Simpler way to put PDB breakpoints in Python code?

python pdb
Joe picture Joe · Aug 8, 2011 · Viewed 88.8k times · Source

Just a convenience question. I've been a bit spoiled with debuggers in IDEs like Visual Studio and XCode. I find it a bit clumsy to have to type import pdb; pdb.set_trace() to set a breakpoint (I'd rather not import pdb at the top of the file as I might forget and leave it in).

Is there a simpler way of setting a breakpoint in Python code, as straightforward and unobtrusive as what you see in an IDE?

Answer

mdeous picture mdeous · Aug 8, 2011

You can run your program into pdb from the command line by running

python -m pdb your_script.py

It will break on the 1st line, then you'll be able to add a breakpoint wherever you want in your code using the break command, its syntax is:

b(reak) [[filename:]lineno | function[, condition]]

It is flexible enough to give you the ability to add a breakpoint anywhere.

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