"No configurations" for DEBUG after upgrading macOS

[dancesWithMachines]

Describe the problem

I use arduino ide with arduino-pico board set for Raspberry Pi pico development, along with a hardware-debugger being pico-probe. Until yesterday, everything was working as expected.

Overnight I updated my system to macOS 15.3.1 (24D70). Now, when I go to the DEBUG tab in IDE, there are no configurations available. What's more, if I create "mockup" configuration I still cannot select it in a dialog box. I also tried with the configuration I know was working, but it's still un-select-able.

Note: From what I understand, I should not have to create debug config (edit launch.json) either, this should be generated automatically for selected board.

To reproduce

1. Use "Select Other Board and Port" dialog box to select board and port: Raspberry Pi Pico - Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040/RP2350 in my case.
2. Go to the DEBUG tab and check current configuration.

Expected behavior

Raspberry Pi Pico configuration should be selected by default.

No Configurations is selected by default. Adding mockup config or using last known working config does not work either, as it's not select-able.

Arduino IDE version

2.3.4

Operating system

macOS

Operating system version

15.3.1

Additional context

Issue reproduces on nightly, also tried reinstalling same and older versions of arduino-pico with no luck.

Only thing I believe might be related to the issue, was updating macOS to newest version. As said, I updated OS overnight and it stopped working.

Issue checklist

• I searched for previous reports in the issue tracker
• I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest nightly build
• My report contains all necessary details

[per1234]

Hi @dancesWithMachines. Arduino IDE automatically generates the appropriate launch configuration according to board configurations that are selected under the Tools menu (e.g., Tools > Board, Tools > Programmer).

The configuration is generated when you click the "Start Debugging" button on the Arduino IDE toolbar:

The launch configuration is only generated when you click that button. If you only expand the "DEBUG" view by clicking the icon in the "activity bar" on the left side of the Arduino IDE window, then the configuration is not generated:

The launch configuration file (launch.json) is stored under the system cache folder, so you might find that the configuration that was generated by clicking the "Start Debugging" button at some time previously persists between sessions. However, this is not guaranteed to be persistent.

So my hypothesis is that the problem you are reporting is caused by you having clicked the icon in the "activity bar" on the left side of the Arduino IDE window instead of using the "Start Debugging" button on the Arduino IDE toolbar.

Please click the "Start Debugging" button on the Arduino IDE toolbar and then add a comment here on the issue thread to let me know whether you now see the expected configuration in the "DEBUG" view.

Adding mockup config or using last known working config does not work either, as it's not select-able.

Unfortunately, the debugger has an user hostile design where it will create a launch configuration file in a .theia subfolder of the sketch if you click the play icon ("Start Debugging") or gear icon ("Open launch.json") in the "DEBUG" view when the debugger has not been initialized by clicking the "Start Debugging" button on the Arduino IDE toolbar. This file is a complete troll because the debugger doesn't use it at all (#315). It will only use the launch configuration file in the temporary folder.

After initializing the debugger, clicking the gear icon ("Open launch.json") in the "DEBUG" view will open the correct file from the temporary folder. Advanced users can add custom configurations to that file, and they will be selectable from the configurations menu in the "DEBUG" view.

[dancesWithMachines]

Hi @per1234,

The configuration is generated when you click the "Start Debugging" button on the Arduino IDE toolbar

That was it! I had no idea this could make a difference, especially if pictograms are the same. I come to Arduino IDE from VS Code so my "instinct" is to go to the left for debugging rather than the top 😄.

The issue can be closed, thanks for your help.