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JavaScript Set up Debugging with VS Code

Posted by Mike Straw
Mike Straw
7,100 Points

Can't find Node.js binary "node"

Even though Node.js is installed, I can't launch the debugger. I consistently get "Can't find Node.js binary "node": path does not exist. Make sure Node.js is installed and in your PATH, or set the "runtimeExecutable" in your launch.json".

The Node.js binary is in my path, because a which command in the terminal shows that it's there:

which node /usr/local/bin/node

As a workaround, I can edit the launch.json to point to that, but why doesn't VS Code see it?

2 Answers

Mike Straw
Mike Straw
7,100 Points

Finally found it. I needed to set the global runtimeExecutable setting to the full path instead of just node

Image Link: https://d.pr/i/iPBOwS

After a restart, everything started working. Although I'm still curious why it doesn't recognize the node binary that's in the path.

Justin Burgess
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Justin Burgess
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 19,406 Points
Justin Burgess
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Justin Burgess
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 19,406 Points

I had this same error, but my solution was different because my Node.js implementation was the problem. I am running Node on WSL while VS Code is installed on Windows. Because of this, VS Code is unable to natively debug Node.js. The solution to this problem came from the following article:

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/wsl

After installing VS Code Server, and opening a VS Code WSL window with the 'code .' command, I was able to establish a debugging session. Also, because I created the launch.json file before VS Code Server was installed, the program configuration was written with back-slashes. I had to re-write the configuration with forward slashes as used in Linux, like this:

Before: "version": "0.2.0", "configurations": [ ... "program": "${workspaceFolder}\\bin\\www" ... ]

After: "version": "0.2.0", "configurations": [ ... "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/www" ... ]