--- title: Debugging your Java App | daily.dev description: A walkthrough shows how to debug a Spring Boot to-do app directly from Visual Studio Code using the Extension Pack for Java and Spring Boot Extension Pack. It... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/debugging-your-java-app-fdwnfflpl twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Debugging your Java App | daily.dev og:description: A walkthrough shows how to debug a Spring Boot to-do app directly from Visual Studio Code using the Extension Pack for Java and Spring Boot Extension Pack. It... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/debugging-your-java-app-fdwnfflpl og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/fDwnffLpL.png og:image:alt: Debugging your Java App og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Debugging your Java App **[Visual Studio Code](https://daily.dev/sources/vscode)** · 4 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A walkthrough shows how to debug a Spring Boot to-do app directly from Visual Studio Code using the Extension Pack for Java and Spring Boot Extension Pack. It demonstrates setting a breakpoint in a controller, stepping through code into the service and repository layers, inspecting local variables like title and generated ID, and using the Spring Boot dashboard to view endpoint mappings, Actuator health checks, and live heap memory while the app runs under the debugger. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I debug a Spring Boot application request step by step in Visual Studio Code? Install a Java Development Kit, the Extension Pack for Java, and the Spring Boot Extension Pack, then set a breakpoint in the controller and launch the app from the Spring Boot dashboard's debug option. When a matching request arrives, execution pauses at the breakpoint, letting you inspect local variables and use step into, step over, and step out to trace the flow from controller to service to repository. _daily.dev surfaces walkthroughs like this for developers setting up Java debugging workflows in VS Code._ ### What does the Spring Boot dashboard in VS Code show while debugging? It lists the running application along with its endpoint mappings and, only while a live process is attached, a memory section showing heap usage. Endpoint mappings can be toggled to show all endpoints, including ones added by dependencies like Spring Boot Actuator, which exposes health and monitoring endpoints such as Actuator health. _Developers evaluating VS Code's Spring Boot tooling can find practical breakdowns like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Spring Boot Debugging – Now Remote](https://daily.dev/posts/spring-boot-debugging-now-remote-a1g7mxjih) · JetBrains · 18 upvotes · 0 comments - [IntelliJ Series](https://daily.dev/posts/intellij-series-vetpyltcr) · Baeldung · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#java](https://daily.dev/tags/java), [#vscode](https://daily.dev/tags/vscode), [#spring-boot](https://daily.dev/tags/spring-boot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/debugging-your-java-app-fdwnfflpl) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Debugging your Java App","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/debugging-your-java-app-fdwnfflpl","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/debugging-your-java-app-fdwnfflpl"},"datePublished":"2026-08-13T14:08:22.964Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:54:13.709Z","description":"A walkthrough shows how to debug a Spring Boot to-do app directly from Visual Studio Code using the Extension Pack for Java and Spring Boot Extension Pack. 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