How to attach debugger to ts-node command with env vars in VSCode

[GorvGoyl]

How to attach the VSCode debugger to the ts-node command that uses env variables like the below one:

package.json:

{
"runMyScript": "ts-node -r dotenv/config --transpile-only tasks/migration/myScript.ts dotenv_config_path=./local.env"
}

I tried adding flags --respawn --inspect=4000 to the above command with below launch.json, but it didn't work:

launch.json:

{"configurations": [
    {
      "name": "RUN attach to DEV",
      "type": "node",
      "port": 4000,
      "request": "attach",
      "trace": true,
      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"],
      "restart": true
    },
]}

[kokoc30]

Pass the inspector flag to Node, and preload ts-node plus dotenv. For a CommonJS ts-node setup, run this from the project root:

node --inspect-brk=127.0.0.1:4000 -r ts-node/register/transpile-only -r dotenv/config tasks/migration/myScript.ts dotenv_config_path=./local.env

Then attach with:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Attach to migration script",
      "type": "node",
      "request": "attach",
      "address": "127.0.0.1",
      "port": 4000,
      "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
    }
  ]
}

--inspect-brk pauses before the script starts, which matters for a short-lived migration task: it gives you time to attach and set breakpoints. Continue execution after attaching.

The pieces are independent:

• --inspect-brk is a Node runtime flag; passing it to the ts-node CLI is not how you enable Node's inspector.
• ts-node/register/transpile-only provides the same type-check-skipping mode as your --transpile-only command.
• dotenv/config still loads ./local.env using your dotenv_config_path argument. An attach configuration connects to the existing process; it doesn't initialize that process's environment.

You don't need --respawn for this one-process attach flow. If the project uses native ESM, the ts-node registration mechanism needs to be the ESM loader instead; the command above specifically targets CommonJS.

References: ts-node with Node flags, Node inspector flag, dotenv preload configuration, VS Code attach configuration.