
    • virtualenvwrapper-win (for Windows)

Install VS Code in Linux (Fedora)

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/linux

1. Install the package key and repository:
   • [ sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc ]
   • [ sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[code]\nname=Visual Studio Code\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/vscode\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" > /etc/yum.repos.d/vscode.repo' ]
2. Update package cache and install package with dnf:
   • [ sudo dnf check-update ]
   • [ sudo dnf install code ]

Debug Walkthrough

1. Create a virtual environment for the project if one doesn’t already exist.
   • To select a specific environment, use the Python: Select Interpreter command from Command Palette (⇧⌘P).
   • Python: Select Interpreter Virtual Env
2. Install dependencies from the requirements.txt file for the project.
   • $ pip3 install -r requirements.txt
   • $ pip3 list -o lists any outdated packages
   • $ sudo pip3 install [package_name] --upgrade updates package
   • $ source ~/.bashrc If issue finding virtualenv run the command
3. Navigate to the folder level containing manage.py file.
4. Open this folder level with VS Code.
5. Create a new launch.json file for debugging:
   • Select Debug > Open configurations
   • Select the Django option
6. Add the python virtual environment path to the launch.json file. Insert a new setting for pythonPath below the line for “program”: [ "pythonPath": "/home/dyoung11/.virtualenvs/datasearch/bin/python" ]
7. Press F5 to begin debugging.
8. Open a browser and navigate to localhost:8000 (the port may vary).

NOTE: At this time the debugger doesn’t automatically open a browser. This functionality is likely possible, will need to research it some more.