Setup a C++ Dev Env with VSCode on Windows

Background

This article is intended for newcomers to introduce the setup of a VSCode C++ development environment on Windows.

It uses VSCode, MS C++ Build Tools, and cmake.

Since many build tools on Windows still use the MS compiler by default, MS C++ Build Tools are still required. However, the full set of Visual Studio is not used because it is too heavy.

1. Install VSCode

Installing VSCode is relatively straightforward.
Download VSCode and follow the installation prompts.

2. Install Microsoft C++ Build Tools

Download the installer from the Microsoft C++ Build Tools page and run it.

Since we only need a C++ environment, only check “Desktop development with C++”.

Theoretically, after installing the editor (VSCode) and the compiler (MS C++ Build Tools), you can start writing code.

However, many popular projects nowadays manage dependencies and builds through cmake:

3. Install CMake

Download CMake from the official website and then follow the installation instructions.

4. Run a demo

CMake provides an official demo: Help/guide/tutorial/Step3.

P.S. You can paste the above link into download-directory.github.io to download only this directory.

After extracting the files, we’ll run it using both the command line and VSCode:

Command-line build

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mkdir build
cd build
# Run cmake to configure the project and generate a native build system:
cmake ..

# Call the build system to actually compile/link the project
cmake --build .

# Run the build output
.\Debug\Tutorial.exe 100
SHELL

Building and Debugging in VSCode

We need to install two VSCode extensions:

The CMake Tools extension provides several commands and shortcuts.

  • Build command: CMake: Build
  • Debug command: CMake: Debug

There are also shortcut buttons at the bottom left of the VSCode interface:

The Debug shortcut button is very convenient, but what if we need to pass arguments or specify environment variables?
So we still have to customize launch.json (I’ve added comments for some important parameters):

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{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "(Windows) Launch",
      // Indicates using the cppvsdbg debugging mode
      "type": "cppvsdbg",
      "request": "launch",
      // Which program to debug
      "program": "${workspaceFolder}/build/Debug/Tutorial.exe",
      // Arguments passed to the target program
      "args": ["10"],
      "stopAtEntry": false,
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
      "environment": [],
      // In which terminal the target program will be launched.
      // integratedTerminal means it will be launched in the current VSCode integrated terminal.
      "console": "integratedTerminal",
      // Before running, perform a cmake build first.
      "preLaunchTask": "CMake: build"
    }
  ]
}
JSONC

Then let’s take a look at the debugging experience, as shown in the figure:

Technology
#cpp
Setup a C++ Dev Env with VSCode on Windows
http://boblu.net/cpp-with-vscode-on-windows/
Author
Bob
Posted on
March 19, 2025
Licensed under