IntelliJ IDEA 2016.1 Help

Starting the Debugger Session

In this section:

Before debugging

The debug session starts with the selected run/debug configuration. Note that several debug processes can be launched simultaneously.

When debugging an application in IntelliJ IDEA, keep in mind that

  • If the Make module before running/debugging/reloading option has been selected, IntelliJ IDEA first compiles all modified sources in your project.
  • IntelliJ IDEA proceeds with debugging, if compilation reports no errors.
  • If the code has not been compiled before debugging, the source and class files might be out of sync.
  • If you specify the -classpath option in the VM Options field, the selected module classpath will be overridden.
  • If you debug a JavaScript source, IntelliJ IDEA opens a browser for the HTML file with your script in a separate frame.

Debugging an application

To start debugging an application, do one of the following

  • Select the run/debug configuration to execute, and then do one of the following:
    • Click debug on the toolbar.
    • Choose Run | Debug on the main menu.
    • Press Shift+F9.
  • Press Shift+Alt+F9, select the configuration from the pop-up menu, and press Enter.

Note that after you've launched a debug session, the debug icon that marks the Debug Tool Window toggles to active_debug_icon to indicate that the debugging process is active.

See Also

Last modified: 13 July 2016