IntelliJ IDEA 2016.2 Help

Configuring Breakpoints

On this page:

Basics

For a breakpoint, you can configure the following properties:

  • Actions to be performed upon hitting a certain breakpoint.
  • Suspend policy, which defines whether the application should be suspended upon hitting the breakpoint.
  • Dependencies on other breakpoints.
  • Conditions defining when a breakpoint is hit.

IntelliJ IDEA suggests the following way to change the breakpoints properties:

  • Using the Breakpoints dialog box, for a breakpoint selected in the list.
  • Using breakpoint icon in the left gutter

Configuring breakpoints

To configure actions, suspend policy and dependencies of a breakpoint

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Right-click a breakpoint in the left gutter, and then click the link More or press Ctrl+Shift+F8.
    • Open the Breakpoints dialog box as described on page Accessing Breakpoint Properties and select the desired breakpoint in the list.
    • In the Favorites tool window, select the desired breakpoint, and click edit1.

    Note that the pop-up window shows less options than the Breakpoints dialog box. To show hidden options, click More.

  2. Define the actions to be performed by IntelliJ IDEA on hitting breakpoint:
    • To notify about the reaching of a breakpoint with a text message in the debugging console, select the Log message to console check check box.

      To evaluate an expression in the context of a breakpoint and display its value in the debugging console, check the option Evaluate and log, and enter a valid expression in the option field.

      This feature lets you obtain information about your running application without having to suspend its execution.

    • To set a breakpoint the current one depends on, select it from the Disabled until selected breakpoint hit drop-down list. Once dependency has been set, the current breakpoint is disabled until selected one is hit.
      • Choose Disable again radio button to disable the current breakpoint after selected breakpoint was hit.
      • Choose Leave enable radio button to keep the current breakpoint enabled after selected breakpoint was hit.
    • Enable suspending an application upon reaching a breakpoint by selecting the Suspend check box, and then select one of the option buttons to specify the way a running program will be paused. For more information on the Suspend options, refer to Breakpoints dialog reference.
    • To set the break condition, enable condition by selecting the appropriate check box, and enter the desired expression in the Condition field.

      If the expression evaluates to true, the user-selected actions are performed. If the evaluation result is false, the breakpoint does not produce any effect.

  3. The following options are defined in the Breakpoints dialog box (if you edit properties of a particular breakpoint, click More):
    • To limit breakpoint hits only with particular object instances using instance IDs, check the Instance filters option and type the instance ID value, or click the ellipsis button and specify instance ID in the Instance Filters dialog.
    • To define breakpoint behavior with regards to particular classes, select the Class Filter check box and specify the class filter. Type the class filter manually or click the Browse button browseButton and create the class filter definition in the Class Filters dialog box that opens.
    • To define the number of times a breakpoint is reached but ignored, select the Pass count check box and specify the number of passes the breakpoint should be skipped before it is hit.

      For more information, refer to the Breakpoints dialog reference.

See Also

Last modified: 23 November 2016