Running and debugging Node.js
Required plugins:
JavaScript and TypeScript, JavaScript Debugger - The plugins are bundled with CLion and enabled by default.
Node.js - Install the plugin on the Settings/Preferences | Plugins page, tab Marketplace.
Running a Node.js application
Create a Node.js run/debug configuration
From the main menu, select . Alternatively, select Edit Configurations from the list on the toolbar.
In the Edit Configurations dialog that opens, click the Add button (
) on the toolbar and select Node.js from the list. The Run/Debug Configuration: Node.js dialog opens.Specify the Node.js interpreter to use. If you choose the Project alias, CLion will automatically use the project default interpreter from the Node interpreter field on the Node.js page .
In most cases, CLion detects the project default interpreter and fills in the field itself. You can also choose another configured local interpreter or click
and configure a new one.In the JavaScript File field, specify the path to the main file of the application that starts it (for example, bin/www for Express applications).
Optionally:
Specify the Node parameters that customize the start of Node.js. For example, you may want to enable an experimental Node.js feature or pass another option, see the Node.js official website for details.
In the Application parameters field, specify the Node.js-specific arguments to be passed to the application on start through the process.argv array.
To open the application in the browser automatically, configure a before-launch task. Click
to expand the Before launch area, click , and select Launch Web Browser from the list. In the dialog that opens, specify the URL of the application starting page, for example, localhost:3000for Express applications, and the browser to use.
Run an application
Select the newly created Node.js configuration from the Select run/debug configuration list on the toolbar and click the Run button (
) next to the list. 
The application starts, and the Run tool window opens showing the application output.
Manage logs when running a Node.js application
Create a Node.js run/debug configuration and go to the Logs tab.
Click
next to the Log files to be shown in console field which lists the available log files (if any).In the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog that opens, type the alias name to show in the list of log entries and specify the location of the log file. Select whether you want to show all files that this pattern covers or only the last one.
Click OK to return to Node.js Run/Debug Configuration dialog, where the new log file is added to the list. Select the Is Active checkbox next to it. To skip the previous content, select the Skip Content checkbox.
Optionally:
To enable saving the Process Console output to a log file, select the Save console output to file checkbox and specify the file location.
Choose when you want the Process Console shown.
Debugging a Node.js application
Starting the debugger together with a Node.js application on your computer
Set the breakpoints in the code where necessary.
Create a Node.js run/debug configuration .
To open the application in the browser automatically, configure a before-launch task. Click
to expand the Before launch area, click , and select Launch Web Browser from the list. In the dialog that opens, specify the URL of the application starting page, for example, localhost:3000for Express applications, and the browser to use.tip
If necessary, CLion can generate a JavaScript Debug configuration and start it automatically together with the Node.js configuration .
Select the newly created Node.js configuration from the Select run/debug configuration list on the toolbar and click the Debug button (
) next to the list. 
The Debug tool window opens.
Perform the steps that will trigger the execution of the code with the breakpoints. For example, navigate from the starting page of your application to another page in the browser.
Switch to CLion, where the controls of the Debug tool window are now enabled. Proceed with the debugging session — step through the breakpoints, switch between frames, change values on-the-fly, examine a suspended program, evaluate expressions, and set watches.
Debugging a Node.js application that uses nodemon
tip
See Running and debugging scripts for details.
Debug an application
Set the breakpoints in your code as necessary.
Create a new Attach to a Node.js/Chrome configuration as described in Debugging a running Node.js application and select the Reconnect automatically checkbox.
Usually, you don’t need to change the port in the configuration
9229because it’s the default port the debugger is listening on. But you can double-check what port is used in the message logged when you run the app in the debug mode.
Select the newly created Attach to Node.js/Chrome configuration from the Select run/debug configuration list on the toolbar and click the Debug button (
) next to the list. The debugger stops at the breakpoints that you put in your code in CLion.Now, every time you make any changes to the code and save them Ctrl+S, nodemon will automatically reload the application and the debugger will automatically re-attach to the restarted process.
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