1 Installing the CygWin Compiler

2 Install VSCode

Next up is the VSCode IDE.

3 Add the Compilers to your PATH

VSCode needs to be able to find your newly-installed compiler. There is a chance that it will find them if you have simply installed them in their default locations, but I find that things run more smoothly if the compiler and related tools are in your PATH.

The %PATH% in Windows is the list of directories where Windows will search for executable programs.

There are two ways to do this:

3.1 The “Permanent” Way

3.2 The Temporary Way

Create a Windows batch file to launch Eclipse, e.g., cygEclipse.bat that adds the bin directory containing the g++ and other Cygwin executables (C:\cygwin64\bin, if you have accepted the default location when installing Cygwin), to the Windows PATH and then launches Eclipse:

cygVSCode.bat

SET PATH=%PATH%;c:\cygwin64\bin
"C:\Users\jdoe\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe"

Change this path to the actual path where your Cygwin bin file is stored, and change this path to the place where you installed Eclipse.

If you opt for this approach rather than the “permanent” change to %PATH%, then you will need to remember to use this batch file to launch VSCode whenever you want to work in C++.

I like to put this .bat file right on my desktop so that I can easily launch it by double-clicking on it.

4 Try it Out

You should now be able to create C++ projects, edit C++ code, compile it, and debug it.

4.1 Build task

Select a .cpp file. Then from the Terminal menu, select “Configure Default Build Task”.
Select “C/C++: g++.exe build active file”.

• If your project has a make file:

  In the new tasks.json file,

  1. Change the label to “C/C++ make -k”
  2. Change the command to “make”
  3. Change the args to [“-k”]
  4. Change the cwd option to “${workspaceFolder}”

  You should wind up with something like this:

  {
  // See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=733558
  // for the documentation about the tasks.json format
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
      {
          "type": "cppbuild",
          "label": "C/C++: make -k",
          "command": "make",
          "args": [
              "-k"
          ],
          "options": {
              "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
          },
          "problemMatcher": [
              "$gcc"
          ],
          "group": {
              "kind": "build",
              "isDefault": true
          },
          "detail": "compiler: C:\\cygwin64\\bin\\cpp.exe"
      }
  ]
    }
  

• If your project does not have a makefile,

  In the new tasks.json file,

  1. Change the label to “C/C++ build all”
  2. In the args area, change “${file}” to "*.cpp".
  3. Change the cwd option to “${workspaceFolder}”

  You should wind up with something like this:

  {
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
  	{
  		"type": "cppbuild",
  		"label": "C/C++: g++.exe build all",
  		"command": "C:\\cygwin64\\bin\\g++.exe",
  		"args": [
  			"-fdiagnostics-color=always",
  			"-g",
  			"*.cpp",
  			"-o",
  			"${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe"
  		],
  		"options": {
  			"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
  		},
  		"problemMatcher": [
  			"$gcc"
  		],
  		"group": {
  			"kind": "build",
  			"isDefault": true
  		},
  		"detail": "compiler: C:\\cygwin64\\bin\\g++.exe"
  	}
  ]
  }
  

4.2 Launch Task

To configure your launch task (for launching the debugger), select any .cpp file. Then, in the Run menu, select “Add Configuration”. Select “C++ (gdb/lldb)”. Then select the same menu entry again and choose “C/C++ (gdb) Launch”.

In the resulting launch.json file,

1. Change the name to “(gdb) CygWin launch”.
2. For the program, put “${workspaceFolder}/???.exe”, replacing the ??? by hte name of your executable program.
3. If your program needs CLI arguments when it is run, put hose into args as a comma-separated sequence of quoted strings.
4. For cwd, put “${workspaceFolder}”.
5. For miDebuggerPath, put “gdb”.
6. Optional, but recommended: Add an entry after the miDebuggerPath:

   "preLaunchTask": "name-of-your-build-task",

You should wind up with something like this:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        
        {
            "name": "(gdb) Cygwin Launch",
            "type": "cppdbg",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/testcpp.exe",
            "args": [],
            "stopAtEntry": false,
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "environment": [],
            "externalConsole": false,
            "MIMode": "gdb",
            "miDebuggerPath": "gdb",
            "preLaunchTask": "C/C++: make -k",
            "setupCommands": [
                {
                    "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
                    "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
                    "ignoreFailures": true
                },
                {
                    "description":  "Set Disassembly Flavor to Intel",
                    "text": "-gdb-set disassembly-flavor intel",
                    "ignoreFailures": true
                }
            ]
        }

    ]
}