microsoft / microsoft/vscode-cpptools

Missing IntelliSense Hover Docs

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#13,738 5 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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bug Feature: Doc comments Language Service Works in VS
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Description

Environment
  • OS and Version: Windows 11 (Windows_NT 10.0.26120)
  • VS Code Version: 1.101.2 (system setup)
  • C/C++ Extension Version: 1.101.2 (system setup)
  • If using SSH remote, specify OS of remote machine: --
Bug Summary and Steps to Reproduce
Bug Summary:

When I hover over the .assign() method, I don't see any doc comments.

Image

But if i hover over .size(), I can see the doc comments.

Image

Note that the source code is opened on the right and the comments are available.

Steps to reproduce:

  • Start with a fresh profile and install the cpptools extension.
  • Create this file and hover over the methods.
#include <vector>

int main(){
    std::vector<int> x = {1, 2, 3};

    x.size();
    x.assign(5, 2);
}

mingw was installed from choco. IntelliSense engine is set to default.

Expected behavior:

The official vs code docs include the following sample of IntelliSense hover:

Configuration and Logs 
c_cpp_properties.json:

{
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Win32",
            "includePath": [
                "${workspaceFolder}/**"
            ],
            "defines": [
                "_DEBUG",
                "UNICODE",
                "_UNICODE"
            ],
            "compilerPath": "C:/ProgramData/mingw64/mingw64/bin/g++.exe",
            "cStandard": "c17",
            "cppStandard": "c++17",
            "intelliSenseMode": "${default}"
        }
    ],
    "version": 4
}

-------- Diagnostics - 7/2/2025, 1:12:56 AM
Version: 1.26.3
Current Configuration:
{
    "name": "Win32",
    "includePath": [
        "c:/test/**"
    ],
    "defines": [
        "_DEBUG",
        "UNICODE",
        "_UNICODE"
    ],
    "compilerPath": "C:/ProgramData/mingw64/mingw64/bin/g++.exe",
    "cStandard": "c17",
    "cppStandard": "c++17",
    "compilerPathIsExplicit": true,
    "cStandardIsExplicit": true,
    "cppStandardIsExplicit": true,
    "intelliSenseModeIsExplicit": true,
    "recursiveIncludesReduceIsExplicit": false,
    "recursiveIncludesPriorityIsExplicit": false,
    "recursiveIncludesOrderIsExplicit": false,
    "compilerPathInCppPropertiesJson": "C:/ProgramData/mingw64/mingw64/bin/g++.exe",
    "mergeConfigurations": false,
    "recursiveIncludes": {},
    "browse": {
        "limitSymbolsToIncludedHeaders": true
    }
}
Additional Tracked Settings:
{
    "editorTabSize": 4,
    "editorInsertSpaces": true,
    "editorAutoClosingBrackets": "languageDefined",
    "filesEncoding": "utf8",
    "filesAssociations": {},
    "filesExclude": {
        "**/.git": true,
        "**/.svn": true,
        "**/.hg": true,
        "**/.DS_Store": true,
        "**/Thumbs.db": true
    },
    "filesAutoSaveAfterDelay": false,
    "editorInlayHintsEnabled": true,
    "editorParameterHintsEnabled": true,
    "searchExclude": {
        "**/node_modules": true,
        "**/bower_components": true,
        "**/*.code-search": true
    },
    "workbenchSettingsEditor": "ui"
}
cpptools version (native): 1.26.3.0
Current database path: C:\USERS\HP\APPDATA\LOCAL\MICROSOFT\VSCODE-CPPTOOLS\6D557105B6435204EBF79CA22E0DF8DA\.BROWSE.VC.DB
Translation Unit Mappings:
[ C:\test\a.cpp - source TU]:
    C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include\c++\bits\stl_vector.h
Translation Unit Configurations:
[ C:\test\a.cpp ]
    Process ID: 15136
    Memory Usage: 96 MB
    Compiler Path: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\bin\g++.exe
    Include paths:
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include\c++
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include\c++\x86_64-w64-mingw32
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include\c++\backward
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\lib\gcc\x86_64-w64-mingw32\13.2.0\include-fixed
        system include: C:\ProgramData\mingw64\mingw64\x86_64-w64-mingw32\include
    Defines:
        _DEBUG
        UNICODE
        _UNICODE
    Standard Version: c++17
    IntelliSense Mode: windows-gcc-x64
    Other Flags:
        --g++
        --gnu_version=130200
Total Memory Usage: 96 MB

------- Workspace parsing diagnostics -------
Number of files discovered (not excluded): 2578
Number of files parsed: 389
Other Extensions

None; it's a fresh profile.

Additional context

No response

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the issue with the a.cpp example and the c_cpp_properties.json configuration, then compare IntelliSense hover results for std::vector::assign and std::vector::size using the reported MinGW setup. Inspect the IntelliSense handling of standard-library hover documentation and use the diagnostics to narrow the behavior. Done means assign displays documentation consistently with size.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, vscode
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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