vs-code-dotnet-solution-launcher/README.md

.NET Solution Launcher

Startup project and solution configuration in the status bar, with build, debug, run and hot reload that actually use them. Built for DotRush.

$(project) MyGame.Editor   $(settings-gear) Test | x64   $(debug-alt)   $(flame)

• The project item shows which .csproj is the startup project, and picks another one from the executables in the solution (Runtime is a library, so it is not offered).
• The configuration item shows the solution configuration — Debug | x64, Test | x64, Release | Any CPU — exactly as MyGame.sln lists them.
• The debug button builds with that configuration and launches the startup project.
• The flame starts it under dotnet watch with hot reload instead.

Why, when DotRush already has a status bar item

DotRush shows Debug | net10.0. Two things are missing from that:

1. The project name. It is in the tooltip only. With three executables in the solution (Builder, Editor, and whatever comes next) that is the thing you need to see.

2. The platform. DotRush's build task runs dotnet build <project> -p:Configuration=X with no -p:Platform. MSBuild then defaults to AnyCPU, and every property group conditioned on '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Debug|x64' is skipped. In this solution that is not cosmetic:

   MyGame.Runtime, Configuration=Debug	DefineConstants
   without -p:Platform (what DotRush runs)	TRACE;DEBUG
   with -p:Platform=x64	TRACE;LOG_INFO;PROFILING;DEBUG

   So logging and profiling silently vanish, Optimize is never set for Test/Release, and MyGame.Builder loses AllowUnsafeBlocks and fails to compile.

DotRush also cannot be told a configuration from outside — its selection lives in its own workspace state — so this extension owns the build rather than wrapping dotrush: Build. The startup project is synced with DotRush in both directions (dotnetSolution.syncDotRush), so its test explorer, launchSettings.json lookup and ${command:dotrush.activeProjectPath} all agree with what the status bar says.

What a build does

dotnetSolution.buildScope decides (default solution):

Scope	Command	Notes
solution	dotnet build MyGame.sln -c Test -p:Platform=x64	Like Visual Studio's Build Solution. MSBuild maps every project through the .sln: MyGame.* build as Test|x64, MoonWorks as Debug|Any CPU, and the Editor → Builder ProjectDependencies entry is honoured, so the Builder exists before the Editor's post-build step needs it.
project	dotnet build MyGame.Editor.csproj -c Test -p:Platform=x64	Only the startup project and its ProjectReferences. Faster, but solution-only dependencies are ignored.

Rebuild adds --no-incremental; Clean runs dotnet clean. Two more targets use the same selection:

Target	Command	Notes
publish	dotnet publish MyGame.Editor.csproj -c Release -p:Platform=x64 [-r win-x64]	Always the startup project. dotnetSolution.publish.runtime sets -r, which PublishAot needs; publish.args adds the rest
test	dotnet test MyGame.sln -c Test -p:Platform=x64	Follows buildScope; dotnetSolution.test.args adds filters or --no-build

All five are tasks of type dotnet-solution, so they show up under Run Task and can be used as preLaunchTask. When one fails the Problems panel opens (dotnetSolution.showProblemsOnFailure).

What a launch does

program comes from MSBuild, not from guessing: the extension evaluates the startup project with the mapped configuration and platform (dotnet msbuild -getProperty:TargetPath …), which is the only way to get it right here — OutDir comes from Directory.Build.props and AppendTargetFrameworkToOutputPath is off. The result is cached until a project or solution file changes.

The apphost .exe is launched when the project produces one, since vsdbg wants an executable; otherwise it runs dotnet <TargetPath>. DotRush's debug configuration provider still runs after this one and fills in justMyCode and symbol options.

Arguments, environment, working directory

Builder and Editor want different arguments, so these are layered, most specific wins:

1. dotnetSolution.launch.projects, keyed by project name:

   "dotnetSolution.launch.projects": {
       "MyGame.Builder": { "args": ["-build", "-resourcePath", "Resources"], "cwd": "../MyGame.Editor" },
       "MyGame.Editor":  { "console": "integratedTerminal" }
   }
   

   cwd is relative to the project folder. profile names a launchSettings.json profile.
2. The global dotnetSolution.launch.args / .env / .cwd / .console.
3. Properties/launchSettings.json next to the project: commandLineArgs, environmentVariables and workingDirectory of the first "commandName": "Project" profile, or the one named by dotnetSolution.launch.profile.
4. Otherwise no arguments and TargetDir as the working directory.

The same layering applies to F5 through the launch.json entry: its args stay empty in the file and are filled in at launch time.

Hot reload

The third way to start the startup project, next to Debug and Run, and a rewrite of the earlier dotnet-hot-reload extension now that the selection exists to build on:

dotnet watch run --project MyGame.Editor.csproj -c Debug --property:Platform=x64 -- <args>

Same project, configuration, platform, arguments, environment and working directory as F5. It runs in an integrated terminal named after the project, and the status bar item next to the debug button follows the watcher's output: watching, applied, failed, restart needed. Save a file and the change is applied; the flame in the terminal's title is the same session.

Action	How
Start	The $(flame) status bar item (icon only; it gains a word — failed, restart needed — only when something needs you), .NET Solution: Run Startup Project with Hot Reload, or Ctrl+Alt+F5
Apply, restart, attach, stop	Click the status bar item while it runs — one menu for all of them
Restart the application	Also Ctrl+R inside the watch terminal

The debugger is not attached by default. That is the biggest change from the old extension, and deliberate. dotnet watch replaces the application process on every rude edit, restart or crash, and each of those ends an attached debug session; keeping a debugger attached across that meant guessing whether an ended session was a stop or a swap, racing the outgoing process, and giving up on crash loops. Now Attach Debugger finds the application below the watcher (by assembly name, so MSBuild is never picked) and attaches when you ask. If the process is later replaced while the watcher still runs, one notification says so and offers to re-attach. While attached, the flame and restart buttons also appear in the debug toolbar.

Rude edits — changes hot reload cannot apply — follow dotnetSolution.hotReload.rudeEdit:

Value	Behaviour
restart (default)	dotnet watch restarts the application on its own
ask	A notification offers Restart / Keep running; the answer goes to dotnet watch's console question
warn	Keeps the old code running and shows a warning with a Restart button

Optimised builds cannot hot reload. SDK 10's dotnet watch refuses when Optimize is true and restarts on every change instead. Test and Release set it here, so starting hot reload under those asks whether to switch to Debug first.

Solution build first. dotnet watch only builds the project it runs. With dotnetSolution.hotReload.buildSolutionFirst (default on) the normal solution build runs before the watcher starts, so the Editor's post-build step finds the Builder even on a clean checkout; the watcher's own build is then incremental.

Usage

Action	How
Pick the startup project	Click the project name (Ctrl+Alt+P), or right-click a .csproj → Set as Startup Project (.NET Solution). The explorer marks it with ▶
Pick the configuration	Click Debug | x64 (Ctrl+Alt+C). Entries the solution does not build the project under are marked with $(warning)
Build / Rebuild / Clean	.NET Solution: Build etc., or the dotnet-solution tasks. Ctrl+Shift+B until a launch.json entry exists, after that VS Code's default build task
Publish / Test	.NET Solution: Publish Startup Project, .NET Solution: Run Tests
Debug	The $(debug-alt) button, .NET Solution: Debug Startup Project, or F5
Hot reload	The $(flame) item, or Ctrl+Alt+F5. See above
Run without debugging	.NET Solution: Run Startup Project (without debugging), or Ctrl+F5
Several .sln files	.NET Solution: Select Solution, or dotnetSolution.solution

F5

Without a launch.json entry, F5, Ctrl+F5 and Ctrl+Shift+B are bound to this extension's debug, run and build commands (only while a solution is loaded and no debug session is running). Once the entry below exists those keys go back to VS Code's own handling, which then uses the entry — same result, but editable in launch.json.

The first time it sees a solution the extension offers to write a launch.json entry. Later, run .NET Solution: Create launch.json and tasks.json entries from the command palette, or pick it at the bottom of the startup-project list (click the project name):

{
    "name": ".NET Solution: Debug startup project",
    "type": "coreclr",
    "request": "launch",
    "program": "${command:dotnetSolution.activeProgram}",
    "cwd": "${command:dotnetSolution.activeCwd}",
    "preLaunchTask": "dotnet-solution: Build"
}

The same entry is offered dynamically in the Run and Debug dropdown even without a launch.json. It replaces the DotRush template's ${command:dotrush.activeTargetPath} + preLaunchTask: "dotrush: Build" pair, which is the one that builds without a platform.

Variables for your own launch.json / tasks.json

${command:…}	Value
dotnetSolution.activeProgram	apphost .exe, or the .dll when there is none
dotnetSolution.activeTargetPath	the built assembly
dotnetSolution.activeTargetDir	its directory
dotnetSolution.activeCwd	the working directory after the layering above
dotnetSolution.activeProjectPath, activeProjectName	the startup project
dotnetSolution.activeSolutionPath	the solution
dotnetSolution.activeConfiguration, activePlatform	solution configuration, e.g. Test, Any CPU
dotnetSolution.activeProjectConfiguration, activeProjectPlatform	what the project gets, e.g. Test, AnyCPU

Settings

Setting	Default
dotnetSolution.solution	""	Solution to use; empty picks the shallowest, then the largest
dotnetSolution.buildScope	solution	See above
dotnetSolution.targetFramework	""	For TargetFrameworks projects; empty takes the first
dotnetSolution.launch.args / .env / .cwd / .console		Passed to the launched application
dotnetSolution.launch.projects	{}	The same, per project name; wins over the global ones
dotnetSolution.launch.profile	""	launchSettings.json profile to read
dotnetSolution.publish.runtime / .args	"" / []	-r and extra arguments for publish
dotnetSolution.test.args	[]	Extra arguments for test
dotnetSolution.showProblemsOnFailure	true	Open Problems when a task fails
dotnetSolution.hotReload.rudeEdit	restart	restart, ask or warn
dotnetSolution.hotReload.buildSolutionFirst	true	Solution build before dotnet watch
dotnetSolution.hotReload.watchArgs	[]	Extra arguments for dotnet watch itself
dotnetSolution.debugType	coreclr
dotnetSolution.syncDotRush	true	Push the startup project to DotRush and follow its changes
dotnetSolution.syncDotRushWorkspaceProperties	false	Write Configuration=…;Platform=… into dotrush.roslyn.workspaceProperties so IntelliSense sees the same DefineConstants. Off because DotRush reloads its workspace on every change
dotnetSolution.additionalBuildArguments	[]	Appended to every build

dotrush.roslyn.dotnetSdkDirectory and dotrush.msbuild.additionalEnvironment are honoured, so both extensions use the same SDK.

Tips

• DotRush's own Debug | net10.0 item can be hidden: right-click the status bar and untick DotRush. Nothing else depends on it once this extension drives the build.
• The status bar goes to a spinner while a build runs; the build output is in the terminal and the Problems panel ($msCompile).
• The .NET Solution output channel logs every dotnet invocation.

Development

npm install
npm run compile
npm run test:unit   # parser tests, against D:\Projects\MyGame when present
npm test            # launches VS Code on that folder (SOLUTION_TEST_FOLDER overrides)