Multirun is a Visual Studio Code extension that lets you run multiple launch configurations, debug sessions, and terminal scripts together from one Activity Bar panel.
Useful for full-stack projects, microservices, backend/frontend setups, and complex debugging workflows.
- Run groups of launch configurations and/or terminal scripts with one click
- Parallel or sequential execution per group, with optional delay between steps
- Stop groups — kill all debug sessions and terminals in a group at once
- Live status indicators — running entries are highlighted in the tree view
- Environment variable support — load from
.envfiles or inlineenvmap per script entry - Auto-reload — the view updates automatically when you edit
multirun.json - Visual config editor — open the built-in webview to edit your groups without touching JSON
- Install the extension
- Open the Multirun panel in the Activity Bar (rocket icon)
- Click the Edit Config button to open
.vscode/multirun.json - Define your groups and click Run ▶
Multirun reads from .vscode/multirun.json in your workspace root. A config file is created automatically with an example on first use.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | string | Display name shown in the tree view |
sequential | boolean | Run entries one after another (true) or all at once (false) |
delay | number | Milliseconds to wait between entries in sequential mode |
configurations | array | List of launch or script entries |
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | string | Display name and identifier for the entry |
type | "launch" | "script" | Launch a debug config or run a terminal command |
launchConfig | string | Name of the entry in .vscode/launch.json (launch type only) |
command | string | Shell command to run (script type only) |
cwd | string | Working directory for the terminal (script type only) |
envFile | string | Path to a .env file to load environment variables from |
env | object | Inline environment variables (merged on top of envFile) |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Multirun: Refresh | Reload the tree view |
Multirun: Run Group | Start all entries in a group |
Multirun: Stop Group | Stop all entries in a group |
Multirun: Edit Config | Open the visual config editor |
- VS Code
^1.80.0
{ "version": "1.0.0", "groups": [ { "name": "Full Stack", "sequential": false, "delay": 500, "configurations": [ { "name": "Launch API", "type": "launch", "launchConfig": "Launch API" }, { "name": "Frontend Dev Server", "type": "script", "command": "npm run dev", "cwd": "packages/frontend", "envFile": ".env.local", "env": { "NODE_ENV": "development" } } ] } ] }