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title: Running from VS Code
---

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## Install the VS Code extensions

To use the Dart DevTools from VS Code you will need the [Dart extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Dart-Code.dart-code). If you're debugging Flutter applications you should also install the [Flutter extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Dart-Code.flutter).

## Start an application to debug

Start a debug session for your application by opening the root folder of your project (the one containing `pubspec.yaml`) in VS Code and clicking **Debug > Start Debugging** (`F5`).

## Launch DevTools

Once the debug session is active and the application has started, the **Dart: Open DevTools** command will become available in the VS Code command palette:

<img src="images/vscode_command.png" width="700" height="115" />

The first time you run this (and subsequently when the DevTools package is updated) you will be prompted to activate or upgrade DevTools.

<img src="images/vscode_install_prompt.png" width="500" height="175" />

Clicking the Activate/Upgrade button will use `pub global activate` to activate the DevTools package for you.

Next, DevTools will launch in your browser and automatically connect to your debug session.

<img src="images/vscode_show_in_browser.png" width="700" height="400" />

While the Dart DevTools are active, you'll see them in the status bar of VS Code. If you've closed the browser tab, you can click on here to re-launch your browser (so long as there's still a suitable Dart/Flutter debugging session available).

<img src="images/vscode_status_bar.png" width="380" height="100" />