NetDebug

Garry's Mod lua debugger for VSCode

This allows you to debug (place breakpoints, step through code, ..) a Garry's Mod server using the debugger interface in VSCode.

The following information is not fool-proof and assumes a basic understanding of some concepts

Building

There are 3 main parts to this project:

• The VSCode extension that'll interface between the debugging tools and the game.
• The GMod binary module, used to obtain blocking sockets to pause execution.
• The GMod lua code that implements to protocol to talk to the extension.

VSCode extension

This is my first attempt at making a VSCode extension so these instructions may not work for you.

• Open uo a terminal in the cloned directory, cd into extension
• Type npm install (I'm not sure this is necessary)
• Type npm run package, it should create a *.vsix file in that directory
• In VSCode, in the extension menu, select the 3 dots at the top and choose Install from VSIX
• Select the *.vsix file that you just created and it should install it.

Binary module

I can't give a complete set of instructions on this one as I always have to fiddle with stuff when I make one, so I'll have to redirect you to this page: https://wiki.garrysmod.com/page/Creating_Binary_Modules There are a couple of things to note:

• I used premake5, not premake4 like those instructions say. I don't know how big of an impact this has.
• You'll need to add the OpenSSL headers and libs to your project (I used it for the auth and may later do more with it).
• You'll need to put libcrypto-1_1.dll next to the server executable as a result.
• This module may work on the client, I have not tested this. But you'll have to rename the module to gmcl_blocksocket_win32.dll for it to load properly.

Lua code

Now this is the easiest one, you just need to put the lua/autorun/gm_netdebug.lua in a place where it will be executed automatically. Or just clone the project in the addons folder, the folder structure is already correct. (should be addons/netdebug/lua/autorun/gm_netdebug.lua)

Running

• Edit the lua file and change the config there to suit your setup before launching the server.
• Launch the Garry's Mod server.
• Start a new debugging session in VSCode (F5) and choose GLua Debug (one the first run this will not launch but instead show the config)
• Modify the new launch configuration to suit your setup.
  • garrysmod should point to the garrysmod directory of the server (or a local copy). (This is the directory that contains addons, gamemodes and so on.) BUG: This must end with a / or \\
  • host is a string in 2 parts seperated by a colon, the address and the port. Use the same as in the config of the lua file.
  • key is the key used in the config of the lua file
• Place breakpoints and start debugging in vscode.

Notes

• The server uses a timer to listen for new requests. As such you will need to have a player (or a bot) on the server or set sv_hibernate_think 1 for it to run.