what does attach to process mean in visual studio

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Attach to running processes with the Visual Studio debugger

• Article
• 02/eleven/2022
• 14 minutes to read

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You can attach the Visual Studio debugger to a running process on a local or remote calculator. Later the process is running, select Debug > Adhere to Process or printing Ctrl+Alt+p in Visual Studio, and utilise the Attach to Process dialog to attach the debugger to the process.

Y'all tin can utilize Attach to Procedure to debug running apps on local or remote computers, debug multiple processes simultaneously, debug apps that weren't created in Visual Studio, or debug any app you didn't get-go from Visual Studio with the debugger attached. For instance, if you're running an app without the debugger and hit an exception, you lot tin can and then adhere the debugger to the process running the app and begin debugging.

Tip

Not sure whether to use Attach to Process for your debugging scenario? Come across Common debugging scenarios.

Adhere to a running process on your local auto

To quickly reattach to a process you fastened to previously, see Reattach to a procedure.

To attach to a process on your local computer:

1. In Visual Studio, select Debug > Attach to Procedure (or press Ctrl+Alt+P) to open the Attach to Process dialog box.

2. Cheque the Connection type.

   In virtually scenarios, you lot can use Default. Some scenarios may require a unlike connection type. For more than info, see other sections in this article or Common debugging scenarios.

3. Set the Connection target to your local automobile name.

   

   

4. In the Available processes list, find and select the procedure or processes you want to adhere to.

   • To apace select a process, type its name or first letter in the Filter processes box.

   • If you don't know the process name, browse through the list, or see Common debugging scenarios for some mutual process names.

   Tip

   Processes tin showtime and stop in the background while the Adhere to Procedure dialog box is open, so the list of running processes may not always be current. You lot can select Refresh at whatsoever fourth dimension to see the electric current list.

5. In the Attach to field, make sure the type of code you plan to debug is listed. The default Automatic setting works for nearly app types.

   If you lot are using the Default connection type, y'all can manually select the type of code you desire to adhere to. Otherwise, the Select option may be disabled.

   To select code types manually:

   1. Click Select.
   2. In the Select Code Blazon dialog box, select Debug these code types. If you experience a failure when you lot try to adhere to a process in the list, yous can use the Select Code Type dialog box to aid troubleshoot the outcome.
   3. Select the code types y'all want to debug.
   4. Select OK.

6. Select Attach.

Tip

In the scenario where you lot have multiple identical processes, use the Control Line cavalcade or the w3wp process details from the Title cavalcade to identify the correct process.

Note

You can exist attached to multiple apps for debugging, only only 1 app is agile in the debugger at a time. You tin can fix the active app in the Visual Studio Debug Location toolbar or Processes window.

Attach to a process on a remote estimator

You lot can also select a remote computer in the Adhere to Process dialog box, view a list of available processes running on that computer, and attach to one or more of the processes for debugging. The remote debugger (msvsmon.exe) must exist running on the remote computer. For more than information, see Remote debugging.

For more than complete instructions for debugging ASP.Cyberspace applications that take been deployed to IIS, see Remote debugging ASP.NET on a remote IIS computer.

To attach to a running process on a remote computer:

1. In Visual Studio, select Debug > Adhere to Process (or press Ctrl+Alt+P) to open the Attach to Process dialog box.

2. Bank check the Connection type.

   In about scenarios, y'all can use Default. Some scenarios, such as debugging Linux or a containerized app, crave a different connexion type. For more info, see other sections in this article or Mutual debugging scenarios.

3. In the Connection target box, select the remote computer, using 1 of the post-obit methods:

   • Select the driblet-downward arrow adjacent to Connexion target, and select the estimator name from the drop-downwards list.

   • Type the figurer name in the Connection target box and press Enter.

     Verify that Visual Studio adds the required port to the figurer name, which appears in the format: <remote estimator proper noun>:port

     Note

     If y'all tin't connect using the remote computer name, try using the IP and port address (for instance, 123.45.678.9:4022). 4026 is the default port for the Visual Studio 2022 remote debugger. For other remote debugger port assignments, run across Remote debugger port assignments.

     Note

     If you can't connect using the remote computer name, try using the IP and port address (for case, 123.45.678.9:4022). 4024 is the default port for the Visual Studio 2019 remote debugger. For other remote debugger port assignments, run into Remote debugger port assignments.

     Notation

     If you lot can't connect using the remote computer name, try using the IP and port address (for example, 123.45.678.ix:4022). 4022 is the default port for the Visual Studio 2017 remote debugger. For other remote debugger port assignments, come across Remote debugger port assignments.

   • Select the Find push button adjacent to the Connection target box to open the Remote Connections dialog box. The Remote Connections dialog box lists all the devices that are on your local subnet or directly fastened to your figurer. You may need to open UDP port 3702 on the server to observe remote devices. Select the computer or device you lot want, and then click Select.

   Note

   The Connection blazon setting persists between debugging sessions. The Connection target setting persists between debugging sessions just if a successful debugging connection occurred with that target.

4. Click Refresh to populate the Available processes list.

   Tip

   Processes can start and stop in the background while the Attach to Process dialog box is open, so the list of running processes may not ever exist current. You tin can select Refresh at any time to see the current list.

5. In the Available processes list, find and select the process or processes yous want to attach to.

   • To quickly select a process, type its name or first letter in the Filter processes box.

   • If you don't know the process name, browse through the list, or see Mutual debugging scenarios for some common procedure names.

   • To find processes running under all user accounts, select the Evidence processes from all users check box.

6. In the Adhere to field, make sure the type of code you plan to debug is listed. The default Automatic setting works for most app types.

   If you are using the Default connection type, you can manually select the type of code yous want to adhere to. Otherwise, the Select option may be disabled.

   To select code types manually:

   1. Click Select.
   2. In the Select Code Type dialog box, select Debug these code types. If you experience a failure when you try to attach to a process in the list, yous tin use the Select Code Type dialog box to help troubleshoot the effect.
   3. Select OK.

7. Select Attach.

Annotation

Yous can be attached to multiple apps for debugging, only just one app is active in the debugger at a fourth dimension. Yous can ready the active app in the Visual Studio Debug Location toolbar or Processes window.

In some cases, when you debug in a Remote Desktop (Terminal Services) session, the Available processes list won't display all available processes. If you are running Visual Studio as a user who has a express user account, the Bachelor processes list won't show processes that are running in Session 0. Session 0 is used for services and other server processes, including w3wp.exe. You tin solve the problem past running Visual Studio under an administrator business relationship or by running Visual Studio from the server console instead of a Terminal Services session.

If neither of those workarounds is possible, a third option is to attach to the process by running vsjitdebugger.exe -p <ProcessId> from the Windows command line. You tin can make up one's mind the procedure ID using tlist.exe. To obtain tlist.exe, download and install Debugging Tools for Windows, available at WDK and WinDbg downloads.

Attach to a .NET Core process running on Azure App Service (Windows)

If you lot're publishing to Azure App Service (Windows), run into Debugging Azure App Services for instructions.

Attach to a .Internet Core procedure running on Azure App Service (Windows)

If y'all're publishing to Azure App Service (Windows), you lot'll discover the Attach Debugger selection under the ... menu under Hosting in the publish profile. Visual Studio attempts to attach the remote debugger to the instance of Azure App Service (Windows) that the contour is publishing to.

Adhere to a .Net Cadre procedure running on Linux using SSH

For more information, see Remote debug .Internet Core running on Linux using SSH.

Reattach to a process

You lot can quickly reattach to processes that you were previously attached to by choosing Debug > Reattach to Process (Shift+Alt+P). When you cull this command, the debugger will immediately effort to attach to the terminal processes y'all attached to by first attempting to match the previous procedure ID and if that fails, past matching to the previous process name. If no matches are plant, or if several processes have the same proper name, the Adhere to Process dialog box will open up so you can select the right process.

Note

The Reattach to Process command is available starting in Visual Studio 2017.

Common debugging scenarios

To assistance y'all determine whether to use Attach to Process and what procedure to adhere to, the following tabular array shows a few common debugging scenarios, with links to more instructions where available. (The list is not exhaustive.)

For some app types, like Universal Windows App (UWP) apps, you don't attach directly to a procedure name, but utilise the Debug Installed App Bundle card option in Visual Studio instead (see table).

For the debugger to adhere to code written in C++, the lawmaking needs to emit DebuggableAttribute. Y'all tin can add this to your code automatically by linking with the /ASSEMBLYDEBUG linker selection.

For client-side script debugging, script debugging must be enabled in the browser. For debugging client-side script on Chrome, cull JavaScript (Chrome) or JavaScript (Microsoft Edge - Chromium) as the code type, and depending on your app type, you may need to close all Chrome instances and start the browser in debugging mode (blazon chrome.exe --remote-debugging-port=9222 from a command line). In earlier versions of Visual Studio, the script debugger for Chrome was Web kit.

To rapidly select a running procedure to adhere to, in Visual Studio, type Ctrl+Alt+P, and and then type the offset alphabetic character of the process proper noun.

Scenario	Debug method	Process name	Notes and links
ASP.NET Core - Remote debug on IIS server	Use remote tools and Attach to Procedure	w3wp.exe or dotnet.exe	Starting in .Internet Core three, the w3wp.exe process is used for the default in-app hosting model. For app deployment, run into Publish to IIS. For more than detailed information, see Remote debugging ASP.Internet Core on a remote IIS computer
ASP.Internet Core - Debug on the local machine after you lot start the app without the debugger	Use Adhere to Process	iiexpress.exe	This may be helpful to brand your app load faster, such as (for case) when profiling.
ASP.Internet iv or four.5 - Remote debug on an IIS server	Apply remote tools and Adhere to Process	w3wp.exe	See Remote debugging ASP.NET on a remote IIS computer
Customer-side script - Debug on a local IIS server, for supported app types	Apply Adhere to Process	chrome.exe, MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe, or iexplore.exe	Script debugging must exist enabled. For Chrome, you must likewise run Chrome in debug mode (type chrome.exe --remote-debugging-port=9222 from a command line) and select JavaScript (Chrome) in the Attach to field.
C#, Visual Basic, or C++ app - Debug on the local auto	Utilise either standard debugging (F5) or Adhere to Process	<appname>.exe	In most scenarios, use standard debugging and not Attach to Process.
Windows desktop app - Remote debug	Remote tools	N/A	See Remote debug a C# or Visual Bones app or Remote debug a C++ app
.Cyberspace Core on Linux - Debug	Utilize Attach to Process	dotnet.exe or a unique process name	To use SSH, see Remote debug .Internet Cadre running on Linux using SSH. For containerized apps, see Attach to a process running in a Docker container.
Containerized app - Debug	Utilize Attach to Process	dotnet.exe or a unique procedure name	Run into Adhere to a process running in a Docker container
Python on Linux - Remote debug	Use Attach to Process	debugpy	See Attach remotely from Python Tools
Other supported app types - Debug on a server procedure	If server is remote, use remote tools, and Attach to Process	chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, or other processes	If necessary, use Resources Monitor to aid identify the process. See Remote debugging.
Universal Windows App (UWP), OneCore, HoloLens, or IoT app - Remote debug	Debug installed app bundle	N/A	Run into Debug an installed app packet instead of using Attach to Procedure
Universal Windows App (UWP), OneCore, HoloLens, or IoT - Debug an app that y'all didn't showtime from Visual Studio	Debug installed app package	North/A	See Debug an installed app package instead of using Attach to Process

Use debugger features

To utilise the full features of the Visual Studio debugger (like hitting breakpoints) when attaching to a process, the app must exactly lucifer your local source and symbols. That is, the debugger must be able to load the correct symbol (.pdb) files. Past default, this requires a debug build.

For remote debugging scenarios, you lot must take the source code (or a copy of the source code) already open in Visual Studio. The compiled app binaries on the remote motorcar must come up from the aforementioned build equally on the local machine.

In some local debugging scenarios, you can debug in Visual Studio with no admission to the source if the correct symbol files are nowadays with the app. By default, this requires a debug build. For more than information, meet Specify symbol and source files.

Troubleshoot adhere errors

In some scenarios, the debugger may demand assistance to correctly place the blazon of lawmaking to debug. If the connexion values are set correctly (you tin view the correct procedure in the Available processes list), but the debugger fails to attach, try to select the near appropriate connection blazon in the Connection type listing, which may be required, for example, if you are debugging a Linux or Python app. If y'all are using the Default connection type, then you tin alternatively select the specific type of code to connect to, every bit described later in this section.

When the debugger attaches to a running process, the process can contain one or more than types of code. The code types the debugger can attach to are displayed and selected in the Select Code Blazon dialog box.

Sometimes, the debugger can successfully attach to one code blazon, only not to another code type. Typically, this occurs when:

• You endeavour to attach to a process that is running on a remote estimator. The remote computer might have remote debugging components installed for some code types but not for others.
• You endeavour to attach to two or more than processes for direct database debugging. SQL debugging supports attaching to a unmarried process only.

If the debugger is able to attach to some, but not all, lawmaking types, you see a message identifying which types failed to adhere.

If the debugger successfully attaches to at least one code type, you lot can proceed to debug the process. Yous volition be able to debug only the code types that were successfully attached. The unattached code in the procedure will still run, but yous won't be able to set breakpoints, view data, or perform other debugging operations on that code.

If you want more than specific information about why the debugger failed to attach to a code type, try to reattach to simply that code type.

To obtain specific information about why a code type failed to attach:

1. Disassemble from the process. On the Debug menu, select Detach All.

2. Reattach to the procedure, selecting but the code type that failed to attach.

   1. In the Attach to Process dialog box, select the procedure in the Available processes list.

   2. Select Select.

   3. In the Select Lawmaking Type dialog box, select Debug these code types and the code type that failed to adhere. Deselect the other code types.

   4. Select OK.

   5. In the Adhere to Process dialog box, select Adhere.

   This time, the attach will fail completely, and y'all will get a specific error message.

Encounter also

• Debug multiple processes
• Just-In-Time debugging
• Remote debugging

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Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/debugger/attach-to-running-processes-with-the-visual-studio-debugger