How to Debug CDK application?

Background/Situation

When working with AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) applications using Rider IDE, developers often face challenges debugging CDK applications, especially concerning reading from cdk.json parameters when stepping through the .NET code.

Question

How can I effectively debug my CDK application using Rider IDE and ensure it correctly reads from the cdk.json file as expected?

Answer

When debugging a CDK application in Rider IDE, follow these guidelines to facilitate seamless debugging:

1. Modifications to Enable Debugging: Insert a snippet at the beginning of the Main method in your application to pause and wait for the debugger to attach:

   if (args.Contains("RiderDebug"))
   {
       Console.WriteLine("Attempting to debug using Rider.");
       while (!Debugger.IsAttached)
       {
           Console.WriteLine("Waiting for debugger to attach...");
           System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
           if (Debugger.IsAttached)
               break;
       }
   }
   

2. Run Configuration Update:

   • Update your cdk.json to include a specific argument for debugging.

   • For instance:

     "app": "dotnet run --project src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj --args RiderDebug"
     

3. Attaching the Debugger:

   • Build the .Net project;
   • Start the application using cdk synth (from any terminal, or by creating another "Shell script" run configuration to launch cdk synth (Run | Edit Configurations)
   • Open Rider and go to Run > Attach to Process....
   • Select the application's process (e.g., MyProject.exe) to begin debugging.

4. Adjusting for Context: Since the RiderDebug argument is specified in cdk.json , .Net process will be waiting for the debugger to attach. Once you do not need to debug the process, adjust the cdk.json file removing the RiderDebug argument.

By using the above methods, you can debug CDK applications interactively while maintaining the expected behavior of reading parameters from the cdk.json file. This setup allows a developer to observe and troubleshoot any issues effectively.