Debug as root

Last modified: 11 May 2021

In CLion, you can run and debug applications with root privileges.

The Run with root privileges (on macOS and Linux) / Run with Administrator privileges (on Windows) option is available for the following configurations:

When this checkbox is selected, the configuration is launched with root privileges for running or debugging.

tip

Running/debugging as root is available on all platforms and toolchains, including the case of WSL and Full remote mode.

Launch as root checkbox

Configure authorization time

If do not want to authorize each time you run or debug an application with elevated privileges, you can configure the amount of time the authorization is kept. This is similar to how the sudo command-line program works by default.

When you run or debug with elevated privileges for the first time, you will be prompted to choose whether to authorize every time or grant authorization for the configured period. You will always be able to change this in the settings.

Authorization preferences dialog

note

Enabling such elevation grants the IDE and all its components, including third-party plugins, unrestricted access to your system.

Note that CLion will not have access to any passwords - the authorization is carried out via a system dialog. After the configured time runs out, the already running processes with root privileges will continue to run, but no new elevated process will be able to start until you authorize that again.

Set the authorization period in the settings

You can also configure the time the authorization is kept in the settings.

  1. Go to Settings/Preferences | Appearance & Behavior | System Settings | Process Elevation.

  2. Set the (Keep UAC authorization for) checkbox and specify the value. The default is 15 minutes.

    Authorization time settings

Current limitations

  • For MinGW and Cygwin on Windows, there's an issue with pausing a session when debugging as Administrator (CPP-22883).

  • Currently, you can't attach the debugger to a local process running under root privileges (CPP-7067).

  • On macOS, the process isn’t finished correctly when running as root with the profiler (CPP-22842).

  • For remote mode, there's an issue with the overall elevation configuration (CPP-22920).

See also

External Links