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title author description monikerRange ms.author ms.custom ms.date uid
Debug ASP.NET Core Blazor WebAssembly
guardrex
Learn how to debug Blazor WebAssembly with browser developer tools and an integrated development environment (IDE).
>= aspnetcore-3.1
riande
mvc
11/08/2022
blazor/debug

Debug ASP.NET Core Blazor WebAssembly

[!INCLUDE]

This article describes how to debug Blazor WebAssembly with browser developer tools and an integrated development environment (IDE).

:::moniker range=">= aspnetcore-7.0"

Blazor WebAssembly apps can be debugged using the browser developer tools in Chromium-based browsers (Edge/Chrome). You can also debug your app using the following IDEs:

  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio for Mac
  • Visual Studio Code

Available scenarios include:

  • Set and remove breakpoints.
  • Run the app with debugging support in IDEs.
  • Single-step through the code.
  • Resume code execution with a keyboard shortcut in IDEs.
  • In the Locals window, observe the values of local variables.
  • See the call stack, including call chains between JavaScript and .NET.

For now, you can't:

  • Break on unhandled exceptions.
  • Hit breakpoints during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.
  • Debug in non-local scenarios (for example, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or Visual Studio Codespaces).
  • Automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

Prerequisites

Debugging requires either of the following browsers:

  • Google Chrome (version 70 or later) (default)
  • Microsoft Edge (version 80 or later)

Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Visual Studio Code users require the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension.

Visual Studio for Mac requires version 8.8 (build 1532) or later:

Install the latest release of Visual Studio for Mac by selecting the Download Visual Studio for Mac button at Microsoft: Visual Studio for Mac.

Note

Apple Safari on macOS isn't currently supported.

Packages

Standalone Blazor WebAssembly:

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.WebAssembly.DevServer: Development server for use when building Blazor apps. Calls xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder.WebAssemblyNetDebugProxyAppBuilderExtensions.UseWebAssemblyDebugging%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType internally to add middleware for debugging Blazor WebAssembly apps inside Chromium developer tools.

Hosted Blazor WebAssembly:

[!INCLUDE]

Debug a standalone Blazor WebAssembly app

To enable debugging for an existing Blazor WebAssembly app, update the launchSettings.json file in the startup project to include the following inspectUri property in each launch profile:

"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}"

Once updated, the launchSettings.json file should look similar to the following example:

[!code-json]

The inspectUri property:

  • Enables the IDE to detect that the app is a Blazor WebAssembly app.
  • Instructs the script debugging infrastructure to connect to the browser through Blazor's debugging proxy.

The placeholder values for the WebSocket protocol (wsProtocol), host (url.hostname), port (url.port), and inspector URI on the launched browser (browserInspectUri) are provided by the framework.

Visual Studio

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution.

  2. With the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project selected in Solution Explorer, press F5 to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] When debugging with a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, a new browser window might open with a separate profile for the debugging session instead of opening a tab in an existing browser window with the user's profile. If debugging with the user's profile is a requirement, adopt one of the following approaches:

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press F5 to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press F5 to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press F5 again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

If the app is hosted at a different app base path than /, update the following properties in Properties/launchSettings.json to reflect the app's base path:

  • applicationUrl:

    "iisSettings": {
  ...
  "iisExpress": {
    "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/{APP BASE PATH}/",
    "sslPort": {SECURE PORT}
  }
},

  • inspectUri of each profile:

    "profiles": {
  ...
  "{PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}": {
    ...
    "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/{APP BASE PATH}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
    ...
  }
}

The placeholders in the preceding settings:

  • {INSECURE PORT}: The insecure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {APP BASE PATH}: The app's base path.
  • {SECURE PORT}: The secure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}: Launch settings profiles. Usually, an app specifies more than one profile by default (for example, a profile for IIS Express and a project profile, which is used by Kestrel server).

In the following examples, the app is hosted at /OAT with an app base path configured in wwwroot/index.html as <base href="/OAT/">:

"applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/OAT/",
"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/OAT/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",

For information on using a custom app base path for Blazor WebAssembly apps, see xref:blazor/host-and-deploy/index#app-base-path.

Visual Studio Code

Debug standalone Blazor WebAssembly

For information on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling.

  1. Open the standalone Blazor WebAssembly app in VS Code.

    You may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging:

    Additional setup is required to debug Blazor WebAssembly applications.

    If you receive the notification:

    • Confirm that the latest C# for Visual Studio Code Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • When using the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension version 1.23.9 or later, confirm that the latest Blazor WASM Debugging Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • Reload the window.

  2. Create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {PORT} placeholder with the port configured in Properties/launchSettings.json:

    {
  "name": "Launch and Debug",
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "launch",
  "url": "http://localhost:{PORT}"
}

    If the app is in a subfolder of the workspace root, include the current working directory (cwd) property with the path to the app. In the following property value, replace the {PATH} placeholder with the path to the app:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/{PATH}"

    In the following example, the app is in a subfolder named blazorwasm:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/blazorwasm"

  3. Start debugging using the F5 keyboard shortcut or the menu command.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  4. The standalone app is launched, and a debugging browser is opened.

  5. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  6. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

Debug hosted Blazor WebAssembly

For guidance on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder and where to place the .vscode folder in the solution, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling?pivots=linux.

Note

Only browser debugging is supported at this time.

You can't automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

To debug a published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly app, configure debugger support (DebuggerSupport) and copy output symbols to the publish directory (CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory) in the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app's project file:

<DebuggerSupport>true</DebuggerSupport>
<CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>true</CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>

By default, publishing an app disables the preceding properties by setting them to false.

Warning

Published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly apps should only enable debugging and copying output symbols when deploying published assets locally. Do not* deploy a published app into production with the DebuggerSupport and CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory properties set to true.

Attach to an existing debugging session

To attach to a running Blazor app, create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {URL} placeholder with the URL where the app is running:

{
  "name": "Attach and Debug"
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "attach",
  "url": "{URL}"
}

Note

Attaching to a debugging session is only supported for standalone apps. To use full-stack debugging, you must launch the app from VS Code.

Launch configuration options

The following launch configuration options are supported for the blazorwasm debug type (.vscode/launch.json).

Option Description
request Use launch to launch and attach a debugging session to a Blazor WebAssembly app or attach to attach a debugging session to an already-running app.
url The URL to open in the browser when debugging.
browser The browser to launch for the debugging session. Set to edge or chrome. Defaults to edge.
trace Used to generate logs from the JS debugger. Set to true to generate logs.
hosted Must be set to true if launching and debugging a hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.
webRoot Specifies the absolute path of the web server. Should be set if an app is served from a sub-route.
timeout The number of milliseconds to wait for the debugging session to attach. Defaults to 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).
program A reference to the executable to run the server of the hosted app. Must be set if hosted is true.
cwd The working directory to launch the app under. Must be set if hosted is true.
env The environment variables to provide to the launched process. Only applicable if hosted is set to true.

Visual Studio for Mac

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio for Mac:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.

  2. Press ⌘+↩ to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging (⌥+⌘+↩) isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

    [!IMPORTANT] Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge must be the selected browser for the debugging session.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint:

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press ⌘+↩ again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

For more information, see Debugging with Visual Studio for Mac.

Debug in the browser

The guidance in this section applies to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge running on Windows.

  1. Run a Debug build of the app in the Development environment.

  2. Launch a browser and navigate to the app's URL.

  3. In the browser, attempt to commence remote debugging by pressing Shift+Alt+d.

    The browser must be running with remote debugging enabled, which isn't the default. If remote debugging is disabled, an Unable to find debuggable browser tab error page is rendered with instructions for launching the browser with the debugging port open. Follow the instructions for your browser, which opens a new browser window. Close the previous browser window.

  1. Once the browser is running with remote debugging enabled, the debugging keyboard shortcut in the previous step opens a new debugger tab.

  2. After a moment, the Sources tab shows a list of the app's .NET assemblies within the file:// node.

  3. In component code (.razor files) and C# code files (.cs), breakpoints that you set are hit when code executes. After a breakpoint is hit, single-step (F10) through the code or resume (F8) code execution normally.

Blazor provides a debugging proxy that implements the Chrome DevTools Protocol and augments the protocol with .NET-specific information. When debugging keyboard shortcut is pressed, Blazor points the Chrome DevTools at the proxy. The proxy connects to the browser window you're seeking to debug (hence the need to enable remote debugging).

Browser source maps

Browser source maps allow the browser to map compiled files back to their original source files and are commonly used for client-side debugging. However, Blazor doesn't currently map C# directly to JavaScript/WASM. Instead, Blazor does IL interpretation within the browser, so source maps aren't relevant.

Firewall configuration

If a firewall blocks communication with the debug proxy, create a firewall exception rule that permits communication between the browser and the NodeJS process.

Warning

Modification of a firewall configuration must be made with care to avoid creating security vulnerabilities. Carefully apply security guidance, follow best security practices, and respect warnings issued by the firewall's manufacturer.

Permitting open communication with the NodeJS process:

  • Opens up the Node server to any connection, depending on the firewall's capabilities and configuration.
  • Might be risky depending on your network.
  • Is only recommended on developer machines.

If possible, only allow open communication with the NodeJS process on trusted or private networks.

For Windows Firewall configuration guidance, see Create an Inbound Program or Service Rule. For more information, see Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and related articles in the Windows Firewall documentation set.

Troubleshoot

If you're running into errors, the following tips may help:

  • In the Debugger tab, open the developer tools in your browser. In the console, execute localStorage.clear() to remove any breakpoints.
  • Confirm that you've installed and trusted the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate. For more information, see xref:security/enforcing-ssl#troubleshoot-certificate-problems-such-as-certificate-not-trusted.
  • Visual Studio requires the Enable JavaScript debugging for ASP.NET (Chrome, Edge and IE) option in Tools > Options > Debugging > General. This is the default setting for Visual Studio. If debugging isn't working, confirm that the option is selected.
  • If your environment uses an HTTP proxy, make sure that localhost is included in the proxy bypass settings. This can be done by setting the NO_PROXY environment variable in either:
    • The launchSettings.json file for the project.
    • At the user or system environment variables level for it to apply to all apps. When using an environment variable, restart Visual Studio for the change to take effect.
  • Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Breakpoints in OnInitialized{Async} not hit

The Blazor framework's debugging proxy takes a short time to launch, so breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods might not be hit. We recommend adding a delay at the start of the method body to give the debug proxy some time to launch before the breakpoint is hit. You can include the delay based on an if compiler directive to ensure that the delay isn't present for a release build of the app.

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitialized%2A:

protected override void OnInitialized()
{
#if DEBUG
    Thread.Sleep(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A:

protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
{
#if DEBUG
    await Task.Delay(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

Visual Studio (Windows) timeout

If Visual Studio throws an exception that the debug adapter failed to launch mentioning that the timeout was reached, you can adjust the timeout with a Registry setting:

VsRegEdit.exe set "<VSInstallFolder>" HKCU JSDebugger\Options\Debugging "BlazorTimeoutInMilliseconds" dword {TIMEOUT}

The {TIMEOUT} placeholder in the preceding command is in milliseconds. For example, one minute is assigned as 60000.

:::moniker-end

:::moniker range=">= aspnetcore-6.0 < aspnetcore-7.0"

Blazor WebAssembly apps can be debugged using the browser developer tools in Chromium-based browsers (Edge/Chrome). You can also debug your app using the following IDEs:

  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio for Mac
  • Visual Studio Code

Available scenarios include:

  • Set and remove breakpoints.
  • Run the app with debugging support in IDEs.
  • Single-step through the code.
  • Resume code execution with a keyboard shortcut in IDEs.
  • In the Locals window, observe the values of local variables.
  • See the call stack, including call chains between JavaScript and .NET.

For now, you can't:

  • Break on unhandled exceptions.
  • Hit breakpoints during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.
  • Debug in non-local scenarios (for example, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or Visual Studio Codespaces).
  • Automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

Prerequisites

Debugging requires either of the following browsers:

  • Google Chrome (version 70 or later) (default)
  • Microsoft Edge (version 80 or later)

Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Visual Studio Code users require the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension.

Visual Studio for Mac requires version 8.8 (build 1532) or later:

Install the latest release of Visual Studio for Mac by selecting the Download Visual Studio for Mac button at Microsoft: Visual Studio for Mac.

Note

Apple Safari on macOS isn't currently supported.

Packages

Standalone Blazor WebAssembly:

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.WebAssembly.DevServer: Development server for use when building Blazor apps. Calls xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder.WebAssemblyNetDebugProxyAppBuilderExtensions.UseWebAssemblyDebugging%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType internally to add middleware for debugging Blazor WebAssembly apps inside Chromium developer tools.

Hosted Blazor WebAssembly:

[!INCLUDE]

Debug a standalone Blazor WebAssembly app

To enable debugging for an existing Blazor WebAssembly app, update the launchSettings.json file in the startup project to include the following inspectUri property in each launch profile:

"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}"

Once updated, the launchSettings.json file should look similar to the following example:

[!code-json]

The inspectUri property:

  • Enables the IDE to detect that the app is a Blazor WebAssembly app.
  • Instructs the script debugging infrastructure to connect to the browser through Blazor's debugging proxy.

The placeholder values for the WebSocket protocol (wsProtocol), host (url.hostname), port (url.port), and inspector URI on the launched browser (browserInspectUri) are provided by the framework.

Visual Studio

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution.

  2. With the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project selected in Solution Explorer, press F5 to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] When debugging with a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, a new browser window might open with a separate profile for the debugging session instead of opening a tab in an existing browser window with the user's profile. If debugging with the user's profile is a requirement, adopt one of the following approaches:

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press F5 to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press F5 to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press F5 again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

If the app is hosted at a different app base path than /, update the following properties in Properties/launchSettings.json to reflect the app's base path:

  • applicationUrl:

    "iisSettings": {
  ...
  "iisExpress": {
    "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/{APP BASE PATH}/",
    "sslPort": {SECURE PORT}
  }
},

  • inspectUri of each profile:

    "profiles": {
  ...
  "{PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}": {
    ...
    "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/{APP BASE PATH}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
    ...
  }
}

The placeholders in the preceding settings:

  • {INSECURE PORT}: The insecure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {APP BASE PATH}: The app's base path.
  • {SECURE PORT}: The secure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}: Launch settings profiles. Usually, an app specifies more than one profile by default (for example, a profile for IIS Express and a project profile, which is used by Kestrel server).

In the following examples, the app is hosted at /OAT with an app base path configured in wwwroot/index.html as <base href="/OAT/">:

"applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/OAT/",
"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/OAT/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",

For information on using a custom app base path for Blazor WebAssembly apps, see xref:blazor/host-and-deploy/index#app-base-path.

Visual Studio Code

Debug standalone Blazor WebAssembly

For information on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling.

  1. Open the standalone Blazor WebAssembly app in VS Code.

    You may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging:

    Additional setup is required to debug Blazor WebAssembly applications.

    If you receive the notification:

    • Confirm that the latest C# for Visual Studio Code Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • When using the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension version 1.23.9 or later, confirm that the latest Blazor WASM Debugging Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • Reload the window.

  2. Create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {PORT} placeholder with the port configured in Properties/launchSettings.json:

    {
  "name": "Launch and Debug",
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "launch",
  "url": "https://localhost:{PORT}"
}

    If the app is in a subfolder of the workspace root, include the current working directory (cwd) property with the path to the app. In the following property value, replace the {PATH} placeholder with the path to the app:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/{PATH}"

    In the following example, the app is in a subfolder named blazorwasm:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/blazorwasm"

  3. Start debugging using the F5 keyboard shortcut or the menu command.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  4. The standalone app is launched, and a debugging browser is opened.

  5. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  6. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

Debug hosted Blazor WebAssembly

For guidance on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder and where to place the .vscode folder in the solution, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling?pivots=linux.

Note

Only browser debugging is supported at this time.

You can't automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

To debug a published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly app, configure debugger support (DebuggerSupport) and copy output symbols to the publish directory (CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory) in the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app's project file:

<DebuggerSupport>true</DebuggerSupport>
<CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>true</CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>

By default, publishing an app disables the preceding properties by setting them to false.

Warning

Published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly apps should only enable debugging and copying output symbols when deploying published assets locally. Do not* deploy a published app into production with the DebuggerSupport and CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory properties set to true.

Attach to an existing debugging session

To attach to a running Blazor app, create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {URL} placeholder with the URL where the app is running:

{
  "name": "Attach and Debug"
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "attach",
  "url": "{URL}"
}

Note

Attaching to a debugging session is only supported for standalone apps. To use full-stack debugging, you must launch the app from VS Code.

Launch configuration options

The following launch configuration options are supported for the blazorwasm debug type (.vscode/launch.json).

Option Description
request Use launch to launch and attach a debugging session to a Blazor WebAssembly app or attach to attach a debugging session to an already-running app.
url The URL to open in the browser when debugging. Defaults to https://localhost:5001. If the app is running at a different URL, an about:blank tab launches in the browser.
browser The browser to launch for the debugging session. Set to edge or chrome. Defaults to chrome.
trace Used to generate logs from the JS debugger. Set to true to generate logs.
hosted Must be set to true if launching and debugging a hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.
webRoot Specifies the absolute path of the web server. Should be set if an app is served from a sub-route.
timeout The number of milliseconds to wait for the debugging session to attach. Defaults to 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).
program A reference to the executable to run the server of the hosted app. Must be set if hosted is true.
cwd The working directory to launch the app under. Must be set if hosted is true.
env The environment variables to provide to the launched process. Only applicable if hosted is set to true.

Visual Studio for Mac

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio for Mac:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.

  2. Press ⌘+↩ to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging (⌥+⌘+↩) isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

    [!IMPORTANT] Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge must be the selected browser for the debugging session.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint:

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press ⌘+↩ again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

For more information, see Debugging with Visual Studio for Mac.

Debug in the browser

The guidance in this section applies to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge running on Windows.

  1. Run a Debug build of the app in the Development environment.

  2. Launch a browser and navigate to the app's URL (for example, https://localhost:7268).

  3. In the browser, attempt to commence remote debugging by pressing Shift+Alt+d.

    The browser must be running with remote debugging enabled, which isn't the default. If remote debugging is disabled, an Unable to find debuggable browser tab error page is rendered with instructions for launching the browser with the debugging port open. Follow the instructions for your browser, which opens a new browser window. Close the previous browser window.

  1. Once the browser is running with remote debugging enabled, the debugging keyboard shortcut in the previous step opens a new debugger tab.

  2. After a moment, the Sources tab shows a list of the app's .NET assemblies within the file:// node.

  3. In component code (.razor files) and C# code files (.cs), breakpoints that you set are hit when code executes. After a breakpoint is hit, single-step (F10) through the code or resume (F8) code execution normally.

Blazor provides a debugging proxy that implements the Chrome DevTools Protocol and augments the protocol with .NET-specific information. When debugging keyboard shortcut is pressed, Blazor points the Chrome DevTools at the proxy. The proxy connects to the browser window you're seeking to debug (hence the need to enable remote debugging).

Browser source maps

Browser source maps allow the browser to map compiled files back to their original source files and are commonly used for client-side debugging. However, Blazor doesn't currently map C# directly to JavaScript/WASM. Instead, Blazor does IL interpretation within the browser, so source maps aren't relevant.

Firewall configuration

If a firewall blocks communication with the debug proxy, create a firewall exception rule that permits communication between the browser and the NodeJS process.

Warning

Modification of a firewall configuration must be made with care to avoid creating security vulnerabilities. Carefully apply security guidance, follow best security practices, and respect warnings issued by the firewall's manufacturer.

Permitting open communication with the NodeJS process:

  • Opens up the Node server to any connection, depending on the firewall's capabilities and configuration.
  • Might be risky depending on your network.
  • Is only recommended on developer machines.

If possible, only allow open communication with the NodeJS process on trusted or private networks.

For Windows Firewall configuration guidance, see Create an Inbound Program or Service Rule. For more information, see Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and related articles in the Windows Firewall documentation set.

Troubleshoot

If you're running into errors, the following tips may help:

  • In the Debugger tab, open the developer tools in your browser. In the console, execute localStorage.clear() to remove any breakpoints.
  • Confirm that you've installed and trusted the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate. For more information, see xref:security/enforcing-ssl#troubleshoot-certificate-problems-such-as-certificate-not-trusted.
  • Visual Studio requires the Enable JavaScript debugging for ASP.NET (Chrome, Edge and IE) option in Tools > Options > Debugging > General. This is the default setting for Visual Studio. If debugging isn't working, confirm that the option is selected.
  • If your environment uses an HTTP proxy, make sure that localhost is included in the proxy bypass settings. This can be done by setting the NO_PROXY environment variable in either:
    • The launchSettings.json file for the project.
    • At the user or system environment variables level for it to apply to all apps. When using an environment variable, restart Visual Studio for the change to take effect.
  • Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Breakpoints in OnInitialized{Async} not hit

The Blazor framework's debugging proxy takes a short time to launch, so breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods might not be hit. We recommend adding a delay at the start of the method body to give the debug proxy some time to launch before the breakpoint is hit. You can include the delay based on an if compiler directive to ensure that the delay isn't present for a release build of the app.

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitialized%2A:

protected override void OnInitialized()
{
#if DEBUG
    Thread.Sleep(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A:

protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
{
#if DEBUG
    await Task.Delay(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

Visual Studio (Windows) timeout

If Visual Studio throws an exception that the debug adapter failed to launch mentioning that the timeout was reached, you can adjust the timeout with a Registry setting:

VsRegEdit.exe set "<VSInstallFolder>" HKCU JSDebugger\Options\Debugging "BlazorTimeoutInMilliseconds" dword {TIMEOUT}

The {TIMEOUT} placeholder in the preceding command is in milliseconds. For example, one minute is assigned as 60000.

:::moniker-end

:::moniker range=">= aspnetcore-5.0 < aspnetcore-6.0"

Blazor WebAssembly apps can be debugged using the browser developer tools in Chromium-based browsers (Edge/Chrome). You can also debug your app using the following IDEs:

  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio for Mac
  • Visual Studio Code

Available scenarios include:

  • Set and remove breakpoints.
  • Run the app with debugging support in IDEs.
  • Single-step through the code.
  • Resume code execution with a keyboard shortcut in IDEs.
  • In the Locals window, observe the values of local variables.
  • See the call stack, including call chains between JavaScript and .NET.

For now, you can't:

  • Break on unhandled exceptions.
  • Hit breakpoints during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.
  • Debug in non-local scenarios (for example, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or Visual Studio Codespaces).
  • Automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

Prerequisites

Debugging requires either of the following browsers:

  • Google Chrome (version 70 or later) (default)
  • Microsoft Edge (version 80 or later)

Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Visual Studio Code users require the following extensions:

After opening a project in VS Code, you may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging. If requested, install the required extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.

Visual Studio for Mac requires version 8.8 (build 1532) or later:

Install the latest release of Visual Studio for Mac by selecting the Download Visual Studio for Mac button at Microsoft: Visual Studio for Mac.

Note

Apple Safari on macOS isn't currently supported.

Packages

Standalone Blazor WebAssembly:

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.WebAssembly.DevServer: Development server for use when building Blazor apps. Calls xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder.WebAssemblyNetDebugProxyAppBuilderExtensions.UseWebAssemblyDebugging%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType internally to add middleware for debugging Blazor WebAssembly apps inside Chromium developer tools.

Hosted Blazor WebAssembly:

[!INCLUDE]

Debug a standalone Blazor WebAssembly app

To enable debugging for an existing Blazor WebAssembly app, update the launchSettings.json file in the startup project to include the following inspectUri property in each launch profile:

"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}"

Once updated, the launchSettings.json file should look similar to the following example:

[!code-json]

The inspectUri property:

  • Enables the IDE to detect that the app is a Blazor WebAssembly app.
  • Instructs the script debugging infrastructure to connect to the browser through Blazor's debugging proxy.

The placeholder values for the WebSocket protocol (wsProtocol), host (url.hostname), port (url.port), and inspector URI on the launched browser (browserInspectUri) are provided by the framework.

Visual Studio

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution.

  2. With the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project selected in Solution Explorer, press F5 to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] When debugging with a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, a new browser window might open with a separate profile for the debugging session instead of opening a tab in an existing browser window with the user's profile. If debugging with the user's profile is a requirement, adopt one of the following approaches:

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press F5 to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press F5 to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press F5 again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

If the app is hosted at a different app base path than /, update the following properties in Properties/launchSettings.json to reflect the app's base path:

  • applicationUrl:

    "iisSettings": {
  ...
  "iisExpress": {
    "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/{APP BASE PATH}/",
    "sslPort": {SECURE PORT}
  }
},

  • inspectUri of each profile:

    "profiles": {
  ...
  "{PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}": {
    ...
    "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/{APP BASE PATH}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
    ...
  }
}

The placeholders in the preceding settings:

  • {INSECURE PORT}: The insecure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {APP BASE PATH}: The app's base path.
  • {SECURE PORT}: The secure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}: Launch settings profiles. Usually, an app specifies more than one profile by default (for example, a profile for IIS Express and a project profile, which is used by Kestrel server).

In the following examples, the app is hosted at /OAT with an app base path configured in wwwroot/index.html as <base href="/OAT/">:

"applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/OAT/",
"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/OAT/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",

For information on using a custom app base path for Blazor WebAssembly apps, see xref:blazor/host-and-deploy/index#app-base-path.

Visual Studio Code

Debug standalone Blazor WebAssembly

For information on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling.

  1. Open the standalone Blazor WebAssembly app in VS Code.

    You may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging:

    Additional setup is required to debug Blazor WebAssembly applications.

    If you receive the notification:

    • Confirm that the latest C# for Visual Studio Code Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • When using the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension version 1.23.9 or later, confirm that the latest Blazor WASM Debugging Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • Reload the window.

  2. Create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {PORT} placeholder with the port configured in Properties/launchSettings.json:

    {
  "name": "Launch and Debug",
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "launch",
  "url": "https://localhost:{PORT}"
}

    If the app is in a subfolder of the workspace root, include the current working directory (cwd) property with the path to the app. In the following property value, replace the {PATH} placeholder with the path to the app:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/{PATH}"

    In the following example, the app is in a subfolder named blazorwasm:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/blazorwasm"

  3. Start debugging using the F5 keyboard shortcut or the menu command.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  4. The standalone app is launched, and a debugging browser is opened.

  5. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  6. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

Debug hosted Blazor WebAssembly

For guidance on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder and where to place the .vscode folder in the solution, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling?pivots=linux.

The .vscode/launch.json file sets the current working directory to the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's folder, typically :::no-loc text="Server"::: for a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution:

"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/Server"

If Microsoft Edge is used for debugging instead of Google Chrome, the .vscode/launch.json launch configuration sets the browser property:

"browser": "edge"

The .vscode/tasks.json file adds the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app's project file path to the dotnet build arguments under args. The :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's folder is typically named :::no-loc text="Server"::: in a solution based on the hosted Blazor WebAssembly project template. The following example uses the project file for the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of the Blazor-SignalR tutorial, which has a project file named BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server.csproj:

{
    ...
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "build",
            "command": "dotnet",
            "type": "shell",
            "args": [
                ...
                "${workspaceFolder}/Server/BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server.csproj",
                ...
            ],
            ...
        }
    ]
}

The :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's Properties/launchSettings.json file includes the inspectUri property for the debugging proxy. The following example names the launch profile for the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of the Blazor-SignalR tutorial, which is BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server:

{
  "iisSettings": {
    ...
  },
  "profiles": {
    "IIS Express": {
      "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
      ...
    },
    "BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server": {
      "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
      ...
    }
  }
}

To debug a published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly app, configure debugger support (DebuggerSupport) and copy output symbols to the publish directory (CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory) in the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app's project file:

<DebuggerSupport>true</DebuggerSupport>
<CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>true</CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory>

By default, publishing an app disables the preceding properties by setting them to false.

Warning

Published, hosted Blazor WebAssembly apps should only enable debugging and copying output symbols when deploying published assets locally. Do not* deploy a published app into production with the DebuggerSupport and CopyOutputSymbolsToPublishDirectory properties set to true.

Attach to an existing debugging session

To attach to a running Blazor app, create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {URL} placeholder with the URL where the app is running:

{
  "name": "Attach and Debug"
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "attach",
  "url": "{URL}"
}

Note

Attaching to a debugging session is only supported for standalone apps. To use full-stack debugging, you must launch the app from VS Code.

Launch configuration options

The following launch configuration options are supported for the blazorwasm debug type (.vscode/launch.json).

Option Description
request Use launch to launch and attach a debugging session to a Blazor WebAssembly app or attach to attach a debugging session to an already-running app.
url The URL to open in the browser when debugging. Defaults to https://localhost:5001. If the app is running at a different URL, an about:blank tab launches in the browser.
browser The browser to launch for the debugging session. Set to edge or chrome. Defaults to chrome.
trace Used to generate logs from the JS debugger. Set to true to generate logs.
hosted Must be set to true if launching and debugging a hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.
webRoot Specifies the absolute path of the web server. Should be set if an app is served from a sub-route.
timeout The number of milliseconds to wait for the debugging session to attach. Defaults to 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).
program A reference to the executable to run the server of the hosted app. Must be set if hosted is true.
cwd The working directory to launch the app under. Must be set if hosted is true.
env The environment variables to provide to the launched process. Only applicable if hosted is set to true.

Visual Studio for Mac

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio for Mac:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.

  2. Press ⌘+↩ to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging (⌥+⌘+↩) isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

    [!IMPORTANT] Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge must be the selected browser for the debugging session.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint:

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press ⌘+↩ again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

For more information, see Debugging with Visual Studio for Mac.

Debug in the browser

The guidance in this section applies to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge running on Windows.

  1. Run a Debug build of the app in the Development environment.

  2. Launch a browser and navigate to the app's URL (for example, https://localhost:5001).

  3. In the browser, attempt to commence remote debugging by pressing Shift+Alt+d.

    The browser must be running with remote debugging enabled, which isn't the default. If remote debugging is disabled, an Unable to find debuggable browser tab error page is rendered with instructions for launching the browser with the debugging port open. Follow the instructions for your browser, which opens a new browser window. Close the previous browser window.

  1. Once the browser is running with remote debugging enabled, the debugging keyboard shortcut in the previous step opens a new debugger tab.

  2. After a moment, the Sources tab shows a list of the app's .NET assemblies within the file:// node.

  3. In component code (.razor files) and C# code files (.cs), breakpoints that you set are hit when code executes. After a breakpoint is hit, single-step (F10) through the code or resume (F8) code execution normally.

Blazor provides a debugging proxy that implements the Chrome DevTools Protocol and augments the protocol with .NET-specific information. When debugging keyboard shortcut is pressed, Blazor points the Chrome DevTools at the proxy. The proxy connects to the browser window you're seeking to debug (hence the need to enable remote debugging).

Browser source maps

Browser source maps allow the browser to map compiled files back to their original source files and are commonly used for client-side debugging. However, Blazor doesn't currently map C# directly to JavaScript/WASM. Instead, Blazor does IL interpretation within the browser, so source maps aren't relevant.

Firewall configuration

If a firewall blocks communication with the debug proxy, create a firewall exception rule that permits communication between the browser and the NodeJS process.

Warning

Modification of a firewall configuration must be made with care to avoid creating security vulnerabilities. Carefully apply security guidance, follow best security practices, and respect warnings issued by the firewall's manufacturer.

Permitting open communication with the NodeJS process:

  • Opens up the Node server to any connection, depending on the firewall's capabilities and configuration.
  • Might be risky depending on your network.
  • Is only recommended on developer machines.

If possible, only allow open communication with the NodeJS process on trusted or private networks.

For Windows Firewall configuration guidance, see Create an Inbound Program or Service Rule. For more information, see Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and related articles in the Windows Firewall documentation set.

Troubleshoot

If you're running into errors, the following tips may help:

  • In the Debugger tab, open the developer tools in your browser. In the console, execute localStorage.clear() to remove any breakpoints.
  • Confirm that you've installed and trusted the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate. For more information, see xref:security/enforcing-ssl#troubleshoot-certificate-problems-such-as-certificate-not-trusted.
  • Visual Studio requires the Enable JavaScript debugging for ASP.NET (Chrome, Edge and IE) option in Tools > Options > Debugging > General. This is the default setting for Visual Studio. If debugging isn't working, confirm that the option is selected.
  • If your environment uses an HTTP proxy, make sure that localhost is included in the proxy bypass settings. This can be done by setting the NO_PROXY environment variable in either:
    • The launchSettings.json file for the project.
    • At the user or system environment variables level for it to apply to all apps. When using an environment variable, restart Visual Studio for the change to take effect.
  • Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Breakpoints in OnInitialized{Async} not hit

The Blazor framework's debugging proxy takes a short time to launch, so breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods might not be hit. We recommend adding a delay at the start of the method body to give the debug proxy some time to launch before the breakpoint is hit. You can include the delay based on an if compiler directive to ensure that the delay isn't present for a release build of the app.

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitialized%2A:

protected override void OnInitialized()
{
#if DEBUG
    Thread.Sleep(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A:

protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
{
#if DEBUG
    await Task.Delay(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

Visual Studio (Windows) timeout

If Visual Studio throws an exception that the debug adapter failed to launch mentioning that the timeout was reached, you can adjust the timeout with a Registry setting:

VsRegEdit.exe set "<VSInstallFolder>" HKCU JSDebugger\Options\Debugging "BlazorTimeoutInMilliseconds" dword {TIMEOUT}

The {TIMEOUT} placeholder in the preceding command is in milliseconds. For example, one minute is assigned as 60000.

:::moniker-end

:::moniker range="< aspnetcore-5.0"

Blazor WebAssembly apps can be debugged using the browser developer tools in Chromium-based browsers (Edge/Chrome). You can also debug your app using the following IDEs:

  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio for Mac
  • Visual Studio Code

Available scenarios include:

  • Set and remove breakpoints.
  • Run the app with debugging support in IDEs.
  • Single-step through the code.
  • Resume code execution with a keyboard shortcut in IDEs.
  • In the Locals window, observe the values of local variables.
  • See the call stack, including call chains between JavaScript and .NET.

For now, you can't:

  • Break on unhandled exceptions.
  • Hit breakpoints during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.
  • Debug in non-local scenarios (for example, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or Visual Studio Codespaces).
  • Automatically rebuild the backend :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution during debugging, for example by running the app with dotnet watch run.

Prerequisites

Debugging requires either of the following browsers:

  • Google Chrome (version 70 or later) (default)
  • Microsoft Edge (version 80 or later)

Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Visual Studio Code users require the following extensions:

After opening a project in VS Code, you may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging. If requested, install the required extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.

Visual Studio for Mac requires version 8.8 (build 1532) or later:

Install the latest release of Visual Studio for Mac by selecting the Download Visual Studio for Mac button at Microsoft: Visual Studio for Mac.

Note

Apple Safari on macOS isn't currently supported.

Packages

Standalone Blazor WebAssembly:

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.WebAssembly.DevServer: Development server for use when building Blazor apps. Calls xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder.WebAssemblyNetDebugProxyAppBuilderExtensions.UseWebAssemblyDebugging%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType internally to add middleware for debugging Blazor WebAssembly apps inside Chromium developer tools.

Hosted Blazor WebAssembly:

[!INCLUDE]

Debug a standalone Blazor WebAssembly app

To enable debugging for an existing Blazor WebAssembly app, update the launchSettings.json file in the startup project to include the following inspectUri property in each launch profile:

"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}"

Once updated, the launchSettings.json file should look similar to the following example:

[!code-json]

The inspectUri property:

  • Enables the IDE to detect that the app is a Blazor WebAssembly app.
  • Instructs the script debugging infrastructure to connect to the browser through Blazor's debugging proxy.

The placeholder values for the WebSocket protocol (wsProtocol), host (url.hostname), port (url.port), and inspector URI on the launched browser (browserInspectUri) are provided by the framework.

Visual Studio

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution.

  2. With the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project selected in Solution Explorer, press F5 to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] When debugging with a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, a new browser window might open with a separate profile for the debugging session instead of opening a tab in an existing browser window with the user's profile. If debugging with the user's profile is a requirement, adopt one of the following approaches:

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press F5 to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press F5 to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press F5 again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

If the app is hosted at a different app base path than /, update the following properties in Properties/launchSettings.json to reflect the app's base path:

  • applicationUrl:

    "iisSettings": {
  ...
  "iisExpress": {
    "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/{APP BASE PATH}/",
    "sslPort": {SECURE PORT}
  }
},

  • inspectUri of each profile:

    "profiles": {
  ...
  "{PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}": {
    ...
    "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/{APP BASE PATH}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
    ...
  }
}

The placeholders in the preceding settings:

  • {INSECURE PORT}: The insecure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {APP BASE PATH}: The app's base path.
  • {SECURE PORT}: The secure port. A random value is provided by default, but a custom port is permitted.
  • {PROFILE 1, 2, ... N}: Launch settings profiles. Usually, an app specifies more than one profile by default (for example, a profile for IIS Express and a project profile, which is used by Kestrel server).

In the following examples, the app is hosted at /OAT with an app base path configured in wwwroot/index.html as <base href="/OAT/">:

"applicationUrl": "http://localhost:{INSECURE PORT}/OAT/",
"inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/OAT/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",

For information on using a custom app base path for Blazor WebAssembly apps, see xref:blazor/host-and-deploy/index#app-base-path.

Visual Studio Code

Debug standalone Blazor WebAssembly

For information on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling.

  1. Open the standalone Blazor WebAssembly app in VS Code.

    You may receive a notification that additional setup is required to enable debugging:

    Additional setup is required to debug Blazor WebAssembly applications.

    If you receive the notification:

    • Confirm that the latest C# for Visual Studio Code Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • When using the C# for Visual Studio Code Extension version 1.23.9 or later, confirm that the latest Blazor WASM Debugging Extension is installed. To inspect the installed extensions, open View > Extensions from the menu bar or select the Extensions icon in the Activity sidebar.
    • Reload the window.

  2. Create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {PORT} placeholder with the port configured in Properties/launchSettings.json:

    {
  "name": "Launch and Debug",
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "launch",
  "url": "https://localhost:{PORT}"
}

    If the app is in a subfolder of the workspace root, include the current working directory (cwd) property with the path to the app. In the following property value, replace the {PATH} placeholder with the path to the app:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/{PATH}"

    In the following example, the app is in a subfolder named blazorwasm:

    "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/blazorwasm"

  3. Start debugging using the F5 keyboard shortcut or the menu command.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging [Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS)] isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

  4. The standalone app is launched, and a debugging browser is opened.

  5. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  6. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

Debug hosted Blazor WebAssembly

For guidance on configuring VS Code assets in the .vscode folder and where to place the .vscode folder in the solution, see the Linux operating system guidance in xref:blazor/tooling?pivots=linux.

The .vscode/launch.json file sets the current working directory to the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's folder, typically :::no-loc text="Server"::: for a hosted Blazor WebAssembly solution:

"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/Server"

If Microsoft Edge is used for debugging instead of Google Chrome, the .vscode/launch.json launch configuration sets the browser property:

"browser": "edge"

The .vscode/tasks.json file adds the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app's project file path to the dotnet build arguments under args. The :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's folder is typically named :::no-loc text="Server"::: in a solution based on the hosted Blazor WebAssembly project template. The following example uses the project file for the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of the Blazor-SignalR tutorial, which has a project file named BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server.csproj:

{
    ...
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "build",
            "command": "dotnet",
            "type": "shell",
            "args": [
                ...
                "${workspaceFolder}/Server/BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server.csproj",
                ...
            ],
            ...
        }
    ]
}

The :::no-loc text="Server"::: project's Properties/launchSettings.json file includes the inspectUri property for the debugging proxy. The following example names the launch profile for the :::no-loc text="Server"::: app of the Blazor-SignalR tutorial, which is BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server:

{
  "iisSettings": {
    ...
  },
  "profiles": {
    "IIS Express": {
      "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
      ...
    },
    "BlazorWebAssemblySignalRApp.Server": {
      "inspectUri": "{wsProtocol}://{url.hostname}:{url.port}/_framework/debug/ws-proxy?browser={browserInspectUri}",
      ...
    }
  }
}

Note

When the app is launched from the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project, only the Properties/launchSettings.json file in the :::no-loc text="Server"::: project is used. The Properties/launchSettings.json file in the :::no-loc text="Client"::: project is not used.

Attach to an existing debugging session

To attach to a running Blazor app, create a .vscode/launch.json file with the following configuration. Replace the {URL} placeholder with the URL where the app is running:

{
  "name": "Attach and Debug"
  "type": "blazorwasm",
  "request": "attach",
  "url": "{URL}"
}

Note

Attaching to a debugging session is only supported for standalone apps. To use full-stack debugging, you must launch the app from VS Code.

Launch configuration options

The following launch configuration options are supported for the blazorwasm debug type (.vscode/launch.json).

Option Description
request Use launch to launch and attach a debugging session to a Blazor WebAssembly app or attach to attach a debugging session to an already-running app.
url The URL to open in the browser when debugging. Defaults to https://localhost:5001. If the app is running at a different URL, an about:blank tab launches in the browser.
browser The browser to launch for the debugging session. Set to edge or chrome. Defaults to chrome.
trace Used to generate logs from the JS debugger. Set to true to generate logs.
hosted Must be set to true if launching and debugging a hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.
webRoot Specifies the absolute path of the web server. Should be set if an app is served from a sub-route.
timeout The number of milliseconds to wait for the debugging session to attach. Defaults to 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).
program A reference to the executable to run the server of the hosted app. Must be set if hosted is true.
cwd The working directory to launch the app under. Must be set if hosted is true.
env The environment variables to provide to the launched process. Only applicable if hosted is set to true.

Visual Studio for Mac

To debug a Blazor WebAssembly app in Visual Studio for Mac:

  1. Create a new hosted Blazor WebAssembly app.

  2. Press ⌘+↩ to run the app in the debugger.

    [!NOTE] Start Without Debugging (⌥+⌘+↩) isn't supported. When the app is run in Debug configuration, debugging overhead always results in a small performance reduction.

    [!IMPORTANT] Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge must be the selected browser for the debugging session.

  3. In the :::no-loc text="Client"::: app, set a breakpoint on the currentCount++; line in Pages/Counter.razor.

  4. In the browser, navigate to Counter page and select the Click me button to hit the breakpoint:

  5. In Visual Studio, inspect the value of the currentCount field in the Locals window.

  6. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution.

While debugging a Blazor WebAssembly app, you can also debug server code:

  1. Set a breakpoint in the Pages/FetchData.razor page in xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A.
  2. Set a breakpoint in the WeatherForecastController in the Get action method.
  3. Browse to the Fetch Data page to hit the first breakpoint in the FetchData component just before it issues an HTTP request to the server.
  4. Press ⌘+↩ to continue execution and then hit the breakpoint on the server in the WeatherForecastController.
  5. Press ⌘+↩ again to let execution continue and see the weather forecast table rendered in the browser.

Note

Breakpoints are not hit during app startup before the debug proxy is running. This includes breakpoints in Program.cs and breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods of components that are loaded by the first page requested from the app.

For more information, see Debugging with Visual Studio for Mac.

Debug in the browser

The guidance in this section applies to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge running on Windows.

  1. Run a Debug build of the app in the Development environment.

  2. Launch a browser and navigate to the app's URL (for example, https://localhost:5001).

  3. In the browser, attempt to commence remote debugging by pressing Shift+Alt+d.

    The browser must be running with remote debugging enabled, which isn't the default. If remote debugging is disabled, an Unable to find debuggable browser tab error page is rendered with instructions for launching the browser with the debugging port open. Follow the instructions for your browser, which opens a new browser window. Close the previous browser window.

  1. Once the browser is running with remote debugging enabled, the debugging keyboard shortcut in the previous step opens a new debugger tab.

  2. After a moment, the Sources tab shows a list of the app's .NET assemblies within the file:// node.

  3. In component code (.razor files) and C# code files (.cs), breakpoints that you set are hit when code executes. After a breakpoint is hit, single-step (F10) through the code or resume (F8) code execution normally.

Blazor provides a debugging proxy that implements the Chrome DevTools Protocol and augments the protocol with .NET-specific information. When debugging keyboard shortcut is pressed, Blazor points the Chrome DevTools at the proxy. The proxy connects to the browser window you're seeking to debug (hence the need to enable remote debugging).

Browser source maps

Browser source maps allow the browser to map compiled files back to their original source files and are commonly used for client-side debugging. However, Blazor doesn't currently map C# directly to JavaScript/WASM. Instead, Blazor does IL interpretation within the browser, so source maps aren't relevant.

Firewall configuration

If a firewall blocks communication with the debug proxy, create a firewall exception rule that permits communication between the browser and the NodeJS process.

Warning

Modification of a firewall configuration must be made with care to avoid creating security vulnerabilities. Carefully apply security guidance, follow best security practices, and respect warnings issued by the firewall's manufacturer.

Permitting open communication with the NodeJS process:

  • Opens up the Node server to any connection, depending on the firewall's capabilities and configuration.
  • Might be risky depending on your network.
  • Is only recommended on developer machines.

If possible, only allow open communication with the NodeJS process on trusted or private networks.

For Windows Firewall configuration guidance, see Create an Inbound Program or Service Rule. For more information, see Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and related articles in the Windows Firewall documentation set.

Troubleshoot

If you're running into errors, the following tips may help:

  • In the Debugger tab, open the developer tools in your browser. In the console, execute localStorage.clear() to remove any breakpoints.
  • Confirm that you've installed and trusted the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate. For more information, see xref:security/enforcing-ssl#troubleshoot-certificate-problems-such-as-certificate-not-trusted.
  • Visual Studio requires the Enable JavaScript debugging for ASP.NET (Chrome, Edge and IE) option in Tools > Options > Debugging > General. This is the default setting for Visual Studio. If debugging isn't working, confirm that the option is selected.
  • If your environment uses an HTTP proxy, make sure that localhost is included in the proxy bypass settings. This can be done by setting the NO_PROXY environment variable in either:
    • The launchSettings.json file for the project.
    • At the user or system environment variables level for it to apply to all apps. When using an environment variable, restart Visual Studio for the change to take effect.
  • Ensure that firewalls or proxies don't block communication with the debug proxy (NodeJS process). For more information, see the Firewall configuration section.

Breakpoints in OnInitialized{Async} not hit

The Blazor framework's debugging proxy takes a short time to launch, so breakpoints in the OnInitialized{Async} lifecycle methods might not be hit. We recommend adding a delay at the start of the method body to give the debug proxy some time to launch before the breakpoint is hit. You can include the delay based on an if compiler directive to ensure that the delay isn't present for a release build of the app.

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitialized%2A:

protected override void OnInitialized()
{
#if DEBUG
    Thread.Sleep(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.ComponentBase.OnInitializedAsync%2A:

protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
{
#if DEBUG
    await Task.Delay(10000);
#endif

    ...
}

Visual Studio (Windows) timeout

If Visual Studio throws an exception that the debug adapter failed to launch mentioning that the timeout was reached, you can adjust the timeout with a Registry setting:

VsRegEdit.exe set "<VSInstallFolder>" HKCU JSDebugger\Options\Debugging "BlazorTimeoutInMilliseconds" dword {TIMEOUT}

The {TIMEOUT} placeholder in the preceding command is in milliseconds. For example, one minute is assigned as 60000.

:::moniker-end