Remote Debugging in Visual Studio 2019: Step-by-Step Tutorial

How to Download and Use Remote Debugger in Visual Studio 2019

Remote debugging is a powerful feature of Visual Studio 2019 that allows you to debug a Visual Studio application that has been deployed on a different computer. In this article, you will learn what remote debugging is, why you need it, how to download and install the remote tools for Visual Studio 2019, how to set up the remote debugger, how to remote debug a Visual Studio 2019 project, and how to set up debugging with remote symbols. By the end of this article, you will be able to debug your applications on any device or server with ease.

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What is Remote Debugging and Why You Need It

Remote debugging is the process of running a debugger on one computer (the host) and connecting it to another computer (the target) where an application is running. The debugger allows you to inspect the state of the application, set breakpoints, step through code, watch variables, evaluate expressions, and more. Remote debugging is useful for many scenarios, such as:

Remote debugging scenarios and benefits

• Debugging on production machines with no development tools installed other than the remote debugger tools. This can help you diagnose and fix issues that only occur in production environments.

• Debugging on devices or servers that have different operating systems, architectures, or configurations than your development machine. This can help you test your application's compatibility and performance on various platforms.

• Debugging on devices or servers that are not physically accessible or have limited resources. This can help you debug your application without having to transfer files or install software on the target machine.

Remote debugging requirements and limitations

To use remote debugging, you need to meet some requirements and be aware of some limitations, such as:

• The remote debugger is supported on Windows 7 and newer (not phone) and versions of Windows Server starting with Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. For a complete list of requirements, see .

• The latest remote tools version is compatible with earlier Visual Studio versions, but earlier remote tools versions aren't compatible with later Visual Studio versions. For example, if you are using Visual Studio 2019, download the latest update of the remote tools for Visual Studio 2019. In this scenario, do not download the remote tools for Visual Studio 2022.

• The remote tools must match the architecture of the target machine. For example, if you want to debug x86 applications on a remote computer running an x64 operating system, install the x64 remote tools. To debug x86, ARM, or x64 applications on an ARM64 operating system, install the ARM64 remote tools.

• Debugging between two computers connected through a proxy is not supported. Debugging over a high latency or low bandwidth connection, such as dialup Internet, or over the Internet across countries/regions is not recommended and may fail or be unacceptably slow.

How to Download and Install the Remote Tools for Visual Studio 2019

To download and install the remote tools for Visual Studio 2019, follow these steps:

Choose the right version and architecture of the remote tools

As mentioned earlier, you need to download the remote tools that match the version and architecture of the target machine. To find out the version and architecture of the target machine, you can use one of these methods:

• On the target machine, open a command prompt and run wmic os get osarchitecture to get the architecture, and wmic os get version to get the version.

• On the target machine, open the System Information app and look for the System Type and Version fields.

• On your development machine, open Visual Studio 2019 and go to Tools > Options > Debugging > General. Check the option "Show remote machine architecture in attach to process dialog". Then, go to Debug > Attach to Process and select the target machine from the Qualifier drop-down list. You will see the architecture of the target machine in parentheses next to its name.

Download the remote tools from the official link

Once you know the version and architecture of the target machine, you can download the remote tools from this link: . Choose the appropriate download based on your target machine's architecture. For example, if you want to debug x64 applications on a remote computer running an x64 operating system, download Remote Tools for Visual Studio 2019 (x64).

Install the remote tools on the remote device or server

After downloading the remote tools, copy them to the target machine and run them as an administrator. Follow the instructions in the setup wizard to complete the installation. You can choose to install only the remote debugger component or all of the remote tools components, which include:

• The Remote Debugger: This is the main component that allows you to connect to and debug applications on a remote machine.

• The Remote Profiler: This allows you to collect performance data from a remote machine and analyze it in Visual Studio 2019.

• The IntelliTrace Standalone Collector: This allows you to collect IntelliTrace data from a remote machine and analyze it in Visual Studio 2019.

• The Test Agent: This allows you to run automated tests on a remote machine using Visual Studio Test Controller or Azure DevOps.

• The Test Controller: This allows you to manage test agents and test settings for distributed load testing.

How to Set Up the Remote Debugger for Visual Studio 2019

After installing the remote tools on the target machine, you need to set up the remote debugger to allow Visual Studio 2019 to connect to it. Here are some steps to do that:

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Run the remote debugger as an application or a service

You can run the remote debugger as an application or a service on the target machine. The application mode is easier to set up and use, but it requires you to log on to the target machine and start the remote debugger manually. The service mode is more secure and convenient, but it requires you to configure the service settings and permissions. To run the remote debugger as an application, do the following:

• On the target machine, go to Start > All Programs > Visual Studio 2019 > Visual Studio Tools > Remote Debugger.

• Select the appropriate version of the remote debugger based on the architecture of the target machine. For example, if you want to debug x64 applications on a remote computer running an x64 operating system, select Remote Debugger (x64).

• A window will open showing the status of the remote debugger. You can minimize this window, but do not close it.

To run the remote debugger as a service, do the following:

• On the target machine, go to Start > All Programs > Visual Studio 2019 > Visual Studio Tools > Remote Debugger Configuration Wizard.