Skip to content

Update DebugType documentation to clarify default behavior and show how to disable PDB generation for Release builds #47376

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
merged 3 commits into from
Jul 17, 2025

Conversation

Copilot
Copy link
Contributor

@Copilot Copilot AI commented Jul 15, 2025

The DebugType documentation was missing crucial information about default values and how to configure different behavior for Debug vs Release builds, leading to user confusion about PDB file generation.

Changes Made

1. Clarified Default Behavior

  • Updated the description to explicitly state that the default value is portable for both Debug and Release configurations
  • Removed ambiguous language that didn't specify actual default values
  • Made it clear that PDB files are generated by default for all configurations in modern .NET projects

2. Added Missing Documentation

  • Added the none value to the DebugType values table, which was previously missing
  • This value is essential for users who want to disable PDB generation entirely

3. Added Practical Guidance Section

Created a new "Disabling PDB generation for Release builds" section with working examples:

<!-- Primary recommended approach -->
<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'">
  <DebugType>none</DebugType>
</PropertyGroup>

<!-- Alternative approach -->
<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'">
  <DebugSymbols>false</DebugSymbols>
</PropertyGroup>

4. Referenced Breaking Changes

  • Added a note about .NET 8 behavior changes regarding DebugSymbols
  • Explained why DebugType=none is the most reliable approach

Verification

  • Tested both approaches with .NET 8 projects
  • Confirmed that DebugType=none reliably prevents PDB generation for Release builds
  • Verified that Debug builds continue to generate PDB files as expected

This directly addresses the user's question: "How do I get .PDB files only for Debug output only?" and provides accurate information about default behavior.

Fixes #27071.


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.


Internal previews

📄 File 🔗 Preview link
docs/csharp/language-reference/compiler-options/code-generation.md docs/csharp/language-reference/compiler-options/code-generation

@dotnet-policy-service dotnet-policy-service bot added the okr-quality Content-quality KR: Concerns article defects (bugs), freshness, or build warnings. label Jul 15, 2025
…ow to disable PDB generation for Release builds

Co-authored-by: BillWagner <[email protected]>
@Copilot Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] DebugType documentation Update DebugType documentation to clarify default behavior and show how to disable PDB generation for Release builds Jul 15, 2025
Copilot finished work on behalf of BillWagner July 15, 2025 15:22
@Copilot Copilot AI requested a review from BillWagner July 15, 2025 15:22
Copy link
Member

@BillWagner BillWagner left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

This is ready for final review.

@BillWagner BillWagner marked this pull request as ready for review July 16, 2025 15:00
@BillWagner BillWagner requested a review from a team as a code owner July 16, 2025 15:00
@BillWagner BillWagner requested a review from IEvangelist July 16, 2025 15:00
Copilot finished work on behalf of gewarren July 17, 2025 01:08
@Copilot Copilot AI requested a review from gewarren July 17, 2025 01:08
@BillWagner
Copy link
Member

@gewarren It looks like copilot took all your suggestions. Can you give it another look?

@BillWagner BillWagner merged commit e6878f7 into main Jul 17, 2025
10 checks passed
@BillWagner BillWagner deleted the copilot/fix-27071 branch July 17, 2025 17:59
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment
Labels
dotnet-csharp/svc lang-reference/subsvc okr-quality Content-quality KR: Concerns article defects (bugs), freshness, or build warnings.
Projects
None yet
Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

DebugType documentation
3 participants