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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/sgm1018/BetterWinTab/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

BetterWinTab ships with a complete .vscode configuration that covers building, running, attaching, and hot-reloading the application. You can debug it through the VS Code task system, by launching it manually from PowerShell, or by pressing F5 to use the full coreclr debugger with breakpoints and the Debug Console. The fastest way to build and launch BetterWinTab for debugging is through the predefined run-x64 task, which builds and starts the app in one step.
1

Open the Command Palette

Press Ctrl+Shift+P and type Tasks: Run Task, then press Enter.
2

Select run-x64

Choose run-x64 from the task list. This task depends on build-x64, so it will automatically kill any running BetterWinTab process, rebuild the project for x64, and then launch the compiled executable.
3

Activate the overlay

Once the app is running, press Ctrl+Tab to show the BetterWinTab overlay and confirm that the application is working correctly.

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Manual Run from PowerShell

If you prefer working directly in a terminal, use this sequence to stop any existing instance, rebuild, and relaunch: 
Stop-Process -Name BetterWinTab -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
dotnet build BetterWinTab.csproj -p:Platform=x64
Start-Process "bin\x64\Debug\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\BetterWinTab.exe"
The Stop-Process call is a safety step — it ensures you are never running two instances simultaneously and that file locks are released before the next build writes new binaries.

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Hot Reload

dotnet watch rebuilds and restarts the app automatically whenever you save a source file, without you having to manually re-run any command.
dotnet watch run --project BetterWinTab.csproj -p:Platform=x64 --runtime win-x64
Hot reload is best suited for iterating on UI layouts, logic, and settings behavior. Note that some WinUI 3 XAML changes may require a full restart to take effect.

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F5 Debugging with Breakpoints

For full debugger support — breakpoints, variable inspection, call stacks, and the Debug Console — use the VS Code launch configuration.
1

Open the Run and Debug panel

Press Ctrl+Shift+D or click the Run and Debug icon in the Activity Bar.
2

Select the launch configuration

In the configuration dropdown at the top of the panel, select BetterWinTab (x64 Debug).
3

Start debugging

Press F5. VS Code will run the build-x64 pre-launch task (which kills any running instance and rebuilds the project), then attach the coreclr debugger to the launched process.
4

Set breakpoints and interact

Click in the gutter next to any line in a .cs source file to set a breakpoint. Press Ctrl+Tab in the app to trigger the overlay and exercise any codepath you want to inspect.

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Launch Configuration (.vscode/launch.json)

The repository includes two configurations in .vscode/launch.json: 
{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "BetterWinTab (x64 Debug)",
            "type": "coreclr",
            "request": "launch",
            "preLaunchTask": "build-x64",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/x64/Debug/net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-x64/BetterWinTab.exe",
            "args": [],
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "console": "internalConsole",
            "stopAtEntry": false
        },
        {
            "name": "Attach to BetterWinTab",
            "type": "coreclr",
            "request": "attach"
        }
    ]
}
FieldValueNotes
typecoreclrUses the .NET coreclr debugger provided by the C# extension
preLaunchTaskbuild-x64Automatically kills and rebuilds before each debug session
programbin/x64/Debug/net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-x64/BetterWinTab.exePoints to the x64 debug output
consoleinternalConsoleRoutes Debug.WriteLine output to the VS Code Debug Console
stopAtEntryfalseThe process runs normally; debugger attaches after startup
The second configuration, Attach to BetterWinTab, lets you attach the debugger to a process that is already running — useful when you need to diagnose an issue that only appears after a specific user action performed before you can set breakpoints.

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Debugging Tips

  • Breakpoints in C# files — Click in the editor gutter beside any line in .cs files. Breakpoints work in all source files including XAML code-behind, view models, and Win32 interop helpers.
  • Debug Console output — System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(...) calls in the source are visible in the VS Code Debug Console panel when running under the internalConsole configuration.
  • Inspecting the overlay — The BetterWinTab overlay is a WinUI 3 window that is shown and hidden based on the global hotkey. To trigger it during a debug session, make sure focus is not on VS Code when you press Ctrl+Tab, or reassign the activation hotkey from Settings → General to avoid conflicts.
  • Native interop crashes — If the process exits unexpectedly at startup without hitting any managed breakpoint, confirm that you built with -p:Platform=x64. A platform-neutral build will be missing the native WinUI host binaries and will crash before reaching managed code.

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