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  1. Web technologies
  2. JavaScript
  3. Debug JavaScript in Chrome
  4. Configuring JavaScript debugger

Configuring JavaScript debugger

Last modified: 11 October 2023

Required plugins:

Javascript and TypeScript, JavaScript Debugger -  The plugins are bundled with PhpStorm and enabled by default.

note

Debugging of JavaScript code is only supported in Google Chrome and in other Chromium-based browsers.

PhpStorm provides a built-in debugger for your client-side JavaScript code. The built-in debugger starts automatically when you launch a debugging session.

To ensure successful debugging, it is enough to specify the built-in web server port and accept the default settings that PhpStorm suggests for other debugger options.

Before you start

  1. Make sure the JavaScript and TypeScript bundled plugin is enabled in the settings. Press CtrlAlt0S to open the IDE settings and then select Plugins. Click the Installed tab. In the search field, type JavaScript and TypeScript. For more information about plugins, refer to Managing plugins.

  2. Make sure the JavaScript Debugger bundled plugin is enabled in the settings. Press CtrlAlt0S to open the IDE settings and then select Plugins. Click the Installed tab. In the search field, type JavaScript Debugger. For more information about plugins, refer to Managing plugins.

Bundled plugins: JavaScript and TypeScript, JavaScript Debugger

Set the built-in web server port

  1. Press CtrlAlt0S to open the IDE settings and then select Build, Execution, Deployment | Debugger.

  2. In the Built-in server area, specify the port where the built-in web server runs. By default, this port is set to the default PhpStorm port 63342 through which PhpStorm accepts connections from services. You can set the port number to any other value starting from 1024.

    Built-in server port

Optionally

  • Open settings by pressing CtrlAlt0S and navigate to Build, Execution, Deployment | Debugger. Suppress calls to the files on the built-in server from other computers or from outside PhpStorm by clearing the Can accept external connections or Allow unsigned requests checkbox respectively.

  • Choose the way to remove breakpoints, the default setting is Click with left mouse button.

    Remove breakpoints

  • Open settings by pressing CtrlAlt0S and navigate to Build, Execution, Deployment | Debugger | Data Views. On the Data Views page, configure advanced debugger options: enable or disable Inline Debugging, specify when you want to see tooltips with object values and expressions evaluation results, and so on.

    JavaScript debugger: Data views

  • On the Debugger. Stepping page, specify the scripts to be skipped by the debugger.

    By default, the debugger does not step only into library scripts. To expand the suppression list, select Do not step into scripts checkbox and add the URL addresses to skip using the Add button  and the Remove button.

    JavaScript debugger: skip scripts

Starting a debugging session with your default Chrome user data

You may notice that your debugging session starts in a new window with a custom Chrome user data instead of your default one. As a result, the window looks unusual, for example, your bookmarks, the browser history, and the extensions are missing, which altogether breaks your development experience. That happens because PhpStorm uses Chrome Debugging Protocol and runs Chrome with the --remote-debugging-port option. However, if Chrome is already started, a debugging port can't be opened for any new or existing Chrome instance that has the same user data. Therefore, when Chrome Debugging Protocol is used, PhpStorm always starts a debugging session with in a new window with custom user data.

To open a new Chrome instance with your familiar look-and-feel, configure Chrome in PhpStorm to start with your user data. In this case, before starting a debugging session, always make sure that Chrome is not already running with your user data. Otherwise, PhpStorm still launches another instance of Chrome with your user data but is unable to open a debugging port for it. As a result, PhpStorm debugger fails to connect to the application in the new Chrome instance and the debugging session does not start.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2023.2/js_debugger_custom_chrome_user_data.png
Gif

Configure Chrome in PhpStorm to start with your Chrome user data

  1. Save your Chrome user data anywhere on your machine.

  2. Press CtrlAlt0S to open the IDE settings and then select Tools | Web Browsers and Preview.

  3. To create a new Chrome configuration, click Add. A new item appears in the list. In the Path field, specify the path to the Chrome installation folder.

  4. Select the new configuration and click the Edit button (Edit).

  5. In the Chrome Settings dialog, select the Use custom user data directory checkbox and specify the path to your user data directory in the PhpStorm settings.

  6. Mark your Chrome browser configuration default as described in Choosing the default PhpStorm browser. Do not forget to select the necessary browser from the Browser list when creating a run/debug configuration.

    tip

    Alternatively, always choose this Chrome browser configuration from the Browser list.

See also

Procedures

Reference