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Gimlet Installation and Usage Guide

Install Gimlet

Installation Steps

  1. Open VS Code Marketplace
  2. Search for Gimlet or click here
  3. Install the extension
  4. Restart VS Code if necessary

Steps to Debug a Solana Program

Prerequisites

Note: Run Gimlet: Run Setup in the Command Palette to verify all requirements.

1. Build Your Program

Compile your program with debug symbols:

cargo-build-sbf --tools-version v1.54 --debug --arch v1

Note: Re-run this command whenever you change your program code.

2. Run Your Test

Run your test with the debugger enabled:

SBF_DEBUG_PORT=1212 SBF_TRACE_DIR=$PWD/target/sbf/trace cargo test --features sbpf-debugger

This starts the test with a gdbstub listening on the specified TCP port, which Gimlet will connect to.

3. Connect Gimlet

  1. Open the test file in VS Code — you'll see CodeLens buttons above test functions:
    • Sbpf Debug → for individual Rust tests
    • Sbpf Debug All → for TypeScript test suites
  2. Click the button to connect Gimlet and start step-by-step debugging.

What Happens During Launch

Gimlet will automatically:

  1. Scan target/deploy/debug/ for compiled .so and .debug files
  2. Connect to the gdbstub via gdb-remote on the configured TCP port
  3. Load the correct .debug ELF binary into LLDB for symbol resolution

4. Set and Hit Breakpoints

  • Set breakpoints in your Solana program source code before or after connecting
  • Use the VS Code debug controls to step through, continue, and inspect variables

Additional LLDB Commands

For a comprehensive list of LLDB commands and their usage, refer to the official LLDB Commands Documentation.