Use Warp as VSCode External Terminal for Debugging

[AlexandreSenpai]

Pre-submit Checks

• I have searched Warp feature requests and there are no duplicates
• I have searched Warp docs and my feature is not there

Describe the solution you'd like?

I'd like to use warp as vscode external terminal app for debugging. I configured vscode to use warp as external terminal and it worked pretty well overall. But when I start a debug session it fails to open warp and connect. Is this a bug or something that wasn't implemented yet? Thank you very much!

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

No response

Additional context

No response

Operating system (OS)

macOS

How important is this feature to you?

3

Warp Internal (ignore) - linear-label:39cc6478-1249-4ee7-950b-c428edfeecd1

None

[oz-for-oss]

@AlexandreSenpai

Here's what I found while triaging this issue:

This appears to be a VS Code debug external-terminal integration gap rather than the same path as simply opening Warp as an external terminal. Debug sessions need the terminal app to accept and run a generated command, and we need a few config details to confirm which handoff path is failing.

I have a few follow-up questions before I can narrow this down:

1. Can you attach a screenshot or short screen recording of what VS Code shows when the debug session fails to open/connect to Warp?
2. What exact terminal.external.osxExec setting and launch.json terminal/console settings are you using for this debug configuration?
3. Which VS Code version, debugger extension/language, Warp version, and macOS version are involved?
4. When starting the debug session, does macOS show an Automation/Privacy prompt for VS Code controlling Warp, and is VS Code allowed to control Warp in System Settings?

Reply in-thread with those details and the triage workflow will automatically re-evaluate the issue and update the diagnosis, labels, and next steps.

Maintainer details

I concluded that warp can be configured as VS Code's external terminal for basic opens, but the macOS debug external-terminal handoff appears to need additional command-launch support or configuration details before it is actionable..

Triage summary

This looks like a macOS VS Code external-terminal integration request with a possible missing debug command handoff, not a confirmed Warp regression yet. Basic external-terminal opening and debug external-terminal launching are different paths: debug sessions need VS Code/the debugger to start an external terminal and run a generated command that connects back to the debug adapter.

The current codebase shows Warp handling app startup arguments as URLs, macOS open-URL/open-file callbacks, and file:///custom URI routing into tabs or sessions. I did not find a macOS-facing command execution launch contract comparable to terminal-specific integrations that let another app tell the terminal to run an arbitrary debug launcher command. That makes this likely an enhancement/integration gap, but the exact failure still depends on the reporter's VS Code/debugger configuration and local macOS permissions.

Duplicate check: I found one related open issue, #4621, but it is about VS Code opening Warp at the wrong workspace folder on Linux rather than macOS debug sessions failing to open/connect, so this issue should not be marked duplicate based on the current evidence.

Question reasoning

1. Can you attach a screenshot or short screen recording of what VS Code shows when the debug session fails to open/connect to Warp? — The visible error or hang point will distinguish a VS Code launch failure, macOS automation permission failure, and Warp launch/command-routing failure.
2. What exact terminal.external.osxExec setting and launch.json terminal/console settings are you using for this debug configuration? — The debug path differs depending on whether VS Code is using console, terminal, or the older externalConsole setting and on how Warp is referenced.
3. Which VS Code version, debugger extension/language, Warp version, and macOS version are involved? — VS Code debugger extensions use different external-terminal handoff mechanisms, and the report only states macOS without versions.
4. When starting the debug session, does macOS show an Automation/Privacy prompt for VS Code controlling Warp, and is VS Code allowed to control Warp in System Settings? — macOS automation permissions can block an external app from sending commands to another terminal app even when the terminal can be opened normally.

This is my automated analysis and may be incorrect. A maintainer will verify the details.

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