Node.js v0.10.48 Manual & Documentation
Table of Contents
Debugger#
Stability: 3 - Stable
V8 comes with an extensive debugger which is accessible out-of-process via a
simple TCP protocol.
Node has a built-in client for this debugger. To use this, start Node with the
debug
argument; a prompt will appear:
% node debug myscript.js
< debugger listening on port 5858
connecting... ok
break in /home/indutny/Code/git/indutny/myscript.js:1
1 x = 5;
2 setTimeout(function () {
3 debugger;
debug>
Node's debugger client doesn't support the full range of commands, but
simple step and inspection is possible. By putting the statement debugger;
into the source code of your script, you will enable a breakpoint.
For example, suppose myscript.js
looked like this:
// myscript.js
x = 5;
setTimeout(function () {
debugger;
console.log("world");
}, 1000);
console.log("hello");
Then once the debugger is run, it will break on line 4.
% node debug myscript.js
< debugger listening on port 5858
connecting... ok
break in /home/indutny/Code/git/indutny/myscript.js:1
1 x = 5;
2 setTimeout(function () {
3 debugger;
debug> cont
< hello
break in /home/indutny/Code/git/indutny/myscript.js:3
1 x = 5;
2 setTimeout(function () {
3 debugger;
4 console.log("world");
5 }, 1000);
debug> next
break in /home/indutny/Code/git/indutny/myscript.js:4
2 setTimeout(function () {
3 debugger;
4 console.log("world");
5 }, 1000);
6 console.log("hello");
debug> repl
Press Ctrl C to leave debug repl
> x
5
> 2 2
4
debug> next
< world
break in /home/indutny/Code/git/indutny/myscript.js:5
3 debugger;
4 console.log("world");
5 }, 1000);
6 console.log("hello");
7
debug> quit
%
The repl
command allows you to evaluate code remotely. The next
command
steps over to the next line. There are a few other commands available and more
to come. Type help
to see others.
Watchers#
You can watch expression and variable values while debugging your code. On every breakpoint each expression from the watchers list will be evaluated in the current context and displayed just before the breakpoint's source code listing.
To start watching an expression, type watch("my_expression")
. watchers
prints the active watchers. To remove a watcher, type
unwatch("my_expression")
.
Commands reference#
Stepping#
cont
,c
- Continue executionnext
,n
- Step nextstep
,s
- Step inout
,o
- Step outpause
- Pause running code (like pause button in Developer Tools)
Breakpoints#
setBreakpoint()
,sb()
- Set breakpoint on current linesetBreakpoint(line)
,sb(line)
- Set breakpoint on specific linesetBreakpoint('fn()')
,sb(...)
- Set breakpoint on a first statement in functions bodysetBreakpoint('script.js', 1)
,sb(...)
- Set breakpoint on first line of script.jsclearBreakpoint
,cb(...)
- Clear breakpoint
It is also possible to set a breakpoint in a file (module) that isn't loaded yet:
% ./node debug test/fixtures/break-in-module/main.js
< debugger listening on port 5858
connecting to port 5858... ok
break in test/fixtures/break-in-module/main.js:1
1 var mod = require('./mod.js');
2 mod.hello();
3 mod.hello();
debug> setBreakpoint('mod.js', 23)
Warning: script 'mod.js' was not loaded yet.
1 var mod = require('./mod.js');
2 mod.hello();
3 mod.hello();
debug> c
break in test/fixtures/break-in-module/mod.js:23
21
22 exports.hello = function() {
23 return 'hello from module';
24 };
25
debug>
Info#
backtrace
,bt
- Print backtrace of current execution framelist(5)
- List scripts source code with 5 line context (5 lines before and after)watch(expr)
- Add expression to watch listunwatch(expr)
- Remove expression from watch listwatchers
- List all watchers and their values (automatically listed on each breakpoint)repl
- Open debugger's repl for evaluation in debugging script's context
Execution control#
run
- Run script (automatically runs on debugger's start)restart
- Restart scriptkill
- Kill script
Various#
scripts
- List all loaded scriptsversion
- Display v8's version
Advanced Usage#
The V8 debugger can be enabled and accessed either by starting Node with
the --debug
command-line flag or by signaling an existing Node process
with SIGUSR1
.
Once a process has been set in debug mode with this it can be connected to
with the node debugger. Either connect to the pid
or the URI to the debugger.
The syntax is:
node debug -p <pid>
- Connects to the process via thepid
node debug <URI>
- Connects to the process via the URI such as localhost:5858