CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptnode.js
mikemaccana
mikemaccana

Reputation: 123058

How do I use node's debug module?

How do I use debug? Reading the debug docs I get:

With debug you simply invoke the exported function to generate your debug function, passing it a name which will determine if a noop function is returned, or a decorated console.error, so all of the console format string goodies you're used to work fine.

Ok, the debug module exports a single function, I understand. But this part seems to be missing something:

"That function takes a name which will determine if a noop function is returned, or a decorated console.error"

OK. I gather name is a String, so what String value determines if a no-op is returned, or a decorated console.error? I would like the console error, as no-op seems to be the default.

I have a module that uses debug. It's currently set up like;

var debug = require('debug')('module-name');

And it's completely quiet. I would like debug to be be turned on. What String value should I use to enable debug?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 2945

Answers (1)

Peter Lyons
Peter Lyons

Reputation: 145994

So debug basically has an on-off switch but it's not in your javascript code, it's in the DEBUG environment variable value. So if you wanted to turn on debugging for your sample snippet you would do:

In bash:

export DEBUG=module-name
node myapp.js

In powershell:

$env:DEBUG = 'module-name'
node myapp.js

Debugging is off by default, so if you unset DEBUG in your shell, nothing will be output.

Upvotes: 5

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