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Watchtower DAP Windows Debugging
Windows-native MCP ⇄ DAP bridge enabling step-through debugging for C#, Node/TS, Python, and Dart
Overview
Watchtower is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides unified debugging capabilities across multiple programming languages on Windows. It acts as a bridge between MCP clients and various debug adapters, offering a consistent interface for debugging workflows.
Features
Windows-Native: Optimized for Windows 10/11 with Windows-specific adapter detection
Multi-Language Support: C# (vsdbg/netcoredbg), Node.js/TypeScript (vscode-js-debug), Python (debugpy), Dart/Flutter (DAP adapter)
Unified MCP Interface: All 13 required DAP tools exposed through MCP protocol
Launch & Attach: Support for both launching new processes and attaching to running processes
Deterministic Debug Loop: Cursor-based event polling with pagination
Security-By-Default: Environment variables and command-line arguments redacted in logs
High Performance: Time to First Break ≤ 1000ms, Step operations p95 ≤ 200ms
Observability Foundation: OpenTelemetry metrics and structured logging
Architecture
Development Status
Specification: ✅ Complete
Implementation Plan: ✅ Complete
Tasks & Checklists: ✅ Complete
Analysis: ✅ Complete (9.2/10 rating)
Implementation: 🚧 Phase 1 - Setup
Quick Start (Alpha)
Alpha Release Goals
Node.js debugging with breakpoints and stepping
Python debugging with breakpoints and stepping
Basic MCP tool coverage (dap.start, dap.setBreakpoints, etc.)
Integration with Claude Code MCP configuration
Requirements
Windows 10/11
Node.js 22 LTS
Target language debug adapters (auto-detected)
Constitution
This project operates under the Watchtower Constitution with principles including:
Windows-Native Focus: No Linux/WSL support in v1
DAP as Single Source of Truth: All debugging through DAP adapters
Minimal MCP Tool Surface: Only essential tools exposed
Security-By-Default: Redaction and validation active by default
Observability Foundation: Comprehensive metrics and logging
Project Structure
Quality Gates
The project includes comprehensive quality checklists for:
✅ Requirements Validation: 42 functional requirements validated
✅ Quality Gates: 60 validation items across all dimensions
✅ Release Readiness: 65 items tracking Alpha/Beta/GA milestones
Implementation Phases
Setup: Project initialization and tooling
Foundational: Core infrastructure (transport, sessions, adapters)
User Story 1: Node.js + Python debugging (Alpha)
User Story 2: Multi-language support (Beta)
User Story 3: Remote attachment (Beta)
Polish: Documentation, samples, CI, hardening (GA)
Contributing
This project follows the implementation tasks and quality guidelines.
License
See LICENSE file.
This server cannot be installed
local-only server
The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.
Enables step-through debugging for C#, Node.js/TypeScript, Python, and Dart applications on Windows through a unified MCP interface. Acts as a bridge between MCP clients and various debug adapters, providing consistent debugging workflows with breakpoints, variable inspection, and process attachment capabilities.