[Bug]: When Debugging test from VSCode the trace is not recorded

[nlesniewski]

Version

v1.56.1

Steps to reproduce

Prerequisite:

• init minimal project - npm init playwright@latest
• VS Code & Plawright VS Code extension installed

Steps to reproduce:

In VS Code:

• open minimal project
• add breakpoint in has title test
• open Testing tab
• run Debug test on has title test
• run Continue on breakpoint

Expected behavior

• Trace Viewer is populated with new data during debugging
• after test ends Trace Viewer displays whole trace

Actual behavior

• Trace Viewer is not populated with new data (actions, log's, network call's etc.) during debugging

• after test ends Trace Viewer displays Loading Playwright Trace... message

Additional context

When tests are run with Run Test option Trace Viewer displays trace after run.

Additional env info:

VS Code info:

Version: 1.105.1 (Universal)
Commit: 7d842fb85a0275a4a8e4d7e040d2625abbf7f084
Date: 2025-10-14T22:33:36.618Z
Electron: 37.6.0
ElectronBuildId: 12502201
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.19.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.0.0

VS Code PW extension:

Name: Playwright Test for VSCode
Id: ms-playwright.playwright
Description: Run Playwright Test tests in Visual Studio Code.
Version: 1.1.16
Publisher: Microsoft
VS Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-playwright.playwright

Environment

System:
    OS: macOS 26.0.1
    CPU: (8) arm64 Apple M2
    Memory: 4.84 GB / 16.00 GB
  Binaries:
    Node: 24.10.0 - /opt/homebrew/bin/node
    npm: 11.6.0 - /opt/homebrew/bin/npm
  IDEs:
    VSCode: 1.105.1 - /usr/local/bin/code
  Languages:
    Bash: 3.2.57 - /bin/bash
  npmPackages:
    @playwright/test: ^1.56.1 => 1.56.1

[nlesniewski]

I also checked on Windows machine - same result.

VS Code

Version: 1.105.1 (system setup)
Commit: 7d842fb85a0275a4a8e4d7e040d2625abbf7f084
Date: 2025-10-14T22:33:36.618Z
Electron: 37.6.0
ElectronBuildId: 12502201
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.19.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22631

PW Extension:

Name: Playwright Test for VSCode
Id: ms-playwright.playwright
Description: Run Playwright Test tests in Visual Studio Code.
Version: 1.1.16
Publisher: Microsoft
VS Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-playwright.playwright

Envinfo:

  System:
    OS: Windows 11 10.0.22631
    CPU: (8) x64 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1145G7 @ 2.60GHz
    Memory: 14.78 GB / 31.39 GB
  Binaries:
    Node: 22.14.0 - C:\nvm4w\nodejs\node.EXE
    npm: 11.2.0 - C:\nvm4w\nodejs\npm.CMD
  IDEs:
    VSCode: 1.105.1 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.CMD
  Languages:
    Bash: 5.2.21 - C:\Windows\system32\bash.EXE
  npmPackages:
    @playwright/test: ^1.56.1 => 1.56.1 

[Skn0tt]

If I had to guess, I'd say it's related to this line in _debugTests() 😁

https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-vscode/blob/c9002ab939db957f28dd68adb1d4f3a8cb061e49/src/testModel.ts#L594

Looking into it!

[dgozman]

This is a known problem. For technical reasons, we do not enable tracing when running with the "Show browser" or when debugging that uses "Show browser" under the hood.

The possible fix is risky, so I'll keep the issue open for prioritization. Given enough interest in this, the benefit might as well outweigh the risk, and we'll try the fix.