{"id":11377,"date":"2022-07-22T18:07:31","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T18:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/docs.wpvip.com\/?post_type=how-tos&p=11377"},"modified":"2026-01-01T17:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T17:26:13","slug":"debug","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/docs.wpvip.com\/node-js\/debug\/","title":{"rendered":"Debug a Node.js application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Debugging against a remote environment, such as a VIP Platform environment<\/a>, can be limiting and challenging. For this reason, it is recommended to debug Node.js application issues on a local development environment. Make an effort to reproduce issues locally, and to keep the local development environment in close synchronization with remote environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid writing environment-specific code that runs on one environment type but is skipped on others (e.g., on Production but not on Develop). Environment-specific code can lead to issues that are very difficult to debug. If environment-specific code cannot be avoided, log liberally to clearly indicate when the conditional code is running, and when it is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Note<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VIP Support does not provide assistance with questions or issues related to the application code of a Node.js application. Node.js applications are not eligible for the debugging feature regardless of the contracted pricing plan<\/a> that an organization has with VIP. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Web browser developer tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most web browsers include developer tools<\/a> that make it possible for developers to inspect network requests made by visitors to an application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using developer tools regularly in a local development environment is helpful for gaining a familiarity with the normal network activity generated by an application. This familiarity can be a helpful reference for recognizing issues before they are pushed to production. Be cautious when modifying some settings in the developer tools dashboard that might change the behavior of network requests (e.g., “Disable cache”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cURL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

cURL<\/a> is a command-line tool that can be used to simulate requests to an application and provide a response for inspection. cURL commands are easily shared, enable issues to be replicated by multiple team members, and are a quick way to communicate the how<\/em> and why<\/em> of a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By including the -I<\/code> option in a cURL command, only the response headers will be returned in the output. Header responses can provide insights into page cache behavior, payload size, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this command example, curl -I<\/code> is run against a VIP Platform Node.js application running at https:\/\/nodejstestsite.go-vip.net<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$ curl -I \"https:\/\/nodejstestsite.go-vip.net\/latest\/post\"\nHTTP\/2 200\nserver: nginx\ndate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 15:40:40 GMT\ncontent-type: text\/html; charset=utf-8\ncontent-length: 5160\nx-powered-by: Next.js\ncache-control: public, max-age=300\nage: 4\nx-cache: hit\nvary: X-Mobile-Class, Accept-Encoding\naccept-ranges: bytes\nstrict-transport-security: max-age=31536000<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the example command output above:<\/p>\n\n\n\n