Problems running Task in VSCODE to build with g++

[jfraschilla]

I am trying to build my first C++ program in VSCODE. I followed the instructions shown in Using GCC with MinGW. I configured a task to use g++ as shown below. When I choose Terminal-> Run Task... -> "C/C==:g++.exe build active file" I get the following error:

Executing task: C/C++: g++.exe build active file

Starting build...

D:\msys64\mingw64\bin\g++.exe -fdiagnostics-color=always -g D:\dev\C++\vscode_helloworld_v2\helloworld.cpp -o D:\dev\C++\vscode_helloworld_v2\helloworld.exe

The system cannot find the path specified.

Build finished with error(s).

The terminal process failed to launch (exit code: -1).
Terminal will be reused by tasks, press any key to close it.

{
    "tasks": [
        {
            "type": "cppbuild",
            "label": "C/C++: g++.exe build active file",
            "command": "D:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin\\g++.exe",
            "args": [
                "-fdiagnostics-color=always",
                "-g",
                "${file}",
                "-o",
                "${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe"
            ],
            "options": {
                "cwd": "${fileDirname}"
            },
            "problemMatcher": [
                "$gcc"
            ],
            "group": "build",
            "detail": "Task generated by Debugger."
        }
    ],
    "version": "2.0.0"
}

If I open a command window and enter the following it does compile and creates a helloworld.exe.

D:\msys64\mingw64\bin\g++.exe -fdiagnostics-color=always -g D:\dev\C++\vscode_helloworld_v2\helloworld.cpp -o D:\dev\C++\vscode_helloworld_v2\helloworld.exe

If I edit the tasks.json and change the type from "cppbuild" to "shell" it works and creates a helloworld.exe.

What am I doing wrong?

[sean-mcmanus]

I don't know. I'm not able to repro the issue.

[bobbrow]

Is D:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin in the %PATH%? Or maybe you could change the "cwd" to "D:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin"?

[sean-mcmanus]

@bobbrow Yeah, I tried both PATH scenarios, and the task will fail if it's not in the PATH and cwd isn't set to the mingw path, but I could never get the "The system cannot find the path specified." part to appear.

[bobbrow]

@jfraschilla which terminal type does VS Code open for you? Is it CMD, PowerShell, or something else? You can also try flipping the backslashes \\ -> / to see if the terminal did a weird escaping thing on you.

[jfraschilla]

Yes, D:\msys64\mingw\bin is in my path. Changing "cwd" to "D:\msys64\mingw64\bin" did not work. The following command works from the Terminal prompt "g++.exe -fdiagnostics-color=always -g D:\dev\C++\helloworld_v3\helloworld.cpp -o D:\dev\C++\helloworld_v3\helloworld.exe" which verifies that the path includes "D:\msys64\mingw64\bin". I cannot figure out why selecting "Run Build Task..." or "Run Task..." does not work from the Terminal menu items.

[jfraschilla]

@bobbrow it is a pwsh

[jfraschilla]

@bobbrow

[sean-mcmanus]

The cppbuild task uses a special terminal (https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-cpptools/blob/main/Extension/src/LanguageServer/cppBuildTaskProvider.ts#L209 ). Any idea what path it's complaining about? Do you see any errors related to this logged in the Help->Toggle Developer Tools->Console?

[jfraschilla]

@sean-mcmanus

[sean-mcmanus]

That console logging looks okay. The deprecation warning doesn't matter and the JSON.parse syntax error is not from our extension.

[jfraschilla]

Can the following in my settings.json be the problem?

   "terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": {
        "Windows PowerShell": {
            "path": "C:\\Users\\jfras\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\WindowsApps\\Microsoft.PowerShell_8wekyb3d8bbwe\\pwsh.exe"
        },
        "Command Prompt": {
            "path": [
                "${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\cmd.exe",
                "${env:windir}\\System32\\cmd.exe"
            ],
            "args": [],
            "icon": "terminal-cmd"
        },
        "Git Bash": {
            "source": "Git Bash"
        }
    },
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "Windows PowerShell",

[sean-mcmanus]

I don't get the error with those settings, but it wanted "Windows PowerShell" to be "PowerShell".

[jfraschilla]

Is there a reason why I am not seeing any additional information about the error?

[jfraschilla]

@sean-mcmanus I see that this may be incorrectly marked as answered. Can you please change this status back to open. I may have hit the wrong button when adding a reply. I am still seeing the same problem

[jfraschilla]

@sean-mcmanus This post on stackoverflow fixed my problem:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62808726/the-system-cannot-find-the-path-specified-at-the-beginning-of-cmd/62808833#62808833