CLICLItypeA command you run, rather than a dependency you import.See every one →What this type is →independently maintainedindependently maintainedoriginPublished by one person or a small company outside SAP. Says nothing about quality; the readings say that.See every one →

@saptools/cf-inspector

Sets breakpoints, captures variable snapshots and evaluates expressions on a remote Node.js process over the Chrome DevTools Protocol from the shell, with no IDE attached.

Built so an AI agent or a CI job can debug a running Node.js process from one shell command and read the result as JSON. cf-inspector snapshot --bp src/handler.ts:42 arms the breakpoint, waits for the hit, evaluates the requested expressions, resumes and exits, exception does the same once for a thrown exception, and watch and log stream the same kind of capture as JSON Lines. Captures run under V8's side-effect check by default, so an expression that would change the live process comes back blocked unless --allow-mutation is passed. Given --app, --region, --org and --space it opens the Cloud Foundry tunnel through @saptools/cf-debugger and closes it on exit; given --port it attaches to any inspector already listening. Only one local cf-inspector may debug a target at a time, and a debugger running on another machine is not detected.

Facts

Latestv0.9.3ReleasedLast pushLicenceMIT

Where it sits

Lives in
Provides
DebuggingCAPDebuggingcapabilitySeeing what running code did between an input arriving and a result coming out: which code ran, what the values were at each point, and why a value ended up as it did.
Runs
Cloud Foundry
Requires
@saptools/cf-debugger@saptools/cf-debuggerartifactOpens and closes the Cloud Foundry SSH tunnel when the target is given as app, region, org and space; it is installed with this package either way.Node.jsNode.jsoutside the atlasRuns on Node.js 20 or newer.

Who is behind it

Đông TrầnĐông TrầnPersonMaintains this
In the atlas: maintains 18, contributes to 18
@dongitran
maintainer

What it declares

Every artifact

Type
CLI
Origin
Independently maintained
Runs on
Cloud Foundry

As a CLI

Distributed through
npm

Connections5

Install

npm add @saptools/cf-inspector

Derived from the package name. No recipe recorded; the README has the configuration.

Where @saptools/cf-inspector runsBy its type: a CLI is run from a terminalcallsdocumentedrequiresdocumentedrequiresYour terminal, actorYour terminalNode.js, systemNode.jssystem@saptools/cf-inspector, module@saptools/cf-inspect…@saptools/cf-debugger, module@saptools/cf-debugger
SAPnot SAP's, or the project's ownstated in the documentdocumented only

README

quoted from dongitran/saptools under MIT, read
dongitran/saptools/packages/cf-inspector/README.mdOn GitHub

🔍 @saptools/cf-inspector

Set breakpoints, capture variable snapshots, and evaluate expressions on a remote Node.js process — over the Chrome DevTools Protocol, no IDE required.

Built so an AI agent (or a CI job) can drive a debugger from a single shell command. Pairs with @saptools/cf-debugger when the target lives behind a Cloud Foundry SSH tunnel.

npm version license node

Install • Quick Start • CLI • How it works


Debug-session safety: only one local cf-inspector process may actively debug a given target at a time. Concurrent CDP debugger clients can receive the same pause and race Debugger.resume, disrupting the target and real application traffic. A second local invocation now fails before connecting with TARGET_ALREADY_DEBUGGED; wait for the named owner process to finish. Locks left by dead processes are reclaimed automatically. Debuggers running on another machine or outside cf-inspector cannot be detected by this local guard and must still be coordinated operationally.

✨ Features

  • 🎯 One-shot snapshot — cf-inspector snapshot --bp src/handler.ts:42 sets the breakpoint, waits for it to hit, captures requested expressions, auto-resumes, prints JSON, exits
  • ✅ Conditional breakpoints — --condition 'req.userId === "abc"' only pauses when the predicate is truthy
  • 🔢 Hit-count breakpoints — --hit-count 5 skips the first N − 1 hits and pauses on the Nth, on every command (snapshot, log, watch)
  • 🎭 Multi-breakpoint — repeat --bp to race several locations; first hit wins
  • 🪜 Stack capture — --stack-depth N --stack-captures 'this, args' walks call frames and evaluates expressions per frame
  • 🔁 Watch streaming — cf-inspector watch --bp file:line --capture user.id --duration 30 re-captures on every hit and emits JSON Lines (the streaming counterpart of snapshot)
  • 💥 Exception breakpoints — cf-inspector exception --type uncaught --capture err.message pauses on the next thrown error and materializes the exception value
  • 📡 Non-pausing logpoints — cf-inspector log --at file:line --expr 'JSON.stringify({…})' streams JSON Lines as the line executes without pausing the inspectee, with optional --condition, --hit-count, and --max-events
  • 🛡️ Read-only capture guard — snapshot, watch, and exception captures use V8's side-effect analysis by default; --allow-mutation is an explicit escape hatch
  • 🧵 Automatic worker fan-out — snapshot, watch, exception, and log attach to the main isolate plus every current or newly-spawned NodeWorker; explicit selectors remain available for pinning
  • 🚦 Machine-readable readiness — opt into a versioned breakpoint-armed stderr event before triggering external traffic; no prose matching or guessed delay required
  • 📜 Isolate-aware script listing — list-scripts aggregates the main isolate and every current worker, tagging every script with its isolate
  • 🧠 Agent-friendly — JSON-by-default I/O, deterministic shapes, and explicit truncated/originalLength/omittedCount metadata for bounded values
  • 🧭 Path mapping — local src/handler.ts:42 is matched against the remote URL via a urlRegex, with optional --remote-root literal or regex (same DSL as cds-debug)
  • 🔁 Composes with cf-debugger — pass --app/--region/--org/--space and the tunnel is opened automatically; pass --port to attach to anything CDP-speaking
  • 🪶 Tiny dependency footprint — @saptools/cf-debugger + commander + ws, with no heavy CDP framework
  • 🧩 Typed API — every CLI command has a programmatic equivalent with full TypeScript definitions

📦 Install

npm install -g @saptools/cf-inspector
# or
pnpm add @saptools/cf-inspector

cf-inspector --version

Note

Requires Node.js ≥ 20. Cloud Foundry support uses @saptools/cf-debugger, which is installed automatically as a normal runtime dependency.


Updates

Every command first checks npm for a newer @saptools/cf-inspector (at most once an hour, one small request with a 2-second timeout) and, when one exists, installs that exact version with the package manager that owns the running binary and re-runs the command you typed on the new version. Both steps are announced on stderr; nothing is printed when the install is already current:

cf-inspector: updating 0.9.0 -> 0.10.0 ...
cf-inspector: updated to 0.10.0; re-running the command

If the install cannot complete, one stderr line gives the manual command and the command runs on the installed version; that version is not retried for a day. cf-inspector self-update forces the check and install now; cf-inspector self-update --check only reports.

ControlEffect
SAPTOOLS_AUTO_UPDATE=on|notify|offon (default) installs and re-runs; notify prints the manual command once per version; off never checks. Applies to every @saptools CLI.
CF_INSPECTOR_AUTO_UPDATEsame values, this CLI only; wins over the global variable
SAPTOOLS_UPDATE_INTERVAL_MINUTESminutes between checks (default 60; 0 checks on every run)
SAPTOOLS_NPM_REGISTRYregistry to check and install from (default: npm's configured registry, then npmjs)
SAPTOOLS_UPDATE_DEBUG=1explain on stderr why nothing happened

The updater switches itself off in CI (CI set), under NODE_ENV=test or NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER, when the binary runs from a source checkout, an npm link or an npx cache, and inside the re-run itself. It never writes to stdout, never asks for input, never uses sudo, and never moves onto a prerelease. Its state lives in ~/.saptools/updates/.

🚀 Quick Start

Cloud Foundry app (auto-tunnel)
export SAP_EMAIL=...
export SAP_PASSWORD=...

cf-inspector snapshot \
  --region eu10 --org my-org --space dev --app my-srv \
  --bp src/handler.ts:42 \
  --remote-root 'regex:^/(home/vcap/app|example-root-.*)$'

This command internally calls @saptools/cf-debugger to open the SSH tunnel, runs the snapshot through it, and tears the tunnel down on exit.

Cloud Foundry targeting is deliberately deterministic: --app requires --region, --org, and --space. The CLI never inherits missing selectors from ambient cf target state. Use --api-endpoint only when the selected region needs an explicit endpoint override.

Worker behavior

When no isolate selector is passed, snapshot, watch, exception, log, and check-breakpoint attach to the main isolate and every NodeWorker under the selected raw target. Breakpoints are mirrored to workers that attach later, the first matching pause wins, and JSON/human output identifies the winning isolate as either {"kind":"main"} or {"kind":"worker","workerId":"…"}. Losing isolates that also paused are resumed before the command continues or exits.

Use --worker-id <id> to pin a stable live worker ID from list-targets, --worker <index> for the legacy positional selector, --target <index> to pin a raw inspector target, or --main-only to deliberately ignore workers. Explicit selectors preserve single-isolate behavior.

Automation readiness contract

Commands that arm debugger behavior before waiting (snapshot, watch, exception, and log) accept --ready-event. The flag writes exactly one compact JSON object to stderr after every session present during initial arming has completed its CDP setup and immediately before the command waits or streams:

{"event":"breakpoint-armed","schemaVersion":1,"command":"snapshot","sessions":3,"resolvedLocations":2,"timeoutMs":30000}

This is the supported synchronization contract for callers that must start the CLI before firing an HTTP request, queue job, or other external trigger. Parse the JSON line and require event === "breakpoint-armed" plus schemaVersion === 1, then confirm command matches the invocation; do not poll prose such as Waiting up to.

FieldContract
eventAlways "breakpoint-armed"
schemaVersionEvent schema version; currently 1
commandsnapshot, watch, exception, or log
sessionsNumber of main/worker sessions whose initial arming completed before emission
resolvedLocationsTotal locations V8 had already resolved, or null for exception; 0 can still represent an accepted URL breakpoint that may resolve when a script loads
timeoutMsSnapshot/exception wait or watch per-hit timeout; null for log

Workers attaching after this one-time event are still armed dynamically, but are not included in its sessions or resolvedLocations totals. If initial arming fails or the command is cancelled first, no readiness event is emitted. With log --ready-event, matching events received while the remaining initial sessions are still arming are neither emitted nor counted, so the log stream cannot precede its readiness marker. Without --ready-event, stderr/stdout behavior is unchanged. An explicitly requested event is still emitted with snapshot --quiet.


🧰 CLI

📸 cf-inspector snapshot

Set one or more breakpoints, wait for any of them to hit, capture frame metadata and requested expressions, auto-resume, exit.

# Conditional snapshot — only pauses for the user we care about
cf-inspector snapshot --port 9229 \
  --bp src/handler.ts:42 \
  --condition 'req.userId === "abc"' \
  --capture 'req.body'

# Multi-breakpoint — first hit wins (useful when you don't know which path is taken)
cf-inspector snapshot --port 9229 \
  --bp src/auth.ts:120 \
  --bp src/auth.ts:155 \
  --bp src/auth.ts:180 \
  --capture 'req.url, this.user'
FlagDescription
--port <number>Local port the inspector or tunnel listens on. Required unless --app/--region/--org/--space are all set
--region/--org/--space/--appExplicit Cloud Foundry target. All four are required when --port is omitted; ambient cf target is never consulted
--api-endpoint <url>Override the API endpoint resolved from --region
--target <index>Raw /json/list target index (default: 0)
--worker <index>Nested NodeWorker index reported under the selected raw target by list-targets
--worker-id <id>Stable live NodeWorker ID reported by list-targets
--main-onlyAttach only to the main isolate and ignore NodeWorkers
--bp <file:line>Required. Source location to break at. Pass multiple times to race several locations — the first one to hit wins
--condition <expr>Native breakpoint condition. It is compile-checked before arming; mutation-shaped conditions require --allow-mutation because CDP provides no side-effect guard for native conditions
--hit-count <n>Skip the first N − 1 hits and only pause on the Nth (combines with --condition via logical AND)
--capture <expr,…>Top-level comma-separated expressions evaluated in the paused frame under V8's side-effect guard. Nested commas inside objects, arrays, calls, or strings are preserved. Objects are materialized to JSON strings when serializable
--setup-eval <expr>Repeatable, order-preserving global expression evaluated before breakpoint setup. It is mutation-capable and only receives an advisory warning
--stack-depth <n>Walk this many call frames per hit (default: 1, top frame only). When > 1, the result includes a stack array
--stack-captures <expr,…>Expressions evaluated on each captured call frame under the same side-effect guard as --capture
--allow-mutationDisable V8's capture side-effect guard and explicitly allow mutation-shaped native conditions. Heuristic matches are annotated with mutationRisk: true
--timeout <seconds>How long to wait for the breakpoint to hit (default: 30)
--max-value-length <chars>Maximum characters per captured value before truncation (one-shot default: 131072). Explicit values are honored exactly
--remote-root <value>Optional path-mapping anchor: literal path or regex:<pattern> / /pattern/flags
--include-scopesInclude expanded paused-frame scopes under topFrame.scopes. Omitted by default to keep targeted captures concise
--no-jsonPrint a human-readable summary instead of JSON
--quietSuppress snapshot progress messages on stderr
--ready-eventEmit the versioned breakpoint-armed JSON event on stderr after every current isolate is armed
--keep-pausedSkip Debugger.resume after capture
--fail-on-unmatched-pauseFail immediately if the target pauses somewhere else instead of waiting cooperatively

Snapshot progress is printed to stderr by default, including Cloud Foundry login/tunnel setup, inspector connection, breakpoint binding, the breakpoint wait, capture, resume, and cleanup phases. The final JSON document remains the only content written to stdout, so piping it to jq or another parser stays safe. Pass --quiet to suppress these progress lines; warnings and errors still use stderr.

Snapshot JSON includes frame metadata and captures by default. topFrame.scopes is only present with --include-scopes because scope objects can be large and drown out targeted captures. Values are raw debugger values, so be careful when sharing logs.

Capture expressions are read-only by default. cf-inspector sends throwOnSideEffect: true to V8 for both --capture and --stack-captures. Assignments, mutating methods such as push, and calls V8 cannot prove pure are returned as a blocked capture with blocked: true, mutationRisk: true, and a MUTATION_NOT_ALLOWED error. Pass --allow-mutation only when changing the live inspectee is intentional. The opt-in disables the V8 guard and adds mutationRisk: true when the advisory syntax scan recognizes a likely mutation; arbitrary function calls can still mutate without being recognized.

--condition is different: V8 executes it internally as a native breakpoint condition, where CDP has no throwOnSideEffect option. Mutation-shaped native conditions are rejected unless --allow-mutation is present. --setup-eval and the standalone eval command remain mutation-capable by design and emit advisory warnings for recognizable mutation syntax.

A blocked capture remains a normal additive CapturedExpression, so one unsafe expression does not corrupt the rest of the snapshot:

{"expression":"items.push(1)","error":"MUTATION_NOT_ALLOWED: V8 blocked the capture expression ...","mutationRisk":true,"blocked":true}

With --allow-mutation, recognized mutation syntax runs and the result carries "mutationRisk": true; ordinary reads do not gain the field.

Truncation contract

JSON truncation is always out-of-band. A text value longer than the effective limit is cut to exactly that many JavaScript characters and gains "truncated": true plus its full "originalLength"; no ellipsis is appended to the JSON value. These fields are absent when no cut occurs. Human output may add a visual ellipsis.

Expanded objects and scopes also report bounded structural capture. The VariableSnapshot, ScopeSnapshot, or FrameSnapshot whose properties, variables, or scopes were cut gains truncated: true and the exact direct omittedCount. A serialized object capture propagates the aggregate known omission count to its CapturedExpression. ExceptionSnapshot additionally uses valueOriginalLength and descriptionOriginalLength so consumers can identify which field was cut; its compatibility originalLength is the larger reported field length.

One-shot snapshot and exception commands default to 131072 characters. Repeated watch and log events default to 4096. All four accept --max-value-length, and an explicit limit is applied exactly.

{"expression":"largeText","value":"exactly-N-characters","type":"string","truncated":true,"originalLength":250000}

pausedDurationMs measures the client-observed time from receiving the matching pause event until Debugger.resume completes. With --keep-paused, it is null because resume is intentionally skipped.

If the target pauses somewhere else first, for example another debugger's breakpoint or a debugger; statement, snapshot does not resume it by default. It warns once, waits for Debugger.resumed, then continues waiting for its own breakpoint within the remaining timeout. Use --fail-on-unmatched-pause when a strict immediate error is preferred.

For Cloud Foundry targets, replace --port with --region/--org/--space/--app. Cloud Foundry commands and tunnel readiness allow up to 180 seconds by default. For commands without their own wait semantics, --timeout <seconds> controls CF tunnel readiness. For breakpoint and exception commands, --timeout is reserved for the command wait and tunnel readiness keeps the 180-second default.

📡 cf-inspector log

Set a non-pausing logpoint and stream the evaluated expression each time the line executes. The inspectee does not pause, but the expression and condition still execute against live state and can mutate it.

# Stream user IDs hitting handler.ts:42 for 30 seconds
cf-inspector log \
  --port 9229 \
  --at src/handler.ts:42 \
  --expr 'JSON.stringify({ user: req.user, body: req.body })' \
  --duration 30

Output is JSON Lines on stdout (one event per line) plus a summary trailer on stderr:

{"ts":"2026-04-29T...","at":"src/handler.ts:42","value":"{\"user\":\"alice\",\"body\":{}}"}
{"ts":"2026-04-29T...","at":"src/handler.ts:42","value":"{\"user\":\"bob\",\"body\":{}}"}
// stderr:
{"stopped":"duration","emitted":2}

When the user expression throws, the event is emitted with error instead of value so the stream never silently gaps:

{"ts":"…","at":"src/handler.ts:42","error":"Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'user')"}
FlagDescription
--port <number>Local port the inspector or tunnel listens on. Required unless --app/--region/--org/--space are all set
--target <index> / --worker <index> / --worker-id <id>Pin one raw target or worker instead of automatic fan-out
--main-onlyIgnore workers and attach only to the main isolate
--at <file:line>Required. Source location to log at
--expr <expression>Required. JavaScript expression evaluated at each hit, wrapped in try/catch on the inspectee side. It is mutation-capable; recognizable risks produce a warning
--duration <seconds>Stop streaming after N seconds (default: run until SIGINT)
--max-events <n>Stop streaming after emitting N log events. The trailer reports stopped: "max-events"
--hit-count <n>Start emitting once the line has been hit N or more times
--condition <expr>Mutation-capable native condition evaluated on the inspectee. Recognizable risks produce a warning. Composes with --hit-count via logical AND
--max-value-length <chars>Maximum characters per log value (streaming default: 4096). Truncated events include truncated and originalLength
--remote-root <value>Optional path-mapping anchor (same DSL as snapshot)
--no-jsonPrint human-readable lines instead of JSON Lines
--ready-eventEmit the versioned breakpoint-armed JSON event on stderr after every current isolate is armed

Native logpoint expressions and conditions have no V8 side-effect gate. The CLI warns when its best-effort syntax scan recognizes assignments or common mutating calls, but that scan cannot prove an arbitrary function is pure. Treat logpoint expressions as executable live code.

🔁 cf-inspector watch

Stream a snapshot per breakpoint hit. The inspectee is paused briefly while captures are evaluated, then resumed automatically; output is JSON Lines on stdout with a trailer on stderr (same shape as log).

cf-inspector watch --port 9229 \
  --bp src/handler.ts:42 \
  --capture 'user.id, payload' \
  --condition 'user.id !== "system"' \
  --duration 30 \
  --max-events 50

Each event is a WatchEvent:

{"ts":"2026-04-29T...","at":"file:///app/src/handler.ts:42","hit":1,"reason":"other","hitBreakpoints":["..."],"captures":[{"expression":"user.id","value":"\"alice\""}]}
{"ts":"2026-04-29T...","at":"file:///app/src/handler.ts:42","hit":2,"reason":"other","hitBreakpoints":["..."],"captures":[{"expression":"user.id","value":"\"bob\""}]}
// stderr trailer:
{"stopped":"max-events","emitted":50}
FlagDescription
--port <number>Local port the inspector or tunnel listens on. Otherwise pass all explicit Cloud Foundry selectors
--target <index> / --worker <index> / --worker-id <id>Pin one raw target or worker instead of automatic fan-out
--main-onlyIgnore workers and attach only to the main isolate
--bp <file:line>Required. Source location to capture on (repeatable)
--capture <expr,…>Top-level comma-separated expressions evaluated per hit under V8's side-effect guard
--setup-eval <expr>Repeatable mutation-capable global expression evaluated before breakpoint setup; recognizable risks produce a warning
--condition <expr>Native condition; mutation-shaped conditions require --allow-mutation
--hit-count <n>Start emitting once the line has been hit N or more times
--remote-root <value>Path-mapping anchor (same DSL as snapshot)
--duration <seconds>Stop streaming after N seconds (default: until SIGINT)
--max-events <n>Stop streaming after emitting N events
--timeout <seconds>How long to wait for the next hit before giving up (default: 30)
--max-value-length <chars>Maximum characters per captured value (streaming default: 4096)
--stack-depth <n>Walk this many call frames per hit (default: 1)
--stack-captures <expr,…>Expressions evaluated on each call frame under the capture side-effect guard
--allow-mutationDisable the capture side-effect guard and explicitly allow mutation-shaped native conditions
--include-scopesInclude expanded paused-frame scopes per hit
--no-jsonPrint human-readable lines instead of JSON Lines
--ready-eventEmit the versioned breakpoint-armed JSON event on stderr after every current isolate is armed
💥 cf-inspector exception

Pause on a thrown exception, capture the exception value plus the paused frame, then resume.

cf-inspector exception --port 9229 \
  --type uncaught \
  --capture 'this' \
  --stack-depth 4 \
  --stack-captures 'arguments[0]' \
  --timeout 30

Result is a SnapshotResult with an extra exception field:

{
  "reason": "exception",
  "hitBreakpoints": [],
  "capturedAt": "2026-04-29T...",
  "pausedDurationMs": 0.5,
  "topFrame": {"functionName": "validate", "url": "...", "line": 42, "column": 5},
  "exception": {"value": "{\"message\":\"missing field\",\"name\":\"Error\"}", "type": "object", "description": "missing field"},
  "captures": [],
  "stack": [...]
}
FlagDescription
--port or explicit --region/--org/--space/--appSelect the local inspector or deterministic Cloud Foundry target
--target <index> / --worker <index> / --worker-id <id>Pin one raw target or worker instead of automatic fan-out
--main-onlyIgnore workers and attach only to the main isolate
--type <state>Pause on which exceptions: uncaught (default), caught, or all
--capture <expr,…>Top-level expressions evaluated in the paused frame under V8's side-effect guard
--stack-depth <n>Walk this many call frames (default: 1)
--stack-captures <expr,…>Expressions evaluated on each frame under V8's side-effect guard
--allow-mutationDisable the capture side-effect guard; heuristic matches gain mutationRisk: true
--include-scopesInclude paused-frame scopes
--remote-root <value>Path-mapping anchor (only used if you also wire snapshot helpers)
--timeout <seconds>How long to wait for an exception (default: 30)
--max-value-length <chars>Maximum characters per captured value (one-shot default: 131072)
--keep-pausedSkip Debugger.resume after capture
--no-jsonPrint a human-readable summary instead of JSON
--ready-eventEmit the versioned breakpoint-armed JSON event on stderr after pause-on-exception is active in every current isolate
🧮 cf-inspector eval

Evaluate one expression with Runtime.evaluate in the selected isolate's global scope and print the result. eval is intentionally mutation-capable and has no side-effect gate; recognizable mutation syntax emits an advisory warning to stderr. For read-only paused-frame values, use snapshot --capture or call the programmatic evaluateOnFrame(..., { throwOnSideEffect: true }) API. Plain evaluateOnFrame(...) remains unrestricted by default for backward compatibility.

cf-inspector eval --port 9229 --expr 'process.uptime()'
📜 cf-inspector list-scripts

Print every script known by the main isolate and each currently attached NodeWorker (useful for debugging path-mapping issues). Each JSON entry carries isolate: {"kind":"main"} or isolate: {"kind":"worker","workerId":"…"}, so duplicate per-isolate scriptId values remain unambiguous. Add --filter <pattern> to narrow noisy script lists with a literal/wildcard pattern; | separates alternatives and .* / .+ match variable text.

cf-inspector list-scripts --port 9229 --filter 'dist/.+\.js'

With --no-json, rows are scriptId<TAB>url<TAB>isolate, where isolate is main or worker:<workerId>. --main-only, --worker-id, --worker, and --target retain their normal narrowing behavior.

🎯 cf-inspector list-targets

Print raw /json/list inspector targets with stable index values, likely worker labels, and the total target/worker counts on stderr. For each raw target, the command also probes Node's NodeWorker CDP domain and lists live nested workers with their own indexes.

cf-inspector list-targets --port 9229
cf-inspector snapshot --port 9229 --bp dist/worker.js:42
cf-inspector snapshot --port 9229 --worker-id 1 --bp dist/worker.js:42
# If a runtime publishes a worker as another raw /json/list target instead:
cf-inspector snapshot --port 9229 --target 1 --bp dist/worker.js:42

JSON output nests workers beneath their raw target:

[
  {
    "index": 0,
    "description": "node.js instance",
    "id": "target-id",
    "type": "node",
    "title": "app.mjs",
    "url": "file:///app/app.mjs",
    "webSocketDebuggerUrl": "ws://127.0.0.1:9229/target-id",
    "likelyWorker": false,
    "workerDiscoverySupported": true,
    "workers": [
      {"index": 0, "workerId": "1", "type": "worker", "title": "jobs", "url": "file:///app/worker.mjs"}
    ]
  }
]

--target selects a complete raw inspector endpoint. --worker-id selects a live nested worker by its stable ID, while --worker retains positional-index selection for compatibility. Modern Node.js 20–25 verification found workers on the NodeWorker path, including workers already alive before post-hoc SIGUSR1 inspector activation; the raw-target selector remains supported for runtimes that publish that shape.

When no selector is passed, breakpoint-oriented commands attach to raw target 0 and automatically fan out across its main isolate and nested workers. If only one raw target and no workers are visible, list-targets explains that the worker may have exited, the runtime may not expose NodeWorker discovery, or a separate worker port may be unreachable through the single Cloud Foundry tunnel. Rerun the command while the worker is alive before pinning its workerId.

If list-targets, attach, or another command reports ECONNREFUSED, the local inspector or tunnel on that port is usually stale/closed. Restart the local Node inspector or tunnel and retry; for Cloud Foundry targets, pass the complete --region/--org/--space/--app selector so cf-inspector can open a fresh tunnel.

✅ cf-inspector check-breakpoint

Check whether a file:line can accept a breakpoint before arming one. The command uses the same path mapping as --bp and checks every currently attached isolate by default.

cf-inspector check-breakpoint --port 9229 --bp dist/handler.js:42

status: "script-not-loaded" means no loaded script matched the file/path mapping; use list-scripts, adjust --remote-root, or trigger lazy loading. status: "unbreakable" means the script is loaded but that exact line has no V8 break location; choose a neighboring executable line. status: "breakable" includes the concrete script IDs, isolate identities, lines, and columns.

🔗 cf-inspector attach

Connect, fetch the runtime version, print it, disconnect. Useful as a smoke-test that the tunnel is healthy.

cf-inspector attach --port 9229

attach checks the port-level /json/version endpoint, so raw-target and worker selectors do not apply to this smoke test.

Exact CDP tracing APIs

The library also exports lower-level, validated primitives for tools that need to plan and step an exact loaded function instead of using a URL-regex breakpoint:

const scripts = listScripts(session);
const source = await getScriptSource(session, scripts[0].scriptId);
const locations = await getPossibleBreakpoints(session, {
  start: { scriptId: scripts[0].scriptId, lineNumber: 10 },
  restrictToFunction: true,
});
const breakpoint = await setBreakpointAtLocation(session, { location: locations[0] });
const pause = await waitForPause(session, {
  timeoutMs: 30_000,
  breakpointIds: [breakpoint.breakpointId],
  signal: abortController.signal,
});
await stepOver(session);
await releaseObject(session, objectId);

ScriptLocation and BreakLocation use CDP-native zero-based line and column numbers. Exact breakpoint setup returns both the requested and actual location, then fails closed and removes the breakpoint if V8 resolves a different script, line, or column. An omitted column means CDP column zero. RemoteObjectInfo.completeness is truncated for logical values stored in internal slots (including maps, sets, promises, and dates) and unavailable for proxies; it is omitted for ordinary objects. waitForPause accepts an AbortSignal and cleans its event listener and timer on success, timeout, abort, or session close. The same layer exports stepInto, stepOver, stepOut, releaseObject, and releaseObjectGroup for bounded controllers.

Programmatic Cloud Foundry tunnels can select the same process instance and Node PID used for both the remote signal and SSH forwarding:

const tunnel = await openCfTunnel({
  region: "eu10",
  org: "my-org",
  space: "dev",
  app: "orders-srv",
  process: "worker",
  instance: 2,
  nodePid: 4312,
});

openCfTunnel retains backward-compatible reuse when cf-debugger reports a healthy local port for an existing session. Controllers that must prove they own and can dispose the tunnel should use openOwnedCfTunnel; it propagates SESSION_ALREADY_RUNNING instead of parsing or borrowing a pre-existing session.


🔭 How it works

┌──────────────────────┐   1. GET http://127.0.0.1:<port>/json/list
│ cf-inspector         │   2. Open the selected raw WebSocket target
│  snapshot --bp X:Y   │ ─►3. Auto-attach to current and future NodeWorker sub-sessions
└──────────────────────┘   4. Debugger.enable + Runtime.enable
            │              5. Debugger.setBreakpointByUrl({ urlRegex, lineNumber: Y - 1 })
            ▼              6. Wait for `Debugger.paused`
   JSON snapshot           7. Debugger.evaluateOnCallFrame({ throwOnSideEffect: true, ... })
                           8. Runtime.getProperties(...) when object/scopes are expanded
                           9. Debugger.resume   (unless --keep-paused)

Path mapping uses CDP's first-class urlRegex:

--remote-rootResulting urlRegex (line 42 of src/handler.ts)
omitted`(?:^
/home/vcap/app (literal)^file:///home/vcap/app/src/handler\.(?:ts|js|mts|mjs|cts|cjs)$
regex:^/example-root-.*$^file:///example-root-.*/src/handler\.(?:ts|js|mts|mjs|cts|cjs)$
regex:^/(home/vcap/app|example-root-.*)$^file:///(home/vcap/app|example-root-.*)/src/handler\.(?:ts|js|mts|mjs|cts|cjs)$

.ts ↔ .js is folded into the regex automatically because Node's V8 inspector normally serves both the source-mapped TypeScript URL and the runtime JavaScript URL — matching either is correct.


⚙️ Composing with cf-debugger

If --port is omitted, all of --region/--org/--space/--app are required. The CLI does not read ambient cf target state. It calls startDebugger(...) from @saptools/cf-debugger, attaches over the SSH tunnel, and disposes the tunnel on exit. You get the same one-shot UX whether the target is local or in CF.

The tunnel forwards one inspector port. Nested NodeWorker sessions carried by that inspector connection are auto-attached by breakpoint-oriented commands and can be pinned with --worker-id; a worker exposing only an unrelated separate port is outside that tunnel's reach.

cf-inspector snapshot \
  --region eu10 --org my-org --space dev --app my-srv \
  --bp src/handler.ts:42 \
  --capture 'req.url, this.user'


👨‍💻 Author

dongtran ✨

📄 License

MIT


Made with ❤️ to make your work life easier!

MIT, read

History

Latest

v0.9.3

Fixes 1

Notes
Fixed
  • Suppressed the CodeQL js/regex-injection alert on check-breakpoint's new RegExp(urlRegex, "u") with an inline codeql[js/regex-injection] comment, backed by a code comment explaining why: --remote-root's raw-regex mode is an intentional, already-hardened (0.9.2) escape hatch, and CodeQL's only recognized sanitizer for this query is escaping the input — which would defeat the feature outright. No behavior change.
  1. v0.9.2

    Fixes 1

    Notes
    Fixed
    • Hardened --remote-root regex:...//pattern/flags: patterns are now capped at 200 characters and rejected outright if they contain a nested-quantifier shape (e.g. (x+)+), which can cause catastrophic regex backtracking. This mode intentionally lets an operator supply a raw regex (unlike every other path here, which already escapes user input), so the guard is defense-in-depth against a self-inflicted hang rather than a change in what the flag can express for any reasonable pattern.
  2. v0.9.1

    Other 1

    Notes
    • Accept the self-updating releases of @saptools/cf-debugger as dependencies (range widened, no behaviour change).
  3. v0.9.0

    Other 1

    Notes
    • Self-updating. Every command now checks npm for a newer @saptools/cf-inspector (at most once an hour) and, when one exists, installs that exact version and re-runs the command on it, announcing both steps on stderr. SAPTOOLS_AUTO_UPDATE=on|notify|off controls it (see the README's Updates section); it is off by itself in CI, in tests, from a source checkout and inside the re-run. New cf-inspector self-update [--check] forces the check and install now. --version now reads package.json at runtime. Both come from the private, build-time-bundled @saptools/core package; the published tarball gains no runtime dependency.
  4. v0.8.1

    Other 1

    Notes
    CDP request reliability
    • Increased the default timeout for individual Chrome DevTools Protocol requests from 15 seconds to 60 seconds for main and worker inspector sessions. Explicit requestTimeoutMs overrides and command-level breakpoint/exception wait timeouts remain unchanged.
  5. v0.8.0

    Fixes 4, Other 1

    Notes
    Machine-readable debugger readiness
    • Added opt-in --ready-event support to snapshot, watch, exception, and log. Each command writes the same versioned breakpoint-armed JSON event to stderr after all initially/currently registered isolates finish arming and immediately before waiting or streaming.
    • Kept default stdout, stderr, progress prose, and final JSON behavior unchanged when the new flag is absent. snapshot --quiet --ready-event suppresses progress lines while retaining the explicitly requested event.
    • Gate log --ready-event output until aggregate arming completes, so no matching log event is emitted or counted ahead of the readiness marker.
    • Added a local externally-triggered inspector fixture proving all four commands can synchronize without guessed startup delays.
    Isolate-aware script listing
    • BEHAVIOR CHANGE: list-scripts now follows the normal implicit fan-out model, aggregating scripts from the main isolate and all current workers. JSON entries include an isolate tag; human rows append isolate as a third tab-separated column. Explicit isolate selectors still narrow the command.
  6. v0.7.1

    Fixes 3

    Notes
    Exclusive debugger sessions
    • Refuse a second local cf-inspector session for the same inspector target before it opens a debugger WebSocket. The dedicated TARGET_ALREADY_DEBUGGED error identifies the live owner and explains the risk to application traffic.
    • Added process-owned, target-scoped lock files under ~/.saptools/cf-inspector/locks, with automatic dead-PID reclamation and ownership-safe cleanup on normal, error, timeout, and signal exits.
    • Added local real-inspector coverage for deterministic CDP breakpoint-ID collisions, competing resume behavior, command-wide exclusion, first-session continuity, and SIGKILL stale-lock recovery.
  7. v0.7.0dated in the atlas

    Breaking 1, Other 6

    Notes
    Automatic isolate fan-out
    • BREAKING: snapshot, watch, exception, and log now attach to the main isolate plus every current and newly-attached NodeWorker when no explicit isolate selector is passed. Results identify the winning/emitting isolate.
    • Added stable --worker-id <id> selection and explicit --main-only; retained the existing meanings of --worker <index> and --target <index>.
    • Added per-session breakpoint outcomes, first-pause racing, paused-loser resume, bounded explicit breakpoint cleanup, and dynamic late-worker arming.
    Tunnel and breakpoint reliability
    • Reused Cloud Foundry tunnel ports must pass /json/version liveness polling before they are reported ready; stale/not-yet-ready ports now fail with an actionable error at tunnel acquisition.
    • Long-running watch sessions probe tunnel liveness and fail after three consecutive unsuccessful probes instead of hanging indefinitely.
    • Added check-breakpoint, which distinguishes unloaded/path-mismatched scripts from loaded scripts whose requested line is not breakable.
  8. v0.6.2

    Other 1

    Notes
    • Require @saptools/cf-debugger@^0.1.16 so consumers pick up the app-port Node process auto-selection when an instance runs several Node processes.
  9. v0.6.1

    Other 1

    Notes
    Async call stack depth
    • Added setAsyncCallStackDepth(session, maxDepth) wrapping Debugger.setAsyncCallStackDepth, so consumers can request async stack frames on paused events and reset the depth during cleanup.
  10. v0.6.0

    Other 9

    Notes
    Exact function tracing primitives
    • Added loaded script metadata and exact source retrieval through Debugger.getScriptSource.
    • Added validated Debugger.getPossibleBreakpoints and exact-location breakpoint APIs with requested/actual location metadata.
    • Exact-location setup now removes and rejects bindings that V8 relocates to another script, line, or zero-based column.
    • Added step into/over/out and remote object/group release wrappers.
    • Preserved rich pause frames, scopes, this, return values, script metadata, and async stack data.
    • Remote descriptors now mark proxy values unavailable and internal-slot subtypes truncated when own-property traversal cannot represent their complete logical value.
    • Made pause waits abortable without leaking event listeners or timers.
    • Forwarded Cloud Foundry process, instance, and Node PID selectors through openCfTunnel.
    • Added fail-closed openOwnedCfTunnel for consumers that must own cleanup. The existing openCfTunnel keeps its legacy same-machine port-reuse behavior for backward compatibility.
  11. v0.5.0dated in the atlas

    Breaking 2, Other 16

    Notes
    Deterministic Cloud Foundry targeting
    • BREAKING: --app no longer fills missing selectors from ambient cf target state. Every command now requires explicit --region, --org, and --space alongside --app; --port behavior is unchanged.
    • Missing selectors fail before any Cloud Foundry shell-out and name every required flag.
    Mutation guardrails
    • BREAKING: snapshot, watch, and exception now evaluate both --capture and --stack-captures with V8's side-effect guard by default. Expressions V8 cannot prove side-effect-free return a blocked CapturedExpression with blocked: true, mutationRisk: true, and a MUTATION_NOT_ALLOWED error.
    • Added --allow-mutation to those capture commands. Recognized mutation syntax runs under the opt-in and is annotated with mutationRisk: true.
    • Added the optional throwOnSideEffect argument to the exported evaluateOnFrame API. Its programmatic default remains unrestricted for backward compatibility; the capture commands opt into the safe mode.
    • Mutation-shaped native snapshot/watch --condition expressions require the same explicit opt-in. Mutation-capable log, eval, and --setup-eval surfaces remain executable and now emit advisory warnings.
    Worker sessions and diagnostics
    • Added --worker <index> and Node's nested NodeWorker transport so snapshot, watch, exception, eval, log, and list-scripts can inspect a live worker beneath a raw inspector target.
    • Extended list-targets with raw-target counts, worker labels, nested worker metadata, and actionable single-target guidance. Implicit target or worker selection and bound breakpoints that produce no hit now emit targeted hints.
    • Preserved --target <index> for runtimes that publish workers as independent /json/list endpoints.
    • Removed ignored --target/--worker options from attach and the ignored --target option from list-targets; those commands operate at the inspector port level or enumerate all raw targets, respectively.
    • Verified the NodeWorker path with real Node.js 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25 processes, including a worker alive before post-hoc SIGUSR1 inspector activation, and added a real-inspector worker E2E fixture.
    Explicit truncation
    • BEHAVIOR CHANGE: one-shot snapshot and exception captures now default to 131072 characters; repeated watch and log events retain the compact 4096-character default.
    • BEHAVIOR CHANGE: truncated JSON text is cut to exactly --max-value-length and no longer appends an in-band ... suffix.
    • Added optional truncated: true and exact originalLength metadata to text capture shapes. Added omittedCount for bounded object, scope, and frame expansion, plus field-local exception lengths and logpoint metadata.
    • Untruncated output remains unchanged and omits all truncation fields.
    Reliability
    • Inspector discovery now fails immediately on malformed JSON responses instead of retrying an invalid payload until the discovery timeout expires.
24downloads per week, npm
Weekly downloads for @saptools/cf-inspector26 complete calendar weeks from 2026-04-20 to 2026-10-18; the latest total is 24.20 Apr – 26 Apr: 027 Apr – 3 May: 2,4624 May – 10 May: 32911 May – 17 May: 9218 May – 24 May: 3125 May – 31 May: 771 Jun – 7 Jun: 578 Jun – 14 Jun: 6015 Jun – 21 Jun: 222 Jun – 28 Jun: 63729 Jun – 5 Jul: 1,7926 Jul – 12 Jul: 31513 Jul – 19 Jul: 71620 Jul – 26 Jul: 1,89727 Jul – 2 Aug: 4593 Aug – 9 Aug: 33010 Aug – 16 Aug: 41417 Aug – 23 Aug: 32724 Aug – 30 Aug: 4331 Aug – 6 Sept: 3417 Sept – 13 Sept: 22214 Sept – 20 Sept: 7021 Sept – 27 Sept: 4328 Sept – 4 Oct: 105 Oct – 11 Oct: 1112 Oct – 18 Oct: 24
Debugging
  1. dbg_value_statementDebugger script generating a VALUE statement for a variablefrom ABAP
  2. dump_infoDisplays the variables of ABAP short dumpsfrom ABAP
  3. com.sap.cds:cds-feature-consoleConnects a running CAP Java app to CAP console for monitoringfrom CAP
  4. com.sap.cds:cds-feature-dev-dashboardBrowser dashboard for a running CAP Java service during developmentfrom CAP
  5. @cap-js/consoleConnects a running CAP application to the CAP consolefrom CAP
  6. @cap-js/data-inspectorInspects database entities and contents at CAP service levelfrom CAP
  7. abapsmithABAP MCP server over ADT with a local journal that can undo writesfrom ABAP
  8. sap-cap-debuggerAttaches a debugger to a CAP app running on Cloud Foundryfrom CAP
  9. ABAP-Object-VisualizerDebugger script exporting an object hierarchy as Graphvizfrom ABAP
  10. abap_debugger_object_graph_extensionABAP debugger extension drawing objects as a Graphviz graphfrom ABAP
  11. Graphviz-browserStatic page drawing Graphviz graphs for the ABAP debugger extensionfrom ABAP
  12. ABAP remote filesystemVS Code extension editing ABAP systems over ADT as a filesystemfrom ABAP
  13. @sap/cds-dkCommand line client and development toolkit for CAPfrom CAP
  14. @saptools/cf-debuggerNode.js inspector tunnel over cf ssh to Cloud Foundry appsfrom BTP/BAIP
  15. @saptools/cf-explorerFile search in apps deployed to SAP BTP Cloud Foundry over cf sshfrom BTP/BAIP
  16. @saptools/cf-function-traceStep-by-step state recorder for one JavaScript function in Node.jsfrom BTP/BAIP
  17. @saptools/cf-hanaSQL runner against the SAP HANA Cloud database bound to a CF appfrom BTP/BAIP
  18. @saptools/cf-live-traceHTTP trace hook streaming a running CF Node.js app's trafficfrom BTP/BAIP
  19. @saptools/cf-request-runnerEndpoint discovery for CAP services deployed to Cloud Foundryfrom CAP
  20. @saptools/service-flowStatic end-to-end tracer of one CAP operation across repositoriesfrom CAP
  21. Smart DebuggerSAP GUI debugger script recording steps so execution can run backwardsfrom ABAP

Details

Sources4
Added by handdiscovered herechecked
npm registry, @saptools/cf-inspectorversion, releases, installschecked
github.com/git+https://github.com/dongitran/saptools.gittree, pushes, contributors, CIchecked
packages/cf-inspector/README.mdquoted, and what the entry declareschecked

Sources are graph entities: the same page may back several entries, and an unreachable source flags every row that rests on it.

Compatibility and provenance
deploymentCloud Foundry
latestv0.9.3
first release
releases and cadence45, ~1d median
discovered viaAdded by hand
first seen in the atlas
ecosystem and domainbtp, developer-experience
History in the atlas1
  1. First seen.
For your agent
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artifact:saptools-cf-inspector
JSON
/artifacts/saptools-cf-inspector.json
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