Search code examples
ejsnode-debugger

Imprecise descriptions of bugs/exceptions when debugging EJS templates

EJS documentation at ejs.co says "It's easy to debug EJS errors: your errors are plain JavaScript exceptions, with template line-numbers included.".

However, when debugging the code with an bug in the template, I only get references to the functions inside my cza.js module that calls the ejs.renderFile and references to the "internal" errors within the EJS (ejs.js) itself. Reference to the bug within the .ejs template (ideally the line-number) is missing, in fact the template goes unmentioned.

So, the screenshot is of an the error within ejs.js, where EJS itself got stuck processing the bugged template, NOT the template itself, and so worthless: enter image description here

So, how do I get the debugger to point out the bug in my template?

Solution

  • So, I have just found out that EJS does print out the code to terminal, unless a debugger does not step in to handle the exception before EJS can point out the bug. In my scenario, I debug the app using node --inspect app.js, with debug auto-attach in VS Code enabled. The debugger then describes the exception as shown in the question screenshot.

    How I found out the debugger was blocking EJS's output to terminal? I had a browser already requesting the app, when I launched it and the exception occured within the second before the debugger was attached.