Debug tool window

Last modified: 09 July 2024

Show/hide: View | Tool Windows | Debug or

Configure: Settings | Tools | Debugger

note

Debugging sessions are only supported by Oracle. For more information, refer to Debugging Oracle PL/SQL code.

When you start a debugger session, the Debug tool window appears. Use this window to go through the code line by line, step in and out of called routines, evaluate expressions, and watch variables as they change their values.

This is a brief overview of the Debug tool window. For general instructions on using tool windows, refer to Tool windows.

To cycle through the tool window tabs, press and .

Debug tool window overview

tip

By default, the Debug tool window opens when your program hits a breakpoint and is not hidden when the session is terminated. To change this behavior, go to the Tools | Debugger page of settings  and clear the Show debug window on breakpoint checkbox.

Sessions

The available debug sessions are separated into tabs in the top part of the Debug tool window.

Session tabs

If you enable the Services window for specific run/debug configurations, the entire view of the Debug window will be displayed inside the Services window when you debug any of these configurations.

All the information like inline variable values and execution point is shown for the selected session tab. This is important if you are running several debug sessions in parallel that use the same classes.

Inline variables view for the current session

note

When you close a tab, the corresponding session terminates.

Tabs

The Debug tool window shows the following tabs for each session:

  • Frames: lets you navigate in call stacks of the threads.

  • Variables: lists the variables available in the current context and lets you analyze and modify the program state.

  • Watches: lets you manage watches. By default, watches are shown on the Variables tab for more efficient use of the screen space. If you have a lot of watches, consider viewing them in a separate tab.

  • Console: displays the program output.

    For local sessions, the tab works the same as when you just run the program without the debugger attached. The only difference is that debugger output (for example, log messages from breakpoints) is added to the console.

    When you attach to a process, the program output is not redirected and only the debugger output is shown in the debugger console.

  • Threads: displays the list of live threads and lets you switch between them. From this tab, you can export threads information in text format.

  • Memory: provides the information on the currently available objects on the heap and lets you monitor and analyze their lifetime.

  • Overhead: lets you monitor the resources consumed by particular debugger features and optimize the debugger performance.

Show/hide tabs

  • Click Layout options button and select which tabs you want to see.

    Layout options menu

Restore default layout

If you changed the layout of the Debug tool window and don't like the new arrangement, you can revert it to the default state.

  • Click Layout options button in the top-right corner of the Debug tool window, then click Restore Default Layout.

    Restore Default Layout menu item

Move tabs

You can arrange the tabs to fit your preference. You can move a tab to another location or group a tab with another tab, so that they share the same space on the screen.

  • Drag the tab header to the desired location. The semi-transparent frame indicates the destination.

    Dragging a tab to another location