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Debugger for Java installs statistics

By Microsoft (223 listings) · VS Code Marketplace · Programming Languages

A lightweight Java debugger for Visual Studio Code

View on VS Code Marketplace Fresh · Oct 18, 2026

Debugger for Java has 53,233,591 recorded installs on VS Code Marketplace.

It ranks #23 of 2,500 tracked VS Code Marketplace listings by installs.

It is rated 3.9 out of 5 from 28 ratings.

PluginStats has 3 daily observations since Oct 16, 2026; the latest is from Oct 18, 2026.

Installs
53,233,591
Official API · Oct 18, 2026
7-day growth
—
Insufficient history
30-day growth
—
Insufficient history
90-day growth
—
Insufficient history
Rank
#23
Among tracked VS Code Marketplace listings

Rating: 3.89 / 5 from 28 ratings

About Debugger for Java

Debugger for Java

Overview

A lightweight Java Debugger based on Java Debug Server which extends the Language Support for Java by Red Hat. It allows users to debug Java code using Visual Studio Code (VS Code). Here's a list of features:

• Launch/Attach • Breakpoints/Conditional Breakpoints/Logpoints • Exceptions • Pause & Continue • Step In/Out/Over • Variables • Callstacks • Threads • Debug console • Evaluation • Hot Code Replace • No-Config Debug (debug Java apps without launch.json) • [AI] AI-Assisted Debugging (GitHub Copilot integration)

Requirements

• JDK (version 1.8.0 or later) • VS Code (version 1.19.0 or later) • Language Support for Java by Red Hat (version 0.14.0 or later)

Install

Open VS Code and press F1 or Ctrl + Shift + P to open command palette, select Install Extension and type vscode-java-debug.

Or launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl + P), paste the following command, and press enter.

Use

• Launch VS Code • Open a Java project (Maven/Gradle/Eclipse/Single Java file) • Open a Java file to activate the extensions • Press F5

Please also check the documentation of Language Support for Java by Red Hat if you have trouble setting up your project.

No-Config Debug

You can now debug Java applications without creating a launch.json file! Simply open a terminal in VS Code and use the debugjava command:

The debugger will automatically attach. See No-Config Debug Documentation for more details.

No-Config Debug is enabled by default. To disable the terminal integration and the AI debug_java_application tool, set "java.debug.settings.enableNoConfigDebug": false, reload VS Code, and recreate existing terminals. Standard Java launch/attach debugging, including F5 and Run/Debug CodeLens, remains available.

Preparing the terminal integration does not start or wait for the Java language extension. The wrapper uses JAVA_HOME, then VSCODE_JAVA_EXEC when available, then java on PATH. If Java support activates later, recreate an existing terminal to use the newly discovered Java executable.

AI-Assisted Debugging

When using GitHub Copilot Chat, you can now ask AI to help you debug Java applications! The extension provides a Language Model Tool that enables natural language debugging:

• "Debug my Spring Boot application" • "Debug the Main class in this project" • "Debug Calculator with arguments 10 and 5"

The AI will automatically: 1. Detect your project type (Maven/Gradle/VS Code) 2. Build/compile your project 3. Start debugging with appropriate configuration

See Language Model Tool Documentation for more details.

Options

Launch

• mainClass - The fully qualified name of the class containing the main method. If not specified, the debugger automatically resolves the possible main class from current project. • ${file} - Current Java file. • com.mypackage.Main - The fully qualified class name. • com.java9.mymodule/com.mypackage.Main - The fully qualified module name and class name. • /path/to/Main.java - The file path of the main class. • args - The command line arguments passed to the program. • "${command:SpecifyProgramArgs}" - Prompt user for program arguments. • A space-separated string or an array of string. • sourcePaths - The extra source directories of the program. The debugger looks for source code from project settings by default. This option allows the debugger to look for source code in extra directories. • modulePaths - The modulepaths for launching the JVM. If not specified, the debugger will automatically resolve from current project. If multiple values are specified, the debugger will merge them together. • $Auto - Automatically resolve the modulepaths of current project. • $Runtime - The modulepaths within 'runtime' scope of current project. • $Test - The modulepaths within 'test' scope of current project. • !/path/to/exclude - Exclude the specified path from modulepaths. • /path/to/append - Append the specified path to the modulepaths. • classPaths - The classpaths for launching the JVM. If not specified, the debugger will automatically resolve from current project. If multiple values are specified, the debugger will merge them together. • $Auto - Automatically resolve the classpaths of current project. • $Runtime - The classpaths within 'runtime' scope of current project. • $Test - The classpaths within 'test' scope of current project. • !/path/to/exclude - Exclude the specified path from classpaths. • /path/to/append - Append the specified path to the classpaths. • encoding - The file.encoding setting for the JVM. Possible values can be found in https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/intl/encoding.doc.html. • vmArgs - The extra options and system properties for the JVM (e.g. -Xms\ -Xmx\ -D\=\), it accepts a string or an array of string. • projectName - The preferred project in which the debugger searches for classes. There could be duplicated class names in different projects. This setting also works when the debugger looks for the specified main class when launching a program. It is required when the workspace has multiple java projects, otherwise the expression evaluation and conditional breakpoint may not work. • cwd - The working directory of the program. Defaults to ${workspaceFolder}. • env - The extra environment variables for the program. • envFile - Absolute path to a file containing environment variable definitions. Multiple files can be specified by providing an array of absolute paths • stopOnEntry - Automatically pause the program after launching. • console - The specified console to launch the program. If not specified, use the console specified by the java.debug.settings.console user setting. • internalConsole - VS Code debug console (input stream not supported). • integratedTerminal - VS Code integrated terminal. • externalTerminal - External terminal that can be configured in user settings. • shortenCommandLine - When the project has long classpath or big VM arguments, the command line to launch the program may exceed the…

Description from the VS Code Marketplace listing.

  • debug
  • debugger
  • debuggers
  • debugging
  • java
  • language-model-tools
  • tools

Where Debugger for Java sits in the listing

Each band is one page of 20. Installs on a log scale. Placement is projected from installs, so it can differ from the marketplace's own sort order. Hover a dot to see the listing.

All VS Code Marketplace2,500 listings · 125 pages · page 2, #3 (overall #23)
All VS Code Marketplace: every listing in installs order
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Programming Languages792 listings · 40 pages · page 1, #10 (overall #10)
Programming Languages: every listing in installs order
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Debuggers217 listings · 11 pages · page 1, #5 (overall #5)
Debuggers: every listing in installs order
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Charts

Images: 30d · 1y · all time · 1600×900 dark

Adoption over time

Debugger for Java installs on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 53,233,591 installs as of Oct 18, 2026.Debugger for JavaInstalls on VS Code Marketplace · Last 90 days53,233,591installs53.2M53.2M53.2M53.2M53.2M53.2M53.2MJul 20Aug 4Aug 19Sep 3Sep 18Oct 3Oct 18installsobservedarchived (Internet Archive)no observationsOct 16, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026 · 3 observations · Updated Oct…pluginstats.com
Debugger for Java installs on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 53,233,591 installs as of Oct 18, 2026.
PNG SVG

7/30/90-day growth

Debugger for Java installs growth on VS Code Marketplace: 7-day growth unavailable, 30-day growth unavailable, 90-day growth unavailable.Debugger for JavaInstalls growth on VS Code Marketplace53,233,591installs now7-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient history30-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient history90-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient historyGrowth vs. nearest observation to each baseline date · Updated Oct 18, 2026pluginstats.com
Debugger for Java installs growth on VS Code Marketplace: 7-day growth unavailable, 30-day growth unavailable, 90-day growth unavailable.
PNG SVG

Ranking history

Debugger for Java VS Code Marketplace ranking history: currently #23 (by installs).Debugger for JavaVS Code Marketplace ranking · by installs · Last 90 days#23current rank#21#22#23#24#25Jul 20Aug 4Aug 19Sep 3Sep 18Oct 3Oct 18rankOct 16, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026 · 3 observations · Updated Oct 18, 2026pluginstats.com
Debugger for Java VS Code Marketplace ranking history: currently #23 (by installs).
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Ratings over time

Debugger for Java ratings on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 28 ratings as of Oct 18, 2026.Debugger for JavaRatings on VS Code Marketplace · Last 90 days28ratings25262728293031Jul 20Aug 4Aug 19Sep 3Sep 18Oct 3Oct 18ratingsobservedarchived (Internet Archive)no observationsOct 16, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026 · 3 observations · Updated Oct…pluginstats.com
Debugger for Java ratings on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 28 ratings as of Oct 18, 2026.
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Filled points are observed values; hollow points come from Internet Archive snapshots of the listing page. Dashed segments span periods with no observations — values between points are not interpolated.

Recent observations

Full history (3)
Recent installs observations for Debugger for Java
Date (UTC)InstallsChange vs. previous
53,233,591+8.5K
53,225,042+15.6K
53,209,449—

Similar VS Code Marketplace Programming Languages plugins

Data source

Install counts, average rating, and rating counts come from the public Visual Studio Marketplace gallery API. Installs are cumulative and exclude updates.

Listing: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscjava.vscode-java-debug. First seen Oct 16, 2026; last successful collection Oct 18, 2026. See the methodology.