Debugging Low-code

Owned by Matt Denninghoff
Last updated: Aug 16, 2023 by Jessica Tomkins
3 min read



The Designer IDE contains a built-in interface for debugging server-side low-code steps in Profound API and Rich Display File applications.

This Low-code debugger is different from the built-in Node.js debugger. The Low-code debugger does not pause the server when breakpoints are reached. Only debugged applications in specific debugging sessions are affected.

The Low Code Debugger is available in Profound.js version 6.0.0.





Launching Debug Targets

When possible Designer will automatically determine how to launch a file opened for debugging. Debug a low-code application or Profound.js API file by opening it in Designer; click the Launch menu; click Debug Low-code:



The debugging panel will appear with low-code routines. Click a routine to see the low-code steps. Click a low-code step to set a breakpoint for it:



Click the green "play" icon to run the low-code app in debug mode. A Rich Display file will run in a new Designer tab:



Launching Profound API Routes in Debug:

Open the API file in Designer. click "Debug Low-code" in the Launch menu if you have not already. In the Debug panel click on the API Route you want to debug, and set the desired breakpoints. Click the green "play" icon, and the API "Test" panel should become active:



Scroll to the Execute button, and click it.



Manually running a debug target using the Debug Session ID:

When Designer cannot determine how to launch a target for debugging, a user can manually run the API route or code in a separate application, browser tab, or window; add the debug session ID as the value for the dbgid URL parameter; then, the server will know to link that running application with the IDE's debugging session.

For example, if the debug session ID is deee2370-d58b-40b7-beb3-1efefab2e100, and the method to run a route is an HTTP POST, then to start running the application in debug mode, some other tool (PostMan, etc.) would need to send POST data to the URL and include a parameter, dbgid=deee2370-d58b-40b7-beb3-1efefab2e100 . E.g. https://example.com/run/yourWorkSpaceName/yourExpressRoute?dbgid=deee2370-d58b-40b7-beb3-1efefab2e100 .



Launching Profound API Routes for Debugging

To debug Profound API routes, start debugging a Profound API file, and then click on the "Execute" button in the "Test" tab on the right-middle panel of the API Designer.