debugging - How to debug Node.JS child forked process?

Question

I'm trying to debug the child Node.JS process created using:

var child = require('child_process');
child .fork(__dirname + '/task.js');

The problem is that when running in IntelliJ/WebStorm both parent and child process start on the same port.

debugger listening on port 40893
debugger listening on port 40893

So it only debugs the parent process.

Is there any way to set IntelliJ to debug the child process or force it to start on a different port so I can connect it in Remote debug?

Answer 1

Yes. You have to spawn your process in a new port. There is a workaround to debug with clusters, in the same way you can do:

Start your app with the --debug command and then:

var child = require('child_process');
var debug = typeof v8debug === 'object';
if (debug) {   
    //Set an unused port number.    
    process.execArgv.push('--debug=' + (40894));    
}    
child.fork(__dirname + '/task.js');

---

debugger listening on port 40894