Visual Studio Code C/C++ Setup

• This is a repo specifically made to setup and test C/C++ on Visual Studio Code for Windows 10

• The original instructions on setting up C/C++ for various platforms can be found using the following link: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp

• The link includes setups for C++ and other specific environments such as WSL, Mingw-w64, Clang/LLVM on macOS, and MSVC.

• The following will explain how to setup C/C++ using either MinGW or MinGW-w64 on Windows 10

Table of Contents

• Installing Microsoft C/C++ extension
• Installing MinGW or MinGW-w64
• Configuring PATH
• Next Steps
  • Clone
  • No Clone
  • Following Steps
• Setting up JSON files
  • Configuring the compiler path
  • Create a build task
  • Configure debug settings
• Test
• FAQ
  • What is MinGW/MinGW-w64?
  • Can Windows 10 run MinGW despite being a 32 bit architecture?
  • Why am I'm getting a “/bin/bash: [command] command not found” after setting up tasks.json and c_cpp_properties.json?
  • How do I know if MinGW/MinGW-w64 is installed correctly?
  • What if MinGW is not on the Path variable but it is still being referenced by another program or file directory?
  • Why are you using MinGW-w64 7.3.0 and not 8.1.0?
• Acknowledgements
• Contact

Installing Microsoft C/C++ extension

• Simply click on the Extension icon on the sidebar of VSCode and search for "c++".

Installing MinGW or MinGW-w64

• Install either MinGW or MinGW-w64 to a folder that has no spaces in its directory. In this tutorial, it is assumed that either program is installed under C:\MinGW or C:\mingw-w64.

• If you wish to install MinGW, do so under these instructions:

  1. Click Continue on Step 1 and Step 2.
  2. Under the MinGW Installation Manager, right click and select on Mark for Installation for all the packages.
  3. Click on Installation > Apply Changes > Apply.
  4. Close the Installation manager.

• If you wish to install MinGW-w64, do so under these settings:

  • Version: 7.3.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Threads: win32
  • Exception: seh
  • Build revision: 0

Configuring PATH

Please read carefully. Any of the steps not taken will yield unexpected errors.

1. In the Windows 10 search box, type "Path". Then choose Edit the system environment variables from the results list.

2. Scroll down under System variables and look for Path. Double click it. (You can also click on Path once, then click on Edit).

3. Scroll down on Edit environment variable and click New. Type in the path to where your file is installed. In this case it should be under C:\MinGW\bin or C:\mingw-w64\x86_64-7.3.0-win32-seh-rt_v6-rev0\mingw64\bin, depending on the version you've installed. Proceed by clicking Ok.

4. Under the User variables for (YourComputersName), proceed to Path by double clicking or using the method explained above.

5. Type in the same exact path by clicking on New and then save it by clicking Ok.

6. Now restart your computer to initialize the paths.

Next Steps

• You can either clone the repo to gain the complete files from this tutorial and/or follow along.

Clone

• You can skip the following (No Clone) and continue this tutorial. Make sure you have your terminal's directory set to where you can find your file.

• I suggest setting up your directory to your Desktop and downloading the repo git clone https://github.com/JonathanDuarteGH/visualstudiocode_cpp_setup.git

No Clone

• Make a New Folder in your Desktop and call it whatever you wish that is relevant to this tutorial.

Following Steps

• Launch VS Code and click on the "Explorer" icon.

• Add your newly created folder or the repo that you've just cloned to the workspace:

• File > Add Folder To Workspace...

Setting up JSON Files

• Under your workspace, create a new C/C++ file and call it whatever you wish. In this tutorial, lets use main.cpp.

• Copy, paste, and save this code for testing:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
  
  int a = 21;
  int b = 22;
  cout << "The value of a and b are: " << a << " and " << b << endl;

  return 0;
}

Configuring the compiler path

• Press Ctrl+Shift+P and in type in "C/C++: Edit Configurations".

• Select the workspace that you've added.

• Under your newly created c_cpp_properties.json file, copy and paste the following depending on the version of MinGW you are using:

MinGW:

{
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Win32",
            "defines": [
                "_DEBUG",
                "UNICODE"
            ],
            "compilerPath": "C:/MinGW/bin/g++.exe",
            "intelliSenseMode": "gcc-x64",
            "browse": {
                "path": [
                    "${workspaceRoot}"
                ],
                "limitSymbolsToIncludedHeaders": true,
                "databaseFilename": ""
            }
        }
    ],
    "version": 4
}

MinGW-w64:

{
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Win32",
            "defines": [
                "_DEBUG",
                "UNICODE"
            ],
            "compilerPath": "C:/mingw-w64/x86_64-7.3.0-win32-seh-rt_v6-rev0/mingw64/bin/g++.exe",
            "intelliSenseMode": "gcc-x64",
            "browse": {
                "path": [
                    "${workspaceRoot}"
                ],
                "limitSymbolsToIncludedHeaders": true,
                "databaseFilename": ""
            }
        }
    ],
    "version": 4
}

Create a build task

• Press Ctrl+Shift+P and in type in "Tasks: Configure Task".

• Find your workspace folder (if prompted) and select "Create task.json file from template".

  • If it asks you for "C/C++: [cl.exe, cpp.exe, or g++.exe] build active file (yourWorkspaceFolder)", select any one of them

• Under your newly created tasks.json file, copy and paste the following:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "echo",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "g++",
      "args": [
        "-g", "${file}", "-o", "${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe"
      ],
      "group": {
        "kind": "build",
        "isDefault": true
      },
      "problemMatcher": {
        "owner": "cpp",
        "fileLocation": ["relative","${workspaceRoot}"],
        "pattern": {
          "regexp": "^(.*):(\\d+):(\\d+):\\s+(warning|error):\\s+(.*)$",
          "file": 1,
          "line": 2,
          "column": 3,
          "severity": 4,
          "message": 5
        }
    }
  }]
}

• Select your main.cpp program and press Ctrl+Shift+B to build it.

• main.exe file should be created after the build.

Configure debug settings

• Click on the "Debug" icon and press the drop down button

• Locate your workspace and Select "C++ (GDB/LLDB)"

• Under your newly created launch.json file, copy and paste the following depending on the version of MinGW you've installed:

MinGW:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "(gdb) Launch",
      "type": "cppdbg",
      "request": "launch",
      "program": "${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe",
      "args": [],
      "stopAtEntry": false,
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
      "environment": [],
      "externalConsole": false,
      "MIMode": "gdb",
      "miDebuggerPath": "C:/MinGW/bin/gdb.exe",
      "setupCommands": [
        {
          "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
          "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
          "ignoreFailures": true
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

MinGW-w64:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "(gdb) Launch",
      "type": "cppdbg",
      "request": "launch",
      "program": "${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe",
      "args": [],
      "stopAtEntry": false,
      "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
      "environment": [],
      "externalConsole": true,
      "MIMode": "gdb",
      "miDebuggerPath": "C:/mingw-w64/x86_64-7.3.0-win32-seh-rt_v5-rev0/mingw64/bin/gdb.exe",
      "setupCommands": [
        {
          "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
          "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
          "ignoreFailures": true
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Test

• Delete the main.exe file.

• Begin building the main.cpp program by pressing Ctrl+Shift+B on the opened file.

• Click on the "Debug" Icon and click on your workspace from the drop down arrow.

• Click the green play button to see the debugging in action.

• If you would like to know how to use the debugger, please visit https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp

FAQ

What is MinGW/MinGW-w64?

• They are a Linux development environments that runs on Windows to create applications.

• MinGW and MinGW-w64 both have g++ compliers as well as gdb debuggers that can be used to run on the native Microsoft Windows platform.

Can Windows 10 run MinGW despite being a 32 bit architecture?

• Programs under MinGW have 32 bits executables. But they can be used on 64 bits version of Windows. Therefore, you don't have to worry too much on compatibility.

Why am I'm getting a “/bin/bash: [command] command not found” after setting up tasks.json and c_cpp_properties.json?

• This is because you are not setting your paths correctly. Please revisit Configuring the compiler path to set it up exactly as it is written (i.e: did your restart your machine?).

How do I know if MinGW/MinGW-w64 is installed correctly?

• Open your command prompt terminal and type g++ --version. This will give you the current version of MinGW/MinGW-w64.

What if MinGW is not on the Path variable but it is still being referenced by another program or file directory?

• Open the command prompt and type where g++. This will reveal the location of your other MinGW in your system.

• After finding your other MinGW, delete it.

• Move your newly installed MinGW folder into the directory the old MinGW was being called previously.

• Copy the new file path of that MinGW and paste it into your environment variables and User variables for (YourComputersName).

  • For example, codeblocks was referencing another MinGW folder. So I deleted it and moved my recently installed MinGW folder in its place. Then I copied its path C:\Program Files (x86)\CodeBlocks\mingw-w64\x86_64-8.1.0-win32-seh-rt_v6-rev0\mingw64\bin.

Why are you using MinGW-w64 7.3.0 and not 8.1.0?

• According to this github issue, [gdb] [windows] unknown target exception 0x4000001f at 0x40163e #2285, there is an ongoing problem with with MinGW-w64 8.1.0 where the 64bit gdb crashes frequently. The gdb is the debugger for the compiler.

Acknowledgements

• Visual Studio Code Language Docs (C/C++)

Contact

This is an ongoing repo doc. So feel free to contact me for any feedback, suggestions, or questions.

Jonathan Duarte - jonathanduarte313@gmail.com