VSCode Python extension and/or the Python Debugger is adding to my PATH which breaks things.

[lovettchris]

Type: Bug

Behaviour

when I press F5 to start the debugger and look at os.getenv("PATH") I see the debugger has added 3 new paths to the front:

• 'C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7'
• 'D:\miniconda3'

This means if I subprocess.run a child python process it picks up the wrong version of python.exe and doesn't work as expected. This makes it very difficult to debug a job runner that spawns child python processes.

Steps to reproduce:

1. wipe vs code and all extensions and install fresh copy from scratch and add only the python extension.
2. install miniconda
3. conda create -n test python=3.10
4. activate test5. load vs code to debug a test.py script containing, use Python: Select Interpreter to select your "test" conda environment

import os
import sys
import subprocess

print("\n".join(os.getenv("PATH").split(";")[:7]))
print("done")

6. When you run this from command line it works as expected. When you run it in the vscode debugger the PATH contains 2 new paths at the front:

C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7
D:\miniconda3

This causes any child subprocess to pick up the wrong version of python.

Sometimes it contains other additional paths like which can break other things like child process that calls azcopy.

'D:\\miniconda3\\envs\\sr\\Lib\\site-packages\\cv2\\../../x64/vc14/bin'

Diagnostic data

launch.json configuration

{  
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Python Debugger: Current File",
            "type": "debugpy",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${file}",
            "console": "integratedTerminal",
            "cwd": "D:\\temp\\jobs",
            "justMyCode": true,
        },
    ]
}

Output for Python in the Output panel (View→Output, change the drop-down the upper-right of the Output panel to Python)

2025-04-22 13:21:50.307 [info] Experiment 'pythonRecommendTensorboardExt' is active
2025-04-22 13:21:50.307 [info] Experiment 'pythonTerminalEnvVarActivation' is active
2025-04-22 13:21:50.307 [info] Native locator: Refresh started
2025-04-22 13:21:50.307 [info] Native locator: Refresh started
2025-04-22 13:21:50.381 [info] > conda info --json
2025-04-22 13:21:50.382 [info] Conda environment manager found at: D:\miniconda3\Scripts\conda.exe
2025-04-22 13:21:50.382 [info] Using conda: D:\miniconda3\Scripts\conda.exe
2025-04-22 13:21:50.517 [info] Native locator: Refresh finished in 801 ms
2025-04-22 13:21:50.527 [info] > pyenv which python
2025-04-22 13:21:50.527 [info] cwd: .
2025-04-22 13:21:54.007 [info] VS Code was launched from an activated environment: 'sr', selecting it as the interpreter for workspace.
2025-04-22 13:21:54.009 [info] Python interpreter path: D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe
2025-04-22 13:21:54.054 [info] > conda info --json
2025-04-22 13:21:54.054 [info] shell: powershellCore
2025-04-22 13:21:54.085 [info] Active interpreter [d:\temp\bug]:  d:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe
2025-04-22 13:21:54.089 [info] Discover tests for workspace name: bug - uri: d:\temp\bug
2025-04-22 13:21:54.588 [info] Starting Pylance language server.
2025-04-22 13:21:55.661 [info] Send text to terminal:  & 'd:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe' 'c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.debugpy-2025.6.0-win32-x64\bundled\libs\debugpy\launcher' '53314' '--' 'D:\temp\bug\test.py' 
2025-04-22 13:21:55.943 [info] > D:\miniconda3\Scripts\conda.exe info --json
2025-04-22 13:22:02.645 [info] > conda run -p D:\miniconda3\envs\sr --no-capture-output python ~\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64\python_files\get_output_via_markers.py ~/.vscode/extensions/ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64/python_files/printEnvVariables.py
2025-04-22 13:22:02.645 [info] shell: powershellCore
2025-04-22 13:22:02.645 [info] > conda run -p D:\miniconda3\envs\sr --no-capture-output python ~\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64\python_files\get_output_via_markers.py ~/.vscode/extensions/ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64/python_files/printEnvVariables.py
2025-04-22 13:22:02.645 [info] shell: powershellCore
2025-04-22 13:22:12.029 [info] > python ~/.vscode/extensions/ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64/python_files/printEnvVariables.py
2025-04-22 13:22:12.029 [info] shell: powershellCore
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV in collection to sr {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PREFIX in collection to D:\miniconda3\envs\sr {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PREFIX_3 in collection to D:\miniconda3 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PROMPT_MODIFIER in collection to (sr)  {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_ROOT in collection to D:\miniconda3 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_SHLVL in collection to 4 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Prepending environment variable PATH in collection to C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\mingw-w64\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\usr\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Scripts;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\bin;d:\miniconda3\condabin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\bin\HostX64\x64;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\VC\VCPackages;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\TestWindow;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\TeamFoundation\Team Explorer;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\bin\Roslyn;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v10.0A\bin\NETFX 4.8 Tools\x64;C:\Program Files (x86)\HTML Help Workshop;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\FSharp\Tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Team Tools\DiagnosticsHub\Collector;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\CodeCoverage.Console;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\10.0.26100.0\x64;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\x64;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64;C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\Tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Azure\CLI2\wbin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v11.8\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v11.8\libnvvp;C:\windows\System32\OpenSSH;c:\tools\strawberry\perl\bin;C:\Program Files\dotnet;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\150\Tools\Binn;C:\Program Files\GitHub CLI;C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Azure Functions Core Tools;C:\WINDOWS\System32\OpenSSH;C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common;C:\Program Files\SafeNet\Authentication\SAC\x64;C:\Program Files\SafeNet\Authentication\SAC\x32;C:\Program Files\usbipd-win;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\Yarn\bin;C:\Program Files\Nordic Semiconductor\nrf-command-line-tools\bin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\Client SDK\ODBC\170\Tools\Binn;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\nvm;C:\Program Files\nodejs;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0;C:\Program Files\PuTTY;C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7;C:\Program Files\Git\cmd;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\CloudBuild;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.elan\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.dotnet\tools;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.cargo\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\ILSpy;C:\Program Files\Graphviz\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin;D:\Android\Sdk\platform-tools;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Yarn\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\nvm;C:\Program Files\nodejs;D:\Android\jdk-11.0.1\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\AzureAuth\0.8.6;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Azure\CLI2\wbin;D:\tools\ffmpeg\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.dotnet\tools;.;d:\tools;d:\nasm;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.elan\bin;c:\Program Files\Git\cmd;c:\Program Files\git\usr\bin;C:\debuggers;d:\miniconda3\Library\bin;d:\miniconda3\Scripts;C:\Microsoft\AndroidSDK\25\platform-tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\Llvm\x64\bin;D:\git\leanprover\LeanInk\build\bin;D:\git\clovett\tools\ToastMe\bin\Debug\net6.0-windows10.0.17763.0;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\MiKTeX\miktex\bin\x64;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDNN\8.6\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.11\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\TensorRT\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\TensorRT\lib;D:\tools\ffmpeg\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\npm;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\CMake\CMake\bin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\CMake\Ninja;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\VC\Linux\bin\ConnectionManagerExe;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\vcpkg; {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable PROMPT in collection to (sr) (sr) $P$G {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.393 [info] Setting environment variable _CONDA_OLD_CHCP in collection to 437 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV in collection to sr {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PREFIX in collection to D:\miniconda3\envs\sr {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PREFIX_3 in collection to D:\miniconda3 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_PROMPT_MODIFIER in collection to (sr)  {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_ROOT in collection to D:\miniconda3 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable CONDA_SHLVL in collection to 4 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Prepending environment variable PATH in collection to C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\mingw-w64\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\usr\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Library\bin;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\Scripts;D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\bin;d:\miniconda3\condabin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\bin\HostX64\x64;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\VC\VCPackages;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\TestWindow;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\TeamFoundation\Team Explorer;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\bin\Roslyn;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v10.0A\bin\NETFX 4.8 Tools\x64;C:\Program Files (x86)\HTML Help Workshop;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\FSharp\Tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Team Tools\DiagnosticsHub\Collector;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\CodeCoverage.Console;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\10.0.26100.0\x64;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\x64;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64;C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\Tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Azure\CLI2\wbin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v11.8\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v11.8\libnvvp;C:\windows\System32\OpenSSH;c:\tools\strawberry\perl\bin;C:\Program Files\dotnet;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\150\Tools\Binn;C:\Program Files\GitHub CLI;C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Azure Functions Core Tools;C:\WINDOWS\System32\OpenSSH;C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common;C:\Program Files\SafeNet\Authentication\SAC\x64;C:\Program Files\SafeNet\Authentication\SAC\x32;C:\Program Files\usbipd-win;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\Yarn\bin;C:\Program Files\Nordic Semiconductor\nrf-command-line-tools\bin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\Client SDK\ODBC\170\Tools\Binn;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\nvm;C:\Program Files\nodejs;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0;C:\Program Files\PuTTY;C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7;C:\Program Files\Git\cmd;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\CloudBuild;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.elan\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.dotnet\tools;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.cargo\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\ILSpy;C:\Program Files\Graphviz\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin;D:\Android\Sdk\platform-tools;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Yarn\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\nvm;C:\Program Files\nodejs;D:\Android\jdk-11.0.1\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\AzureAuth\0.8.6;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Azure\CLI2\wbin;D:\tools\ffmpeg\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.dotnet\tools;.;d:\tools;d:\nasm;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.elan\bin;c:\Program Files\Git\cmd;c:\Program Files\git\usr\bin;C:\debuggers;d:\miniconda3\Library\bin;d:\miniconda3\Scripts;C:\Microsoft\AndroidSDK\25\platform-tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\Llvm\x64\bin;D:\git\leanprover\LeanInk\build\bin;D:\git\clovett\tools\ToastMe\bin\Debug\net6.0-windows10.0.17763.0;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\MiKTeX\miktex\bin\x64;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDNN\8.6\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.11\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\TensorRT\bin;C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\TensorRT\lib;D:\tools\ffmpeg\bin;C:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\npm;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\CMake\CMake\bin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\CMake\Ninja;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\VC\Linux\bin\ConnectionManagerExe;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\vcpkg; {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable PROMPT in collection to (sr) (sr) $P$G {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Setting environment variable _CONDA_OLD_CHCP in collection to 437 {"applyAtShellIntegration":true,"applyAtProcessCreation":true}
2025-04-22 13:22:16.394 [info] Send text to terminal: & python c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64\python_files\printEnvVariablesToFile.py c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.python-2025.4.0-win32-x64\python_files\deactivate\powershell\envVars.txt

Output for Python Debugger in the Output panel (View→Output, change the drop-down the upper-right of the Output panel to Python Debugger)

2025-04-22 13:21:54.101 [info] Resolving launch configuration with substituted variables
2025-04-22 13:21:54.135 [info] DAP Server launched with command: D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.debugpy-2025.6.0-win32-x64\bundled\libs\debugpy\adapter
2025-04-22 13:21:54.939 [info] Received 'debugpySockets' event from debugpy.
2025-04-22 13:21:54.941 [info] Received 'debugpySockets' event from debugpy.
2025-04-22 13:21:54.948 [info] Received 'debugpySockets' event from debugpy.
2025-04-22 13:22:02.570 [info] Received 'debugpySockets' event from debugpy.

Extension version: 2025.6.0
VS Code version: Code 1.99.3 (17baf841131aa23349f217ca7c570c76ee87b957, 2025-04-15T23:18:46.076Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100
Modes:

• Python version (& distribution if applicable, e.g. Anaconda): 3.10.16
• Type of virtual environment used (e.g. conda, venv, virtualenv, etc.): Conda
  Details

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz (20 x 3696)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled vulkan: disabled_off webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	63.78GB (35.92GB free)
Process Argv	. --crash-reporter-id ef3b5e21-31a7-4b65-828a-245ea947b3c2
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

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[eleanorjboyd]

sorry for the delay- will investigate

[eleanorjboyd]

To clarify is this not the executable you expected to be run 2025-04-22 13:21:54.135 [info] DAP Server launched with command: D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.debugpy-2025.6.0-win32-x64\bundled\libs\debugpy\adapter? Or is this not what it is actually using?

[lovettchris]

I don't know anything about DAP server, I just included the logs because your template asked me to. Like I said it is a fresh install of vscode, no extensions except Microsoft Python and this is what happens when I press F5.

[lovettchris]

But the python executable in D:\miniconda3\envs\sr\python.exe is the correct one, the problem is the PATH has been modified by someone (the debugger) and that change breaks my python code, which means I can't debug it.

[eleanorjboyd]

Hi! Can you try installing the "python environments" extension by Microsoft, reloading the window, then trying again? We have this new extension to help with environment selection and management and this might fix your case where the wrong path is getting inserted.

Secondly could you try debugging your script using no-config debugging? If you activate the terminal yourself then run this it should work as expected. Knowing if it works or also fails is helpful because it can help me narrow down when in the process (activation vs debug launching) the path is being modified.

[lovettchris]

Well, I finally got rid of the "insiders" version and I wiped everything including all the %USERPROFILE%\.vscode folders and now the debugger works again. But the environment is still being changed by F5 debugger. This script shows the problem: import os for name in os.getenv("PATH").split(os.pathsep): print(name) print("done") If you run this from the command line then it again in the debugger then compare the outputs you will see this change to your environment: [cid:8ea5b994-942d-4219-9334-05de85df2db5] This breaks azcopy and if my python code forks azcopy you get this error: * 'INFO: Scanning...\n\nFailed to perform Auto-login: AzureCLICredential: Azure CLI not found on path.\n' Something about that PATH change caues the AzureCLICredentialto fail. When I run it outside the debugger azcopy subprocess works fine.

…

________________________________ From: Eleanor Boyd ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2025 12:46 PM To: microsoft/vscode-python-debugger ***@***.***> Cc: Author ***@***.***>; Comment ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [microsoft/vscode-python-debugger] VSCode Python extension and/or the Python Debugger is adding to my PATH which breaks things. (Issue #698) Hi! Can you try installing the "python environments" extension by Microsoft, reloading the window, then trying again? We have this new extension to help with environment selection and management and this might fix your case where the wrong path is getting inserted. Secondly could you try debugging your script using no-config debugging<https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python-debugger/wiki/No%E2%80%90Config-Debugging>? If you activate the terminal yourself then run this it should work as expected. Knowing if it works or also fails is helpful because it can help me narrow down when in the process (activation vs debug launching) the path is being modified. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#698 (comment)> or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-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ou are receiving this email because you authored the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS<https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub>.

[lovettchris]

So now that I can repro the bug again, I installed "python environments" (prerelease version) and found my conda environment and made it my Project environment using the checkmark button. [cid:e6dbbe36-c9fe-4069-8e93-8bc62d2453b3] Now F5 debugger works better, it does not break my PATH environment. It still changes it, in fact it changes it much more by changing case on drive letters and rationalizing duplicate PATHs. It also adds "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7" to the front, but fortunately that does not break azcopy. Now the azcopy subprocess returns success with: * "INFO: Scanning...\nINFO: Login with AzCliCreds succeeded\n The old way also added these to the end of my PATH and these may have also been causing problems, but the new way does not do this: c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\.vscode\extensions\ms-python.debugpy-2025.8.0-win32-x64\bundled\scripts\noConfigScripts c:\Users\clovett.REDMOND\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\globalStorage\github.copilot-chat\debugCommand

…

________________________________ From: Chris Lovett ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2025 6:41 PM To: microsoft/vscode-python-debugger ***@***.***>; ***@***.*** ***@***.***> Cc: Author ***@***.***>; Comment ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [microsoft/vscode-python-debugger] VSCode Python extension and/or the Python Debugger is adding to my PATH which breaks things. (Issue #698) Well, I finally got rid of the "insiders" version and I wiped everything including all the %USERPROFILE%\.vscode folders and now the debugger works again. But the environment is still being changed by F5 debugger. This script shows the problem: import os for name in os.getenv("PATH").split(os.pathsep): print(name) print("done") If you run this from the command line then it again in the debugger then compare the outputs you will see this change to your environment: [cid:8ea5b994-942d-4219-9334-05de85df2db5] This breaks azcopy and if my python code forks azcopy you get this error: * 'INFO: Scanning...\n\nFailed to perform Auto-login: AzureCLICredential: Azure CLI not found on path.\n' Something about that PATH change caues the AzureCLICredentialto fail. When I run it outside the debugger azcopy subprocess works fine.

________________________________ From: Eleanor Boyd ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2025 12:46 PM To: microsoft/vscode-python-debugger ***@***.***> Cc: Author ***@***.***>; Comment ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [microsoft/vscode-python-debugger] VSCode Python extension and/or the Python Debugger is adding to my PATH which breaks things. (Issue #698) Hi! Can you try installing the "python environments" extension by Microsoft, reloading the window, then trying again? We have this new extension to help with environment selection and management and this might fix your case where the wrong path is getting inserted. Secondly could you try debugging your script using no-config debugging<https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python-debugger/wiki/No%E2%80%90Config-Debugging>? If you activate the terminal yourself then run this it should work as expected. Knowing if it works or also fails is helpful because it can help me narrow down when in the process (activation vs debug launching) the path is being modified. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#698 (comment)> or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-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ou are receiving this email because you authored the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS<https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub>.

[lovettchris]

I consider this issue closed since I am unblocked, thanks.

[eleanorjboyd]

I am glad this is working and that the new extension helped. This will become the default experience as we will switch over to using the environments extension to handle all env related stuff. If you face any issues with the new extension please let me know- thanks!

[lovettchris]

So far so good, ship it ! :-)