Debug hardhat solidity tests In WebStorm

Question

After running Hardhat tests in the console with npx hardhat test I decided that being able to set break points would help me iterate faster.

How can I get Webstorm to run the underlying functions started by npx hardhat test so that I can use the built in Debugger?

Answer 1

Install ts-mocha as mentioned by @Fedy_

# remember to install mocha if you don't have it already (npm i -D mocha)

npm i -D ts-mocha

# install recent Mocha and Expect @types packages for best DX
npm i -D @types/mocha @types/expect

Add ts-mocha path to run Run/Debug configurations of IntelliJ IDEA

Answer 2

If you're use typescript you need to import ts-mocha instead of mocha

Answer 3

1. Create or open the package.json file for your Hardhat project.
2. Add a test NPM run script and save the file. Your package.json should look something like this.

{
  "name": "hardhat-project",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "hardhat test"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@nomiclabs/hardhat-ethers": "2.0.2",
    "@nomiclabs/hardhat-waffle": "2.0.1",
    "chai": "4.3.4",
    "ethereum-waffle": "3.4.0",
    "ethers": "5.4.4",
    "hardhat": "2.6.0"
  }
}

3. In the left gutter of the editor pane, a little play icon should appear, click it and then click Debug "test".

I go through the instructions in a little more detail here, but this is the general idea. https://allendefibank.medium.com/how-to-debug-solidity-contracts-in-webstorm-hardhat-2ea0d3c4d582

Answer 4

I've since discovered that hardhat runs mocha under the hood.

To debug in WebStorm you can:

1. delete your existing configurations
2. create a new mocha configuration
3. set any configurations in 'Node options'. Note: since I'm forking the main net it takes a while for tests to start so I added the --timeout 10000 because mocha's default timeout is only 2000ms
4. select the mocha package, WebStorm doesn't select it by default
5. set your test file pattern
6. add const {ethers} = require('hardhat'); to your test file because it is no longer injected by hardhat during run time.
7. If the green debug icon does not appear I had success in closing and reopening WebStorm.

At this point I could successfully set break points in my test file but not in the MyContract.sol file. This is not surprising given that the contract is compiled before its run.