JetBrains/intellij-community · error · CantRunException

Pid is not specified

Error message

Pid is not specified

What it means

Error "Pid is not specified" thrown in JetBrains/intellij-community.

Source

Thrown at java/debugger/impl/src/com/intellij/debugger/engine/DebugProcessImpl.java:732

      }
    }
    return null;
  }

  private VirtualMachine createVirtualMachineInt() throws ExecutionException {
    try {
      if (myArguments != null) {
        throw new IOException(JavaDebuggerBundle.message("error.debugger.already.listening"));
      }

      final String port = myConnection.getDebuggerAddress();

      Connector connector = getConnector();
      myArguments = connector.defaultArguments();
      if (myConnection instanceof PidRemoteConnection && !((PidRemoteConnection)myConnection).isFixedAddress()) {
        String pid = ((PidRemoteConnection)myConnection).getPid();
        if (StringUtil.isEmpty(pid)) {
          throw new CantRunException(JavaDebuggerBundle.message("error.no.pid"));
        }
        setConnectorArgument("pid", pid);
      }
      else if (myConnection.isServerMode()) {
        if (port == null) {
          throw new CantRunException(JavaDebuggerBundle.message("error.no.debug.listen.port"));
        }
        String debuggerHostName = myConnection.getDebuggerHostName();
        if (debuggerHostName != null) {
          setConnectorArgument("localAddress", debuggerHostName);
        }
      }
      else { // is client mode, should attach to already running process
        if (myConnection.isUseSockets()) {
          String debuggerHostName = myConnection.getDebuggerHostName();
          if (debuggerHostName != null) {
            setConnectorArgument("hostname", debuggerHostName);
          }

View on GitHub (pinned to be881553f2)

Solutions

1. Enter the PID of the target JVM process in the debug configuration.
2. Use jps -l to list running Java processes and copy the correct PID.

Example fix

jps -l  # find the PID, then paste it into the 'PID' field of the attach debug configuration.

When it happens

Trigger: An attach-by-PID debug session is started with an empty PID field.

Common situations: The PID field of a 'PID attach' remote configuration was left blank.

AI-assisted analysis of JetBrains/intellij-community@be881553f2 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2ade09e0ed070012. Report an issue: GitHub.