“Attribute 'program' does not exist” for basic node.js project

Question

I created simple node.js application (source code from here https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/visual-studio-code-and-azure-app-service-a-perfect-fit/)

var h         


        

Answer 1

I also encountered this issue because of where VS Code put the .vscode directory containing the launch.json file. It put it up one directory so I had to add the directory to the path as defined in the launch.json file:

"program": "${workspaceRoot}/myDir/app.js",

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I had the same issue. In my case my launch.json had following line

"program": "${workspaceFolder}\\index.js"

My active code that I tried to debug was in app_v2.js , so I updated it to following, and then debug worked.

"program": "${workspaceFolder}\\app_v2.js"

Answer 3

Firstly, read the official document this answers all question you would have about setting the right attributes for different scenarios using launch.json.

Now, to specifically answer this question, the ${workspaceFolder} is basically containing directory of the .vscode directory, which is your project root directory. So, when setting specific files as your debugging program, remember to map the path from the project root directory, or in other words the relative path of the file that is to be set as the debugging program. This can be easily obtained from the IDE (VS Code) by simply right-clicking the file and selecting the Copy Relative Path option. Then proceed to paste this next to the ${workspaceFolder} in the program attribute in your launch.json file, like below, will fix the problem.

"program": "${workspaceFolder}/<relative_path>"

Replace relative path with your copied relative path as mentioned before Note that I am on a Mac platform. Please use platform appropriate path separators

Alternatively, not specifically using a launch configuration makes sense if it's a not-for-production or a simple app that does not warrant a launch config file. However, if not, it is super useful when debugging in a Multi-target environment (server, client). In my opinion, using a compound launch configuration setup makes things a lot easier. Read this section of the official docs to learn how to set it up keeping in mind the relative paths of your server and client files.

Answer 4

I wasted a few hours today trying to figure this problem out. What worked for me was deleting the existing launch.json and running the application, which prompts you to select an enviroment, which in my case was Node. This created a new launch.json in which I updated the program path.

Answer 5

I believe that you need ${workspaceRoot}/server.js, not ${workspaceRoot}/app.js for program. The code you're using doesn't have an app.js, that's what that (poorly worded) error is telling you.

Answer 6

The error is saying that the path to your code was wrong.

VSCode defines the parent directory of its configuration file ".vscode/launch.json" as "${workspaceRoot}" or "${workspaceFolder}".

So, for example, if you want to run file "myproject/subfolder/main.js", you should configure your "myproject/.vscode/launch.json" as follows: "program": "${workspaceRoot}/subfolder/main.js"

Note that configuring "program": "${workspaceRoot}/myproject/subfolder/main.js" is a mistake and will cause error "Attribute 'program' does not exist".