Typically, in VSCode, debugging a C++ executable requires you to create a launch.json file where you specify your debug configuration. So you can avoid doing that, this extension will automatically generate a debug configuration based on the command that you would use to run your executable on the command line, and invoke the debugger GDB using it.
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Make sure you have GDB installed; it comes with the compiler g++ on most systems.
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Create your executable using a compiler like Clang or g++. Make sure to use the
-gflag.
g++ -g myclass.cpp mymain.cpp -o myprogramOr:
# make sure -g is in your CPPFLAGS or similar in the makefile
make debug-
Add breakpoints to your source code by clicking on the space to the left of the line numbers.
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Hit F1 or Ctrl-Shift-P to bring up the VSCode command palette; type InstantGDB and choose the option to "Run executable with GDB"
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Enter the command that you would use to run your executable normally, such as
./myprogram myinputfile.txt logdest.txt
That should do it.