Consider: cagney@toadstool$ fhpd /bin/bash Loaded executable file: /bin/bash (fhpd) break main breakpoint 0 deferred (fhpd) run Attached to process 2067 Running process 2067 (fhpd) cagney@toadstool$ Yes the prompt appears because bash manipulated the pty; but the key thing is that those calls occure after main. So instead of the above, main should have been hit.