Run/Debug Configuration: Node JS

This feature is supported in the Professional edition only.

In this dialog box, create configurations for running and debugging of NodeJS applications locally. "Locally" in the current context means that PyCharm itself starts the NodeJS runtime environment installed on your computer, whereupon initiates a running or debugging session.

On this page:

Getting access to the Run/Debug Configuration: NodeJS dialog
Configuration tab
Browser / Live Edit tab
V8 Profiling tab
Toolbar
Common options

Getting access to the Run/Debug Configuration: NodeJS dialog

Install and enable the Node.js plugin. The plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
Download and install the NodeJS runtime environment that contains the Node Package Manager(npm).

Configuration tab

Item Description

Node Interpreter

In this field, specify the NodeJS installation home. Type the path to the NodeJS executable file manually, or click the

button and select the location in the dialog box, that opens.

If you have appointed one of the installations as default, the field displays the path to its executable file.

Node Parameters

In this text box, type the NodeJS-specific command line options to be passed to the NodeJS executable file. The most common options are:

--require coffee-script/register Specify this parameter to have CoffeeScript files compiled into JavaScript on the fly during run. This mode requires that the register.js file, which is a part of the coffee-script package, should be located inside the project. Therefore you need to install the coffee-script package on the Node.js page locally, as described in Installing and Removing External Software Using Node Package Manager.

--inspect Specify this parameter when you are using Node.js v7 for Chrome Debugging Protocol support. Otherwise, by default the debug process will use V8 Debugging Protocol.

For a full list, see NodeJS command line options.

Working Directory

In this field, specify the working directory of the application. All references in the starting NodeJS application file, for example, imports, will be resolved relative to this folder, unless such references use full paths.

By default, the field shows the project root folder. To change this predefined setting, choose the desired folder from the drop-down list, or type the path manually, or click the Browse button and select the location in the dialog box, that opens.

JavaScript File

In this field, specify the full path to the file to start running or debugging the application from.

If you are going to debug CoffeeScript, specify the path to the generated JavaScript file with source maps. The file can be generated externally or through compilation using file watchers. For more details, see Compiling CoffeeScript to JavaScript.

Application Parameters In this text box, type the NodeJS-specific arguments to be passed to the application start file through the process.argv array.

Environment Variables

In this field, specify the environment variables for the NodeJS executable file, if applicable. Click the Browse button

to the right of the field and configure a list of variables in the Environment Variables dialog box, that opens:

To define a new variable, click the Add toolbar button and specify the variable name and value.
To discard a variable definition, select it in the list and click the Delete toolbar button .
Click OK, when ready

The definitions of variables are displayed in the Environment variables read-only field with semicolons as separators. The acceptable variables are:

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.

Docker container settings

In this field, type the settings manually, or click

next to the field and specify the settings in the Edit Docker Container Settings dialog that opens, or select the Auto configure check box to have PyCharm do it automatically.

The field is available only when a remote Node.js interpreter running on a Docker container is chosen.

Auto configuration

Select this check box to have PyCharm configure the container settings. In the Automatic configuration mode:

PyCharm creates a new image and installs the npm modules on it.
To avoid reinstalling the modules on every start of the container and messing up with the local and system-specific dependencies, PyCharm copies the package.json configuration file to the /tmp/project_modules folder on the image, runs the npm install command, and then copies the modules to the project folder in the container. Changing package.json in the project results in re-building the image.
PyCharm runs the Docker container with the created image and binds your project folder to /opt/project folder in the Docker container to ensure synchronization on update. In addition to that, /opt/project/node_modules will be mapped to the OS temporary directory.

With automatic configuration, you still need to bind the port that your application is running on with the port of the container. Those exposed ports are available on the Docker host’s IP address (by default 192.168.99.100). Such binding is required when you debug the client side of a Node.js Express application so you need to open the browser from your computer and access the application at the host of the container through the port specified in the application.

Click next to the Docker Container Settings field.
In the Edit Docker Container Settings dialog that opens, expand the Port bindings area.
Click . The Port bindings dialog box opens. In this dialog box, map the ports as follows:
- In the Container port text box, type the port specified in your application.
- In the Host port text box, type the port through which you want to open the application in the browser from your computer.
- In the Host IP text box, type the IP address of the Docker's host, the default IP is 192.168.99.100. The host is specified in the API URL field on the Docker page of the .
- Click OK to return to the Edit Docker Container Settings dialog where the new port mapping is added to the list.
Click OK to return to the Run/Debug Configuration: Node JS dialog.

The field is available only when a remote Node.js interpreter running on a Docker container is chosen.

Browser / Live Edit tab

In this tab, configure the behaviour of the browser and enable debugging the client-side code of the application. This functionality is provided through a JavaScript Debug run configuration, so technically, PyCharm creates separate run configurations for the server-side and the client-side code, but you specify all your settings in one dedicated NodeJS run configuration.

However, activating Live Edit in this tab lets you invoke Live Edit without creating a separate configuration, during a debugging session launched through the Node.js configuration.

For more information, see Live Editing of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Item	Description
Open Browser	In the text box in this area, specify the URL address to open the application at. If you select the After Launch check box, the browser will open this page automatically after the application starts. Alternatively you can view the same result by opening the page with this URL address in the browser of your choice manually.
After launch	Select this check box to have a browser started automatically after a debugging session is launched. Specify the browser to use in the drop-down list next to the check box. To use the system default browser, choose Default. To use a custom browser, choose it from the list. Note that Live Edit is fully supported only in Chrome. To configure browsers, click the Browse button and adjust the settings in the Web Browsers dialog box that opens. For more information, see Configuring Browsers.
With JavaScript debugger	Select this check box to enable debugging the client-side code in the selected browser.

V8 Profiling tab

Item Description

Item	Description
Record CPU profiling info	Select this check box to start logging the CPU profiling data when the application is launched. The controls in the area below become enabled. Specify the following: Log folder: in this field, specify the folder to store recorded logs in. Profiling data are stored in V8 log files `isolate-<session number>`. One log file for isolates: Tick package: in this field, specify the tick package to use. Choose the relevant package from the Tick package drop-down list or click the button next to it and choose the package in the dialog box that opens. Gnuplot package: in this field, specify the location of the Gnuplot executable file to explore a timeline view that shows where V8 is spending time.
Allow taking heap snapshots	Select this check box to... The controls in the area below become enabled. Specify the following: V8 profiler package: in this field, specify the v8-profiler package to use. Choose the relevant package from the v8-profiler package drop-down list or click the button next to it and choose the package in the dialog box that opens. Communication port: in this field, specify the port through which PyCharm communicates with the profiler, namely, sends a command to take a snapshot when you click the Take Heap Snapshot button on the toolbar of the Run tool window.

Record CPU profiling info

Select this check box to start logging the CPU profiling data when the application is launched. The controls in the area below become enabled. Specify the following:

Log folder: in this field, specify the folder to store recorded logs in. Profiling data are stored in V8 log files isolate-<session number>.
One log file for isolates:
Tick package: in this field, specify the tick package to use. Choose the relevant package from the Tick package drop-down list or click the button next to it and choose the package in the dialog box that opens.
Gnuplot package: in this field, specify the location of the Gnuplot executable file to explore a timeline view that shows where V8 is spending time.

Allow taking heap snapshots

Select this check box to... The controls in the area below become enabled. Specify the following:

V8 profiler package: in this field, specify the v8-profiler package to use. Choose the relevant package from the v8-profiler package drop-down list or click the button next to it and choose the package in the dialog box that opens.
Communication port: in this field, specify the port through which PyCharm communicates with the profiler, namely, sends a command to take a snapshot when you click the Take Heap Snapshot button on the toolbar of the Run tool window.

Toolbar

Item	Shortcut	Description
	`Alt+Insert`	Click this button to add a new configuration to the list.
	`Alt+Delete`	Click this button to remove the selected configuration from the list.
	`Ctrl+D`	Click this button to create a copy of the selected configuration.
	Edit defaults	Click this button to edit the default configuration templates. The defaults are used for newly created configurations.
or	`Alt+Up` or `Alt+Down`	Use these buttons to move the selected configuration or folder up and down in the list. The order of configurations or folders in the list defines the order in which configurations appear in the Run/Debug drop-down list on the main toolbar.
	Move into new folder / Create new folder	Use this button to create a new folder. If one or more run/debug configurations are in focus, the selected run/debug configurations are automatically moved to the newly created folder. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created. Move run/debug configurations to a folder using drag-and-drop, or the buttons.
	Sort configurations	Click this button to sort configurations in alphabetical order.

Common options

Item Description

Name In this text box, specify the name of the current run/debug configuration. This field does not appear for the default run/debug configurations.

Defaults This node in the left-hand pane of the dialog box contains the default run/debug configuration settings. Select the desired configuration to change its default settings in the right-hand pane. The defaults are applied to all newly created run/debug configurations.

Select this check box to make the run/debug configuration available to other team members.

The shared run/debug configurations are kept in separate xml files under .idea\runConfigurations folder, while the local run/debug configurations are kept in the .idea\workspace.xml.

This check box is not available when editing the run/debug configuration defaults.

Single instance only

If this check box is selected, this run/debug configuration cannot be launched more than once.

Every time a new run/debug configuration is launched, PyCharm checks the presence of the other instances of the same run/debug configuration, and displays a confirmation dialog box. If you click OK in the confirmation dialog box, the first instance of the runner will be stopped, and the next one will take its place.

This makes sense when the usage of certain resources can cause conflicts, or when launching two run/debug configurations of the same type consumes too much of the CPU and memory resources.

If this check box is not selected, it is possible to launch as many instances of the runner as required. So doing, each runner will start in its own tab of the Run tool window.

Before launch

Specify which tasks must be performed before applying the run/debug configuration. The specified tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

Item	Keyboard shortcut	Description
	`Alt+Insert`	Click this icon to add a task to the list. Select the task to be added: Run External tool. Select this option to run an application which is external to PyCharm. In the dialog that opens, select the application or applications that should be run. If the necessary application is not defined in PyCharm yet, add its definition. For more information, see Configuring Third-Party Tools and External Tools. Run Another Configuration. Select this option to have another run/debug configuration executed. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to run. This option is available only if you have already at least one run/debug configuration in the current project. Run File Watchers. Select this option to have PyCharm apply all the currently active file watchers, see Using File Watchers for details. Run Grunt task. Select this option to run a Grunt task. In the Grunt task dialog box 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 Grunt task. In the Gulp task dialog box 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 check box to execute an npm script. In the NPM Script dialog box that opens, specify the `package.json` file where the required script is defined, select the script to execute, choose the command to apply to it, and specify the arguments to execute the script with. Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter and the parameters to pass to it. Compile TypeScript. Select this option 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 check box to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected: If the Check errors check box is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start. If the Check errors check box 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 have the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources generated. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located. For more information, see CoffeeScript Support. Run Remote External tool: Add a remote SSH external tool. Refer to the section Remote SSH External Tools for details. 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. For more information, see Configuring Synchronization with a Web Server and Uploading and Downloading Files.
	`Alt+Delete`	Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.
	`Enter`	Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.
	`Alt+Up`	Click this icon to move the selected task one line up in the list.
	`Alt+Down`	Click this icon to move the selected task one line down in the list.
Show this page		Select this check box to have the run/debug configuration settings shown prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.
Active tool window		Select this option if you want the Run/Debug tool windows to be activated automatically when you run/debug your application. This option is enabled by default.

PyCharm 2017.1 Help

Run/Debug Configuration: Node JS

Getting access to the Run/Debug Configuration: NodeJS dialog

Configuration tab

Browser / Live Edit tab

V8 Profiling tab

Toolbar

Common options

See Also

Procedures:

Reference:

JavaScript Support: