What are the difference between cpptools.exe and cpptools-srv.exe ?

[stephane-archer]

Does vscode-cpptools is using Language Server?
From my understanding, the answer is yes.
I suppose:
cpptools.exe is the client/extension
cpptools-srv.exe is the server
But when I look at my process monitor I can see cpptools.exe doing a lot of work and I can't even see cpptools-srv.exe so I imagine I'm missing something.

[sean-mcmanus]

No -- cpptools.exe is the "server". The "client" is run inside the VS Code extension host as JavaScript. cpptools-srv.exe is a child process that runs IntelliSense processing. cpptools-srv.exe only runs if C_Cpp.intelliSenseEngine is set to "Default" and a file is opened.

[ericzhucode]

Are cpptools.exe and cpptools-srv.exe is kept as closed source? Besides, Is any document that guide us to use it via command line?

[bobbrow]

cpptools and cpptool-srv are closed source and cannot be used on the command line. Our license requires that they be run in the context of VS Code or related Microsoft products.

[ericzhucode]

Thank you for your quick reply! Really clear and helpful