microsoft / microsoft/vscode-cpptools
Make the extension look for the compiler in the PATH environment variable as well
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- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
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- Merged PRs (30d)
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Description
Feature Request
Currently we have to put the full path of the compiler in the compilerPath property in c_cpp_properties.json, and this breaks portability between systems, since the paths between Windows and Linux are different, would it be possible to put only the name of the compiler and the extension to search for the executable in the PATH environment variable?
Example: "compilerPath": "C:/Program Files/Clang/bin/clang.exe" -> "compilerPath": "clang"
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by tracing how the extension reads and handles the compilerPath property in c_cpp_properties.json. Check the existing compiler discovery behavior, then verify that a compiler name can resolve through PATH on both Windows and Linux; done means the short name works without requiring a machine-specific full path.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript, vscode
- Domain
- tooling
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 65/100