All notable changes to the specification will be documented in this file.

• 1.69.x
  • Clarify the flow diagram to start a debug session
  • Add supportsANSIStyling capabilities to allow colorization of text from debug adapters
• 1.68.x
  • Add locationReferences to Variable-related data types to allow navigation to declarations, and a corresponding locations request.
  • Clarify the meaning of “system process”
  • Clarify the lifetime of variableReferences after a setVariable call
  • Fix typographic errors in StackFrame.canRestart
• 1.67.x
  • Add line, column, and source location attributions to EvaluateArguments
  • Add returnValue as a well-known Scope.presentationHint
• 1.66.x

• Add bytes and asAddress properties to the DataBreakpointInfo request

• 1.65.x
  • Clarify handling of multiple filters in the SetExceptionBreakpoints request
  • Clarify lifetimes of objects created outside of suspended states
  • Add a BreakpointMode for setting different types of breakpoints
• 1.64.x
  • Clarify that the offset in the InstructionBreakpoint is given in bytes
  • Add a presentationHint to the DisassembledInstruction
  • Add a reason to the Breakpoint to indicate why verification may have failed
• 1.63.x
  • Add memoryReference support to the SetVariableResponse/SetExpressionResponse
  • Fix a typo in the description of BreakpointLocationsArguments
  • Fix missing line break in CancelRequest
  • Clarify memoryReference in Variable type
  • Clarify state of “object ID”s in VariablePresentationHint
• 1.62.x
  • Clarify lifetime of DataBreakpoint.dataId
• 1.61.x
  • Removed unused ModulesViewDescriptor interface
  • Clarify the applicability of supportsVariablePaging
  • Fix mention of non-existent hitCondition in SetExceptionBreakpointsResponse
• 1.60.x
  • Clarify the usage of hitCondition and logMessage in SetBreakpointsRequest
• 1.59.x:
  • Add an optional frameId to the DataBreakpointInfoRequest
  • Add notStopped as a well-known reason in Response
  • Clarify the lifetime of variablesReference.
  • Clarify the default behavior when kind is omitted from the RunInTerminalRequest.
  • Clarify end of file behavior for readMemory.
• 1.58.x:
  • Specify the measurement unit of various column and “character positions” properties to be “UTF-16 code units”.
• 1.57.x:
  • Add the argsCanBeInterpretedByShell property to the RunInTerminalRequest
• 1.56.x:
  • Add additional information to the StepInTarget
  • Clarification around wording for “clients”
  • Clarification around “falsey” in CompletionItem.text
  • Specify checksums to be given a hexadecimal strings, and timestamps as RFC 3339 date strings
  • Make wording on source.origin more clear to be non-exhaustive
• 1.55.x:
  • Improved descriptions for terminate and disconnect requests.
  • Add missing value variables to the context argument of the evaluaterequest.
  • Fix a mistake in the description of the ExceptionFilterOptions type.
• 1.54.x:
  • Add a new boolean property lazy on the VariablePresentationHint. Clients can use that flag to present the variable with a UI that supports a specific gesture to trigger its evaluation.
• 1.53.x:
  • Add a new detail property on the CompletionItem
• 1.52.x:
  • clarify comment for Variable.value.
• 1.51.x:
  • Add a new category important to the output event. This is a hint for clients to show the message with a highly visible UI.
  • Clarify the description of all execution control requests (continue, next, stepIn, stepOut, stepBack, reverseContinue)
  • Add a new capability supportsSingleThreadExecutionRequests to indicate that the execution control requests support the singleThread property.
  • Add a new optional singleThread property to all execution control requests.
• 1.49.x:
  • Add memory event and a corresponding client capability supportsMemoryEvent.
• 1.48.x:
  • Add guidance for the case that a debug adapter implements both setVariable and setExpression and clients need to decide which request to use.
  • Add writeMemory request and a corresponding supportsWriteMemoryRequest capability.
• 1.47.x:
  • The setExceptionBreakpoints can now optionally return an array of Breakpoints as the other setXxxxBreakpoints do. This allows clients to show validation error messages for individual exception breakpoints or filters.
  • The restart request got a new optional parameter arguments where a client can pass the latest version of a launch or attach configuration.
  • Adds a new optional argument suspendDebuggee to the disconnect request. If a debug adapter has opted into this feature with the supportSuspendDebuggee capability, a client can use this to control whether the debuggee should be suspended when the debugger is disconnected.
• 1.46.x:
  • Add an optional attribute hitBreakpointIds to the stopped event which contains the ids of the breakpoints that triggered the event.
• 1.45.x:
  • Add new UI attribute description and conditionDescription to the ExceptionBreakpointsFilter. With these clients can display additional information about exception breakpoints.
  • Improved description for setExceptionBreakpoints request by adding guidance for what an adapter should do if the user inputs an invalid exception breakpoint condition.
  • Add new optional boolean property canRestart to the stack frame. It indicated whether the stack frame can be restarted with the restartrequest.
• 1.44.x:
  • Deprecated the value dataBreakpoint of VariablePresentationHint.kind. Instead a new value hasDataBreakpoint has been added to the VariablePresentationHint.attribute.
• 1.43.x:
  • Add support for conditional exceptions. With this the setExceptionBreakpoints request got a new property filterOptions for setting the exception filters and their conditions. The corresponding capability is supportsExceptionFilterOptions.
  • Clarify the description of the stackTrace request and its totalFrames property.
  • Clarify the description of the cwd property of the runInTerminal request: a client is only expected to execute a change directory command if cwd contains a non-empty, valid path.
• 1.42.x:
  • Add invalidated event and a corresponding client capability supportsInvalidatedEvent.
• 1.41.x:
  • Add “stepping granularity” support for the stepping requests next, stepIn, stepOut, stepBack and a corresponding client capability supportsSteppingGranularity.
  • Add instruction breakpoints and a corresponding client capability supportsInstructionBreakpoints.
• 1.40.x:
  • New value clipboard for context argument of evaluate request.
  • Add support for reporting progress via progressStart, progressUpdate, and progressEnd events and a corresponding client capability supportsProgressReporting. Progress can be cancelled via a new progressId argument for the cancel request.
  • Clarifed descriptions of all optional requests, events, and attributes to make clear what is the corresponding capability.
• 1.39.x:
  • add optional selectionStart and selectionLength attributes to completion item. With these attributes the selection range or position can be controlled after the completion text has been inserted.
  • add optional group attribute to output event in order to keep an output log organized by grouping related messages.
• 1.38.x:
  • Fixes some typos and improves some comments.
• 1.37.x:
  • Adds a breakpointLocations request (and a corresponding supportsBreakpointLocationsRequest capability) for finding the possible breakpoints for a source range.
  • Adds cancellation support for requests via a new cancel request and a corresponding supportsCancelRequest capability.
  • Improves some comments.
• 1.36.x:
  • Introduces a capability completionTriggerCharacters for announcing the characters that a frontend UI should use to trigger completion.
  • Adds an optional sortText attribute to the CompletionItem type.
  • In the schema change “number” to “integer” in cases where a float makes no sense, e.g. for IDs.
• 1.35.x:
  • Adds an optional presentationHint attribute to the Scope type which can be used to add semantic to the scope’s contents. An example is to mark a scope as a “registers” scope that contains “registers” instead of variables.
  • Adds experimental support for memory access via a new readMemory request and a corresponding supportsReadMemoryRequest capability.
  • Adds experimental support for memory disassembly via a new disassemble request and a corresponding supportsDisassembleRequest capability.
• 1.34.x:
  • Adds support for data breakpoints via the ‘dataBreakpointInfo’ and ‘setDataBreakpoints’ requests and the ‘supportsDataBreakpoints’ capability.
  • Improves some comments.
• 1.33.x:
  • Point out that the breakpoint’s id attribute is mandatory when breakpoint events are used.
  • Return a new attribute shellProcessId from the runInTerminal request.
• 1.32.x:
  • Adds an optional boolean argument restart to the terminate and disconnect requests. The value true indicates that the terminate or disconnect request is part of a restart sequence.
  • Move specification to DAP web site.
• 1.31.x:
  • Adds a new optional terminate request which can be used to give a debuggee the chance to shutdown gracefully. A corresponding supportsTerminateRequest capability announces that an adapter implements the request.
• 1.30.x:
  • Comment cosmetics.
• 1.29.x:
  • Adds a new value for the ‘reason’ attribute of the ‘stopped’ event. This is used when an adapter implements the ‘goto’ request.
• 1.28.x:
  • Adds an optional attribute clientName to the Initialize request. This makes it possible to surface the human readable name of the client in error messages coming from the adapter.
  • Adds a terminateThreads request and a corresponding supportsTerminateThreadsRequest capability.
  • Made the __restart attribute official on the launch or attach requests. It corresponds to the restart attribute on the terminated event.
  • Adds a setExpression request and a corresponding supportsSetExpression capability. This request can be used to assign a value to an assignable expression (aka “l-value”).
  • Adds a new optional preserveFocusHint to the stopped event. A value of true hints to the frontend that this event should not change the focus.
• 1.27.x:
  • Adds a new capabilities event that hints to the frontend that one or more capabilities got updated.
  • Initial support for logPoints: new attribute SourceBreakpoint.logMessage and capability supportsLogPoint.

• 1.26.x: no protocol changes

• 1.25.x:
  • Adds a new enum value virtual for the presentationHint attribute of type Variable.
  • To remove env variables from the environment support a ‘null’ value for env attribute in runInTerminal request.
• 1.24.x:
  • Adds removed to the value set of the reason attribute of the BreakpointEvent.
  • Adds a locale attribute to the initialize request. The adapter can use this information to translate user visible information.
• 1.23.x:
  • Adds a source, line, and column attributes to the Output event. With this a frontend can show a link to the source where the output was generated.
  • Adds support for retrieving loaded scripts and receiving loaded script events (LoadedSourcesRequest, LoadedSourceEvent).
  • Adds display hints for variables and evaluation results (type VariablePresentationHint).
• 1.22.x:
  • Adds a new enum value normal for the presentationHint attribute of type Source.
  • Adds a new event process that conveys process ID and other information about the debuggee.
• 1.21.x:
  • Adds optional attribute includeAll to type StackFrameFormat. With this the StackTraceRequest can be parameterized to include all stack frames, including those the DA might otherwise hide.
  • Adds capability supportsDelayedStackTraceLoading that indicates that a debug adapter supports the delayed loading of parts of the stack. This requires that both the startFrame and levels arguments and the totalFrames result of the StackTraceRequest are supported.
• 1.20.x:
  • Extends the type of the TerminatedEvent.body.restart attribute from boolean to any. This makes it possible to loop arbitrary data from one debug session to the next.
  • Adds a new enum value subtle for the presentationHint attribute of type StackFrame.
• 1.19.x:
  • Adds a new optional argument terminateDebuggee to the disconnect request. If a debug adapter has opted into this feature with the ‘supportTerminateDebuggee’ capability, a client can use this to control whether the debuggee should be terminated when the debugger is disconnected.
• 1.18.x:
  • Adds optional attribute source to the SourceArguments.
  • Made StoppedEvent’s reason attribute robust against translation by introducing a new description attribute.
  • Add a new optional attribute presentationHint to the StackFrame type. This attribute can be used to control how the frame is rendered in the UI.
• 1.17.x:
  • Adds optional attribute clientID to the InitializeRequestArguments.
  • Adds support for obtaining exception details: ExceptionInfoRequest, ExceptionDetails.
  • Adds optional parameter format to the SetVariableRequest.
• 1.16.x:
  • Updated comments for path and sourceReference attributes of Source type (the frontend no longer needs to have a notion of ‘internal’ modules; it just loads the content of a Source either through the sourceReference or the path).
  • Adds optional presentationHint attribute to Source type. This allows to control how the frontend shows a source reference in th UI.
  • Removed SHA1Normalizedand SHA256Normalized values from type ChecksumAlgorithm.
• 1.15.x:
  • Adds a reverseContinue request.
  • Adds a restart request and a corresponding supportsRestartRequest capability.
  • Adds a variablesReference attribute to the OutputEvent.
  • Adds support for exception configuration options.
  • Adds formatting options support for values returned from VariablesRequest, EvaluateRequest, and StackTraceRequest.
• 1.14.x:
  • Adds optional type attribute to the SetVariableResponse type.
  • Support to return a structured object from the SetVariableRequest.
  • Fine tuning of Module part of the protocol.
  • Adds optional attribute evaluatable to Variable type.
  • Adds optional checksum support to Source type.
  • Adds optional source range to Scope type.
• 1.13.x:
  • Fix typo in Capabilities type.
  • Adds an optional hitCondition attribute to breakpoints and a corresponding supportsHitConditionalBreakpointscapability.
• 1.12.x:
  • Adds a new optional attribute frameId to the completionRequest.
  • Introduces a runInTerminalRequest so that a debug adapter can run a debuggee in a terminal managed by the frontend.
  • Adds a type attribute (and a value set) to the CompletionItem.
• 1.11.x:
  • Adds a new optional attribute mimeType to the SourceResponse.
  • Adds a new optional attribute sourceModified to the SetBreakpointsArguments that indicates that the underlying source has been modified which results in new breakpoint locations.
  • Adds a new optional attribute supportsVariableType to InitializeRequestArguments. True indicates that the client shows the variable’s type attribute in the UI.
  • Adds optional ‘type’ attribute to the EvaluateResponse.
  • Introduces the RestartFrameRequest and a corresponding supportsRestartFrame capability.
  • Introduces a ContinuedEvent so that a debug adapter can explicit trigger that a thread has continued execution.
  • Adds support for step in targets (request StepInTargetsRequest, type StepInTarget, capability supportsStepInTargetsRequest)
  • Adds support for goto targets (requests GotoTargetsRequest and GotoRequest, type GotoTarget, capability supportsGotoTargetsRequest)
  • Adds support for variable paging, that is named and indexed children of a variable can be requested in pages (chunks).
  • Adds experimental support for completion proposals.
• 1.10.x:
  • Introduces a stepBack request and a corresponding supportsStepBack capability.
  • Introduces the type Module, a ModuleRequest, and a ModuleEvent
  • Introduces the setVariableRequest
  • Adds new optional attributes type and kind for a Variable.
  • Adds optional attributes endLine and endColumn to StackFrame and Breakpoint types.
• 1.9.x:
  • Introduces a allThreadsContinued attribute on the ContinueResponse to indicate that all threads are continued and not only the one specified.
• 1.8.x:
  • Introduces ExceptionBreakpointsFilter and fixed corresponding capability.
  • Adds optional noDebug attribute to LaunchRequestArguments.
  • Adds optional startFrame argument to StackTraceArguments to allow for paging.
  • Adds optional totalFrames argument to StackTraceResponse to allow for paging.
  • Improve comment: InitializedEvent must not be sent before InitializeRequest has returned its result.
• 1.7.x:
  • Adds optional url and urlLabel attributes to the error messages. The frontend will show this as a UI to open additional information in a browser.
  • Added option default attribute to the exceptionBreakpointFilters capability.
  • Adds optional attribute allThreadsStopped to the StoppedEvent to indicate that all threads are stopped (and not only the one mentioned in the event).
• 1.6.x:
  • A boolean supportsConditionalBreakpoints in Capabilities indicates whether the debug adapter supports conditional breakpoints.
  • Adds an optional exceptionBreakpointFilters capability that lists the filters available for the setExceptionBreakpoints request.
  • Adds an optional restart attribute to the TerminatedEvent which can be used to request a restart of the debug session.
• 1.5.x:
  • A boolean supportsFunctionBreakpoints in Capabilities indicates whether the debug adapter implements the function breakpoints.
  • Renamed supportEvaluateForHovers in Capabilities to supportsEvaluateForHovers.
• 1.4.x:
  • Made the body of the InitializeResponse optional (for backward compatibility).
• 1.3.x: Version introduces support for feature negotiation.
  • The InitializeResponse has now attributes for these features:
    • A boolean supportsConfigurationDoneRequest indicates whether the debug adapter implements the ConfigurationDoneRequest.
    • A boolean supportEvaluateForHovers indicates whether the debug adapter supports a side effect free EvaluateRequest.
  • Adds an optional data attribute to the OutputEvent and a telemetry category.
  • Adds a new context type hover to the context attribute of the EvaluateArguments.
• 1.2.x: Version adds a new request:
  • Introduces a ConfigurationDoneRequest that VS Code sends to indicate that the configuration of the debug session has finished and that debugging can start.
• 1.1.x: Version adds support for conditional breakpoints and breakpoints in virtual documents:
  • Type Source supports optional origin attribute to provide information that is shown in the debug UI.
  • Type Source supports an optional adapterData attribute that the VS Code debug UI will transparently persists for breakpoints.
  • Introduces type SourceBreakpoint that makes it possible to provide column and condition information when specifying a breakpoint.
• 1.0.1: Initial version of the debug protocol