# debug (Windows*)

Enables or disables generation of debugging information.

## Syntax

Linux: | None

macOS: | None

Windows: | /debug[:keyword] /nodebug

## Arguments

keyword | Is the type of debugging information to be generated. Possible values are:
none | Disables generation of debugging information.
full or all | Generates complete debugging information.
minimal | Generates line number information for debugging.
[no]inline-debug-info | Determines whether the compiler generates enhanced debug information for inlined code.

For information on the non-default settings for these keywords, see the Description section.

## Default

/debug:none | This is the default on the command line and for a release configuration in the IDE.
/debug:all | This is the default for a debug configuration in the IDE.

## Description

This option enables or disables generation of debugging information. It is passed to the linker.

By default, enabling debugging, will disable optimization. To enable both debugging and optimization use the /debug option together with one of the optimization level options (/O3, /O2 or /O3).

If conflicting keywords are used in combination, the last one specified on the command line has precedence.

Option | Description
--- | ---
/debug:none | Disables generation of debugging information. It is the same as specifying /nodebug.
/debug:full or /debug:all | Generates complete debugging information. It produces symbol table information needed for full symbolic debugging of unoptimized code and global symbol information needed for linking. It is the same as specifying /debug with no keyword. If you specify /debug:full for an application that makes calls to C library routines and you need to debug calls into the C library, you should also specify /dbglibs to request that the appropriate C debug library be linked against.
/debug:minimal | Generates line number information for debugging.
/debug:partial | Generates global symbol table information needed for linking, but not local symbol table information needed for debugging. This option is deprecated and is not available in the IDE.
/debug:inline-debug-info | Generates enhanced debug information for inlined code. On inlined functions, symbols are (by default) associated with the caller. This option causes symbols for inlined functions to be associated with the source of the called function.

## IDE Equivalent

Visual Studio: General > Debug Information Format (/debug:minimal, /debug:full)

## Alternate Options

For /debug:all or /debug | Linux and macOS: None Windows: /Zi

Parent topic: Output, Debug, and Precompiled Header Options

## See Also

dbglibs compiler option
debug (Linux* and macOS) compiler option