If you don't have a .vscode/launch.json file defined, the
Run/Debug on Cloud Run Emulator dialog lets you configure your launch and
then saves your settings to .vscode/launch.json. If you have a
.vscode/launch.json file configured, you can edit the file directly.
To run your service locally, specify your configuration:
Open the command palette (press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P or click View >
Command Palette) and then run the Run on Cloud Run Emulator command.
In the Run/Debug on Cloud Run Emulator dialog, set the
specifications for your configuration:
Only locally-installed build tools are available for Cloud Run
Emulator
Choose Docker or Buildpacks as your builder and then specify the
source
(Optional) To specify any environment variables to pass to the running
containers, expand Advanced Build Settings and then click to specify
key-value pairs.
Name
Description
Example
PORT
The port for the HTTP server to listen on.
8080
K_SERVICE
The name of the Cloud Run service being run.
hello-world
K_REVISION
The name of the Cloud Run revision being run.
hello-world.1
K_CONFIGURATION
The name of the Cloud Run configuration that created
the revision.
hello-world
(Optional) To specify Cloud SQL connections, expand
Advanced Service Settings, click Connections, and then specify one
Cloud SQL connection per line.
(Optional) Check the
Make the service accessible from other devices on the local network
option.
(Optional) If you only want to rebuild and run your service manually,
instead of automatically when you make a change, clear the
Automatically re-build and re-run on changes option.
Running your service locally
After you define your preferred settings, run your service by clicking
Run.
Monitor the status of your deployment in the output window.
After deployment is complete, you can view your running service by opening
the URL displayed in the output window.
To view verbose logs, switch to the detailed Cloud Run view
in the output window.
After your session completes, right-click to use the following commands:
View Logs: Open the application logs of a specific deployment with the
Cloud Code logs explorer.
Open URL: Open the application service URL of a specific
service in a web browser.
If you've turned off watch mode in your launch configuration and you want to
make changes to your application and rebuild and redeploy the application,
click the Cloud Code status bar and then click
Turn on watch mode.
To stop your deployment, you can click the Stop button in the action bar
for your current deployment.
Storing secrets
If your code includes potentially sensitive data like API keys, passwords, and
certificates, storing them as secrets can help secure them. The
Cloud Code Secret Manager integration lets you securely
store these secrets and fetch them programmatically. For a detailed look at how
you can create and manage secrets with Cloud Code, see
the Secret Manager guide.
Customizing an existing launch.json configuration
The Cloud Code plugin updates the launch.json configuration file
automatically when you choose a run action. To further customize how your
service is run, you can specify the following fields in your
.vscode/launch.json file:
watch: Watches for changes in the workspace and reruns
the service. True by default.
The following sample shows watch set to true:
"watch":true,
build: Specify the builder
(Docker,
jibMaven, jibGradle, or
buildpacks)
to build your images with.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eYou can develop services locally using a Cloud Run emulator before deploying them to Cloud Run, with configuration settings being stored in a \u003ccode\u003e.vscode/launch.json\u003c/code\u003e file.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Run/Debug on Cloud Run Emulator dialog or the command palette can be used to configure your service, allowing you to choose between Docker or Buildpacks, specify environment variables, and set Cloud SQL connections.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eOnce configured, you can run your service locally, monitor its deployment status in the output window, and view logs or access the service URL.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSecrets like API keys can be securely managed using the Cloud Code Secret Manager integration, with details available in the Secret Manager guide.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can customize your service's launch settings further by editing the \u003ccode\u003e.vscode/launch.json\u003c/code\u003e file, which allows for configuring options such as watching for changes, specifying the builder, setting the image and service, and defining debug settings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Develop a Cloud Run service locally in Cloud Code for VS Code\n\nBefore you\n[deploy a service to Cloud Run](/code/docs/vscode/deploy-service),\nyou can develop it locally using a Cloud Run emulator.\n\nConfiguring your service for development\n----------------------------------------\n\nIf you don't have a `.vscode/launch.json` file defined, the\n**Run/Debug on Cloud Run Emulator** dialog lets you configure your launch and\nthen saves your settings to `.vscode/launch.json`. If you have a\n`.vscode/launch.json` file configured, you can edit the file directly.\n\nTo run your service locally, specify your configuration:\n\n1. Open the command palette (press `Ctrl`/`Cmd`+`Shift`+`P` or click **View** \\\u003e **Command Palette** ) and then run the **Run on Cloud Run Emulator** command.\n2. In the Run/Debug on Cloud Run Emulator dialog, set the\n specifications for your configuration:\n\n - Only locally-installed build tools are available for Cloud Run Emulator\n - Choose **Docker** or **Buildpacks** as your builder and then specify the source\n - (Optional) To specify any environment variables to pass to the running containers, expand **Advanced Build Settings** and then click to specify key-value pairs.\n\n - (Optional) To specify Cloud SQL connections, expand **Advanced Service Settings** , click **Connections**, and then specify one Cloud SQL connection per line.\n - (Optional) Check the **Make the service accessible from other devices on the local network** option.\n - (Optional) If you only want to rebuild and run your service manually, instead of automatically when you make a change, clear the **Automatically re-build and re-run on changes** option.\n\nRunning your service locally\n----------------------------\n\n1. After you define your preferred settings, run your service by clicking\n **Run**.\n\n2. If prompted, [authenticate your credentials to run and debug an\n application locally](/code/docs/vscode/install#authenticate_credentials_for_debugging_applications_locally).\n\n3. Monitor the status of your deployment in the **output window**.\n\n After deployment is complete, you can view your running service by opening\n the URL displayed in the output window.\n4. To view verbose logs, switch to the detailed Cloud Run view\n in the output window.\n\n5. After your session completes, right-click to use the following commands:\n\n - **View Logs:** Open the application logs of a specific deployment with the Cloud Code logs explorer.\n - **Open URL:** Open the application service URL of a specific service in a web browser.\n6. If you've turned off watch mode in your launch configuration and you want to\n make changes to your application and rebuild and redeploy the application,\n click the Cloud Code status bar and then click\n **Turn on watch mode**.\n\n7. To stop your deployment, you can click the **Stop** button in the action bar\n for your current deployment.\n\nStoring secrets\n---------------\n\nIf your code includes potentially sensitive data like API keys, passwords, and\ncertificates, storing them as secrets can help secure them. The\nCloud Code Secret Manager integration lets you securely\nstore these secrets and fetch them programmatically. For a detailed look at how\nyou can create and manage secrets with Cloud Code, see\n\nthe [Secret Manager guide](/code/docs/vscode/secret-manager).\n\n\nCustomizing an existing launch.json configuration\n-------------------------------------------------\n\nThe Cloud Code plugin updates the `launch.json` configuration file\nautomatically when you choose a run action. To further customize how your\nservice is run, you can specify the following fields in your\n`.vscode/launch.json` file:\n\n- **watch**: Watches for changes in the workspace and reruns\n the service. True by default.\n\n The following sample shows watch set to `true`: \n\n \"watch\": true,\n\n- **build** : Specify the builder\n ([Docker](https://skaffold.dev/docs/pipeline-stages/builders/docker/),\n jibMaven, jibGradle, or\n [buildpacks](https://skaffold.dev/docs/pipeline-stages/builders/buildpacks/))\n to build your images with.\n\n The following sample shows a Docker builder: \n\n \"build\": {\n \"docker\": {\n \"path\": \"Dockerfile\"\n }\n },\n\n The following sample shows a buildpack builder: \n\n \"build\": {\n \"buildpacks\": {\n \"path\": \"src/requirements.txt\",\n \"builder\": \"gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1\"\n }\n },\n\n- **image**: Specify the name of the image to use.\n\n The following sample shows how to specify an image name: \n\n \"image\": \"hello-world\",\n\n- **service**: Specify the Cloud Run service to use.\n\n The following sample shows how to specify a service name, port, and resource\n limits: \n\n \"service\": {\n \"name\": \"hello-world\",\n \"containerPort\": 8080,\n \"resources\": {\n \"limits\": {\n \"memory\": \"256Mi\"\n }\n }\n },\n\n- **debug**: Specify debug settings such as remote path mapping to map a local\n path to a path on the remote container.\n\n The following sample shows a debug section that indicates the source files'\n location: \n\n \"debug\": {\n \"sourceFileMap\": {\n \"${workspaceFolder}\": \"/app\"\n }\n }\n\nGet Support\n-----------\n\nTo send feedback, report issues on [GitHub](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-code-vscode/issues), or ask a question on [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask?tags=cloud-code-vscode)."]]