microsoft / microsoft/vscode-cpptools

Debugger Freezes When Inspecting Large Array

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bug debugger help wanted
Dominant language
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Description

Type: Bug

When debugging a C++ console application in Visual Studio Code, the debugger freezes when attempting to inspect a large array (1,000,000 elements) in the "Variables" panel, even though GDB's print limit is set to 100 elements and VS Code's debug view is configured to display only the first 1,000 elements. This issue causes the debugger to become unresponsive, preventing further debugging.

Extension version: 1.26.3
VS Code version: Code 1.103.2 (6f17636121051a53c88d3e605c491d22af2ba755, 2025-08-20T16:45:34.255Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100
Modes:

A/B Experiments
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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

Start by reproducing the freeze in a C++ console application with a 1,000,000-element array, using the Variables panel with GDB's print limit at 100 and the debug view limited to 1,000 elements. Compare behavior with the reported VS Code and C/C++ extension versions; done means inspecting the array no longer makes the debugger unresponsive.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, vscode
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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