Visual Studio Code - Linux/Windows desktop C/C++ build notes

Visual Studio Code extension “C/C++ IntelliSense, debugging, and code browsing”.

Visual Studio Code has been used for Linux, Windows, ESP32 (ESP-IDF extension) and for Arduino style builds (Platform IO extension).

Switching between debug and release builds

The micro-controller development board: MELIFE ESP32 Development Board (from Amazon). External USB/JTAG debugger: ESP-Prog (from Grid Connect).

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Where to switch between debug and release build

Renaming build folder

If you do ESP32 ESP-IDF and PCbuilds with Visual Studio Code on the same computer, it is useful to rename the build folder used for Linux/Windows PC builds. Then the ESP32 and PC builds do not get mixed up in conflict. Renaming ESP32 build folder is not possible, because ESP-IDF build system needs to have the build folder named “build”. But for PC builds, it is possible to use any name for the build folder. I renamed it to “build_pc” in my Visual Studio Code workspace.

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Where to rename Linux/Windows PCbuild folder.

260311, updated 11.3.2026/pekka