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Debugger

Stability: 2 - Stable

Node.js includes a command-line debugging utility. The Node.js debugger client is not a full-featured debugger, but simple stepping and inspection are possible.

To use it, start Node.js with the inspect argument followed by the path to the script to debug.

$ node inspect myscript.js
< Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/621111f9-ffcb-4e82-b718-48a145fa5db8
< For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
<
connecting to 127.0.0.1:9229 ... ok
< Debugger attached.
<
 ok
Break on start in myscript.js:2
  1 // myscript.js
> 2 global.x = 5;
  3 setTimeout(() => {
  4   debugger;
debug>

The debugger automatically breaks on the first executable line. To instead run until the first breakpoint (specified by a debugger statement), set the NODE_INSPECT_RESUME_ON_START environment variable to 1.

$ cat myscript.js
// myscript.js
global.x = 5;
setTimeout(() => {
  debugger;
  console.log('world');
}, 1000);
console.log('hello');
$ NODE_INSPECT_RESUME_ON_START=1 node inspect myscript.js
< Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/f1ed133e-7876-495b-83ae-c32c6fc319c2
< For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
<
connecting to 127.0.0.1:9229 ... ok
< Debugger attached.
<
< hello
<
break in myscript.js:4
  2 global.x = 5;
  3 setTimeout(() => {
> 4   debugger;
  5   console.log('world');
  6 }, 1000);
debug> next
break in myscript.js:5
  3 setTimeout(() => {
  4   debugger;
> 5   console.log('world');
  6 }, 1000);
  7 console.log('hello');
debug> repl
Press Ctrl+C to leave debug repl
> x
5
> 2 + 2
4
debug> next
< world
<
break in myscript.js:6
  4   debugger;
  5   console.log('world');
> 6 }, 1000);
  7 console.log('hello');
  8
debug> .exit
$

The repl command allows code to be evaluated remotely. The next command steps to the next line. Type help to see what other commands are available.

Pressing enter without typing a command will repeat the previous debugger command.

Probe mode

Stability: 1 - Experimental

node inspect supports a non-interactive probe mode for inspecting runtime values in an application via the flag --probe. Probe mode launches the application, sets one or more source breakpoints, evaluates one expression whenever a matching breakpoint is hit, and prints one final report when the session ends (either on normal completion or timeout). This allows developers to perform printf-style debugging without having to modify the application code and clean up afterwards, and it supports structured output for tool use.

$ node inspect [--json] [--preview] [--timeout=<ms>] [--port=<port>] \
    --probe app.js:10 --expr 'x' \
    [--probe app.js:20 --expr 'y' ...] \
    [--] [<node-option> ...] <script.js> [args...]
  • --probe <file>:<line>[:<col>]: Source location to probe. Line and column number are 1-based.
  • --timeout=<ms>: A global wall-clock deadline for the entire probe session. The default is 30000. This can be used to probe a long-running application that can be terminated externally.
  • --json: If used, prints a structured JSON report instead of the default text report.
  • --preview: If used, non-primitive values will include CDP property previews for object-like JSON probe values.
  • --port=<port>: Selects the local inspector port used for the --inspect-brk launch path. Probe mode defaults to 0, which requests a random port.
  • -- is optional unless the child needs its own Node.js flags.

Additional rules about the --probe and --expr arguments:

  • --probe <file>:<line>[:<col>] and --expr <expr> are strict pairs. Each --probe must be followed immediately by exactly one --expr.
  • --timeout, --json, --preview, and --port are global probe options for the whole probe session. They may appear before or between probe pairs, but not between a --probe and its matching --expr.

If a single probe needs to evaluate more than one value, evaluate a structured value in --expr, for example --expr "{ foo, bar }" or --expr "[foo, bar]", and use --preview to include property previews for any object-like values in the output.

Probe mode only prints the final probe report to stdout, and otherwise silences stdout/stderr from the child process. If the child exits with an error after the probe session starts, the final report records a terminal error event with the exit code and captured child stderr. Invalid arguments and fatal launch or connect failures may still print diagnostics to stderr without a final probe result.

Consider this script:

// cli.js
let maxRSS = 0;
for (let i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
  const { rss } = process.memoryUsage();
  maxRSS = Math.max(maxRSS, rss);
}

If --json is not used, the output is printed in a human-readable text format:

$ node inspect --probe cli.js:5 --expr 'rss' cli.js
Hit 1 at cli.js:5
  rss = 54935552
Hit 2 at cli.js:5
  rss = 55083008
Completed

Primitive results are printed directly, while objects and arrays use Chrome DevTools Protocol preview data when available. Other non-primitive values fall back to the Chrome DevTools Protocol description string. Expression failures are recorded as [error] ... lines and do not fail the overall session. If richer text formatting is needed, wrap the expression in JSON.stringify(...) or util.inspect(...).

When --json is used, the output shape looks like this:

$ node inspect --json --probe cli.js:5 --expr 'rss' cli.js
{"v":1,"probes":[{"expr":"rss","target":["cli.js",5]}],"results":[{"probe":0,"event":"hit","hit":1,"result":{"type":"number","value":55443456,"description":"55443456"}},{"probe":0,"event":"hit","hit":2,"result":{"type":"number","value":55574528,"description":"55574528"}},{"event":"completed"}]}
{
  "v": 1, // Probe JSON schema version.
  "probes": [
    {
      "expr": "rss", // The expression paired with --probe.
      "target": ["cli.js", 5] // [file, line] or [file, line, col].
    }
  ],
  "results": [
    {
      "probe": 0, // Index into probes[].
      "event": "hit", // Hit events are recorded in observation order.
      "hit": 1, // 1-based hit count for this probe.
      "result": {
        "type": "number",
        "value": 55443456,
        "description": "55443456"
      }
      // If the expression throws, "error" is present instead of "result".
    },
    {
      "probe": 0,
      "event": "hit",
      "hit": 2,
      "result": {
        "type": "number",
        "value": 55574528,
        "description": "55574528"
      }
    },
    {
      "event": "completed"
      // The final entry is always a terminal event, for example:
      // 1. { "event": "completed" }
      // 2. { "event": "miss", "pending": [0, 1] }
      // 3. {
      //      "event": "timeout",
      //      "pending": [0],
      //      "error": {
      //       "code": "probe_timeout",
      //       "message": "Timed out after 30000ms waiting for probes: app.js:10"
      //      }
      //    }
      // 4. {
      //      "event": "error",
      //      "pending": [0],
      //      "error": {
      //       "code": "probe_target_exit",
      //       "exitCode": 1,
      //       "stderr": "[Error: boom]",
      //       "message": "Target exited with code 1 before probes: app.js:10"
      //      }
      //    }
    }
  ]
}

Watchers

It is possible to watch expression and variable values while debugging. On every breakpoint, each expression from the watchers list will be evaluated in the current context and displayed immediately before the breakpoint's source code listing.

To begin watching an expression, type watch('my_expression'). The command watchers will print the active watchers. To remove a watcher, type unwatch('my_expression').

Command reference

Stepping

  • cont, c: Continue execution
  • next, n: Step next
  • step, s: Step in
  • out, o: Step out
  • pause: Pause running code (like pause button in Developer Tools)

Breakpoints

  • setBreakpoint(), sb(): Set breakpoint on current line
  • setBreakpoint(line), sb(line): Set breakpoint on specific line
  • setBreakpoint('fn()'), sb(...): Set breakpoint on a first statement in function's body
  • setBreakpoint('script.js', 1), sb(...): Set breakpoint on first line of script.js
  • setBreakpoint('script.js', 1, 'num < 4'), sb(...): Set conditional breakpoint on first line of script.js that only breaks when num < 4 evaluates to true
  • clearBreakpoint('script.js', 1), cb(...): Clear breakpoint in script.js on line 1

It is also possible to set a breakpoint in a file (module) that is not loaded yet:

$ node inspect main.js
< Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/48a5b28a-550c-471b-b5e1-d13dd7165df9
< For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
<
connecting to 127.0.0.1:9229 ... ok
< Debugger attached.
<
Break on start in main.js:1
> 1 const mod = require('./mod.js');
  2 mod.hello();
  3 mod.hello();
debug> setBreakpoint('mod.js', 22)
Warning: script 'mod.js' was not loaded yet.
debug> c
break in mod.js:22
 20 // USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
 21
>22 exports.hello = function() {
 23   return 'hello from module';
 24 };
debug>

It is also possible to set a conditional breakpoint that only breaks when a given expression evaluates to true:

$ node inspect main.js
< Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/ce24daa8-3816-44d4-b8ab-8273c8a66d35
< For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
<
connecting to 127.0.0.1:9229 ... ok
< Debugger attached.
Break on start in main.js:7
  5 }
  6
> 7 addOne(10);
  8 addOne(-1);
  9
debug> setBreakpoint('main.js', 4, 'num < 0')
  1 'use strict';
  2
  3 function addOne(num) {
> 4   return num + 1;
  5 }
  6
  7 addOne(10);
  8 addOne(-1);
  9
debug> cont
break in main.js:4
  2
  3 function addOne(num) {
> 4   return num + 1;
  5 }
  6
debug> exec('num')
-1
debug>

Information

  • backtrace, bt: Print backtrace of current execution frame
  • list(5): List scripts source code with 5 line context (5 lines before and after)
  • watch(expr): Add expression to watch list
  • unwatch(expr): Remove expression from watch list
  • unwatch(index): Remove expression at specific index from watch list
  • watchers: List all watchers and their values (automatically listed on each breakpoint)
  • repl: Open debugger's repl for evaluation in debugging script's context
  • exec expr, p expr: Execute an expression in debugging script's context and print its value
  • profile: Start CPU profiling session
  • profileEnd: Stop current CPU profiling session
  • profiles: List all completed CPU profiling sessions
  • profiles[n].save(filepath = 'node.cpuprofile'): Save CPU profiling session to disk as JSON
  • takeHeapSnapshot(filepath = 'node.heapsnapshot'): Take a heap snapshot and save to disk as JSON

Execution control

  • run: Run script (automatically runs on debugger's start)
  • restart: Restart script
  • kill: Kill script

Various

  • scripts: List all loaded scripts
  • version: Display V8's version

Advanced usage

V8 inspector integration for Node.js

V8 Inspector integration allows attaching Chrome DevTools to Node.js instances for debugging and profiling. It uses the Chrome DevTools Protocol.

V8 Inspector can be enabled by passing the --inspect flag when starting a Node.js application. It is also possible to supply a custom port with that flag, e.g. --inspect=9222 will accept DevTools connections on port 9222.

Using the --inspect flag will execute the code immediately before debugger is connected. This means that the code will start running before you can start debugging, which might not be ideal if you want to debug from the very beginning.

In such cases, you have two alternatives:

  1. --inspect-wait flag: This flag will wait for debugger to be attached before executing the code. This allows you to start debugging right from the beginning of the execution.
  2. --inspect-brk flag: Unlike --inspect, this flag will break on the first line of the code as soon as debugger is attached. This is useful when you want to debug the code step by step from the very beginning, without any code execution prior to debugging.

So, when deciding between --inspect, --inspect-wait, and --inspect-brk, consider whether you want the code to start executing immediately, wait for debugger to be attached before execution, or break on the first line for step-by-step debugging.

$ node --inspect index.js
Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/dc9010dd-f8b8-4ac5-a510-c1a114ec7d29
For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector

(In the example above, the UUID dc9010dd-f8b8-4ac5-a510-c1a114ec7d29 at the end of the URL is generated on the fly, it varies in different debugging sessions.)