Run/Debug Configuration: Spy-js for Node.js

With Spy-js, it is recommended that you use Node.js version 0.10.24 or later.

To enable tracing ECMAScript 6 scripts, use Node.js version 0.11.13 or later and specify --harmony as a Node parameter.

In this field, specify the working directory of the application. By default, the Working directory field shows the project root folder. To change this predefined setting, specify the path to the desired folder or choose a previously used folder from the list.

If you are going to trace CoffeeScript, specify the path to the generated JavaScript file. The file can be generated externally or through compilation using File Watchers. For more details, see Debugging CoffeeScript.

• To define a new variable, click and specify the variable name and value.

• To discard a variable definition, select it in the list and click .

• Click OK, when ready

The definitions of variables are displayed in the Environment variables read-only field with semicolons as separators, for example:

• NODE_PATH: A : -separated list of directories prefixed to the module search path.

• NODE_MODULE_CONTEXTS: Set to 1 to load modules in their own global contexts.

• NODE_DISABLE_COLORS: Set to 1 to disable colors in the REPL.

A configuration file is a JavaScript file with the extension .js or .conf.js that contains valid JavaScript code that meets the Spy-js configuration requirements. If WebStorm detects files with the extension .conf.js in the project, these files are displayed in the list.

Type the path to the configuration file manually or click Browse and choose the location in the dialog that opens. Once specified, a configuration file is added to the list so you can get if next time from the list instead of specifying the path.

Name

Specify a name for the run/debug configuration to quickly identify it when editing or running the configuration, for example, from the Run popup Alt+Shift+F10.

Allow parallel run

Select to allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.

By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, WebStorm suggests to stop the running instance and start another one. This is helpful when a run/debug configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.

Store as project file

Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.

By default, it is disabled, and WebStorm stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.

To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click , and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or and buttons.

To remove grouping, select a folder and click .

Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:

• Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in WebStorm yet, add its definition. For more information, see External tools and External Tools.

• Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to be run.

• Run File Watchers: select this option to have WebStorm apply all the currently active File Watchers.

• Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task.

  In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.

  Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.

• Run Gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task.

  In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.

  Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.

• Run npm Script: select this option to execute an npm script.

  In the NPM Script dialog that opens, specify the npm run/debug configuration settings.

• Start React Native Bundler: select this option to run the bundler automatically, as part of a running or debugging session. by default, this is done through react-native start. If your application uses Expo, you need to run the development server via the start npm task. To do that, click , then in the Configure React Native dialog, choose npm script and select start from the list.

• Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:

  • If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.

  • If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.

• Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps: select this option to generate the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located.

• Upload files to Remote Host: select this option to have the application files automatically uploaded to the server according to the default server access configuration.

By default this checkbox is selected and the Run or the Debug tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.

Otherwise, if the checkbox is cleared, the tool window is hidden. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing Alt+4 or Alt+5.