Add optional injectRuntimeArgs flag to safely pass runtime args when interpreter path contains spaces

[garrey-cyber]

Problem

When using the Python debugger in VS Code, if the Python interpreter path contains spaces (e.g., under macOS iCloud paths), passing runtime arguments dynamically (via the debug toolbar or tasks) causes the debugger launch to fail: e.g.: env: /Volumes/.../Daemon: No such file or directory

• Launching with no arguments works.
• Static "args" in launch.json works.
• Dynamic runtime args break due to /usr/bin/env splitting the interpreter path at spaces.

---

Proposed enhancement

Add an optional boolean flag in launch.json:

"injectRuntimeArgs": true

Behavior:

Default (false) → current deterministic behavior.
true → any runtime arguments passed from the debug toolbar, command palette, or tasks are automatically appended (or optionally replace) the "args" array at launch.

Uses VS Code’s list-based launch to avoid shell splitting issues.

Benefits

• Avoids /usr/bin/env path splitting bug for spaces in interpreter or program paths.
• Runtime arguments behave exactly like static "args".
• Default behavior remains unchanged.
• Works with multi-root workspaces and tasks.

Optional Enhancement
Optionally allow a mode to control whether runtime args append or replace:
"injectRuntimeArgsMode": "append" | "replace"

Example

{
"name": "Python: Debug with dynamic args",
"type": "python",
"request": "launch",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/my_script.py",
"args": ["--logfile", "file.log"],
"injectRuntimeArgs": true,
"console": "integratedTerminal"
}

[github-actions]

Thanks for the feature request! We are going to give the community 60 days from when this issue was created to provide 7 👍 upvotes on the opening comment to gauge general interest in this idea. If there's enough upvotes then we will consider this feature request in our future planning. If there's unfortunately not enough upvotes then we will close this issue.