Create a launch (debug) configuration

Ensure that the project setup in your IDE aligns with the development workload you intend to develop.

VS Code requires launch configurations to configure and save debugging setup details, storing the configuration information in a launch.json file located in a .vscode folder in your workspace (project root folder), in your user settings or in the workspace settings.

Velocity works with native VS Code launch configurations. This process explains how to create a Velocity run configuration.

This process explains how to set up a Velocity run configuration from scratch for a private project, or how to create a pre-defined base configuration for your team. If you are working as part of an organization with an already pre-configured Velocity base configuration, see Start from a Base Configuration to get started.

Set up the configuration

1. Open the folder in the IDE Explorer for the project you want to develop.
2. From the Getting Started with Velocity tab, click Create debug configuration and then click Create a debug configuration to launch the Velocity wizard. The Velocity wizard launches. If you navigate away from the wizard, click from the vertical toolbar on the left to open the Velocity sidebar and then click to return to the wizard and pick up where you left off:
3. From the dropdown list, choose the programming language you are developing and then choose whether to create your configuration based on an existing workload or a Dockerfile. For this walkthrough, choose Based on Dockerfile and click Next.

4. Velocity automatically detects your project configurations based on the application folder you opened in the Explorer.

Field	Description
Configuration name	Choose a name that suggests the goal of the run configuration - for example, the name of the application you're developing
Dockerfile	The path to the Dockerfile associated with the service that you're developing
Build context path	The build context is the set of files that your build can access. The positional argument that you pass to the build command specifies the context (for example, the local path) that you want to use for the build. Read more here.
What's running
Kubernetes context	The Kubernetes cluster that you're working in
Kubernetes namespace	The namespace in which your deployed service is running
Kubernetes workload	The specific Kubernetes workload that you're developing

5. Confirm that all of the values are correct, or update them as needed. Click Next.

6. Now review and, if necessary, provide additional details for Velocity to build a Dockerfile:

   1. For projects using Python or NodeJS, skip this step. If the build step of the application is outside of the Dockerfile and your project uses neither Python nor NodeJS, provide the build command so that Velocity can build it and copy it into the new target image. For Does your Dockerfile contain the application's build command? click No and then enter the relevant details.
   2. If your Dockerfile requires any build arguments to be passed with the --build-argflag in a docker build command, the list of expected build arguments dynamically loads; additionally you can add any commands necessary. For example, the ARG instruction in a Dockerfile sets a variable that is passed as a build argument. If you were to build this Dockerfile locally, you would pass the --build-arg flag; however, with Velocity this build argument is supplied in the Velocity Setup Wizard, as follows:
   3. If your Dockerfile requires an SSH key to access private packages or repositories during the docker build process, choose the SSH key. If this option is not visible to you, it means that your Dockerfile doesn't require an SSH key.
7. Click Create. The wizard closes, and a new Velocity launch configuration is created. The launch configuration can be opened for viewing and editing from the Run & Debug tab in the sidebar: You can get familiar with Velocity in your IDE and start your first development session with Velocity.