Ironbee Node Devtools CLI

IronBee Node DevTools CLI

Command-line interface for non-blocking debugging of Node.js backend processes. Part of IronBee DevTools. Connects via the Inspector Protocol (Chrome DevTools Protocol) and provides tracepoints, logpoints, exceptionpoints, and watch expressions without pausing execution.

Installation

# Install this skill (skills.sh)
npx skills add ironbee-ai/ironbee-devtools-skills

# Install the CLI binary (same package as the rest of IronBee DevTools)
npm install -g @ironbee-ai/devtools

Requires Node.js >= 22.16.0 (engines.node in the package): the backend db domain's SQLite engine and the FTS5 scenario-search strategy run on Node's built-in node:sqlite, which replaced the last native dependency.

Port note

The browser CLI (ironbee-devtools-cli / ironbee-browser-devtools-cli) and the node CLI both default to daemon port 2020. If you want both daemons running at once, start the node daemon on a different port and pass --port to every node CLI call:

PLATFORM=node ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon start --port 2021
ironbee-node-devtools-cli --port 2021 debug connect --pid 12345

Quick Start

# 1. Start daemon (if not running)
ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon start

# 2. Connect to a Node.js process (by PID)
ironbee-node-devtools-cli --session-id my-debug debug connect --pid 12345

# 3. Set a tracepoint on server.js line 42
ironbee-node-devtools-cli --session-id my-debug debug put-tracepoint \
  --url-pattern "server.js" \
  --line-number 42

# 4. Trigger the code path (e.g., make API request to your app)
# 5. Get captured snapshots
ironbee-node-devtools-cli --session-id my-debug --json debug get-probe-snapshots

Global Options

AI Agent Recommended:

ironbee-node-devtools-cli --json --quiet --session-id "debug-session" <command>

Tool Domains

Jira / Linear are platform-agnostic shared issue-tracker domains (like scenario/execute) — registered on every platform CLI, but only when credentials are configured: jira needs JIRA_BASE_URL plus JIRA_EMAIL + JIRA_API_TOKEN (Cloud) or JIRA_PAT (Server/DC); linear needs LINEAR_API_KEY. Without creds the jira / linear subcommand group does not exist. Write tools (add-comment, attach-file, create/update-issue, transition-issue / set-state, link-issue, report-verification) additionally require JIRA_WRITE_ENABLED=true / LINEAR_WRITE_ENABLED=true (default off ⇒ read-only intake tools only). Close the loop after a verification run: ironbee-node-devtools-cli jira report-verification --key PROJ-123 --result pass --report "..." --artifacts ./artifacts/evidence.png (linear: same shape with --state instead of --transition). See jira / linear.

Connection Methods

Connect via debug connect with one of:

If the process doesn't have --inspect active, the CLI activates it via SIGUSR1 (no code changes). For Docker: expose port 9229 and use --inspect=0.0.0.0:9229.

CLI Management Commands

Daemon

ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon status
ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon start
ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon stop
ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon restart
ironbee-node-devtools-cli daemon info

Session

ironbee-node-devtools-cli session list
ironbee-node-devtools-cli session info <session-id>
ironbee-node-devtools-cli session delete <session-id>

Tools

ironbee-node-devtools-cli tools list
ironbee-node-devtools-cli tools search <query>
ironbee-node-devtools-cli tools info <tool-name>

Config & Updates

ironbee-node-devtools-cli config
ironbee-node-devtools-cli update --check

Examples

Connect by PID

SESSION="--session-id api-debug"

# Connect
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION debug connect --pid $(pgrep -f "node server.js")

# Set tracepoint on route handler
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION debug put-tracepoint \
  --url-pattern "routes/api.ts" \
  --line-number 25

# Trigger: curl http://localhost:3000/api/users
# Get snapshots
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION --json debug get-probe-snapshots

Connect by Process Name

ironbee-node-devtools-cli debug connect --process-name "api"

Docker Container

# App runs in container with -p 9229:9229
ironbee-node-devtools-cli debug connect \
  --container-name my-node-app \
  --host host.docker.internal \
  --inspector-port 9229

Exception Catching

SESSION="--session-id exc-debug"

ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION debug connect --pid 12345
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION debug put-exceptionpoint --state uncaught

# Trigger error in app
# Check snapshots
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION --json debug get-probe-snapshots --types exceptionpoint

Outbound HTTP Capture (egress)

SESSION="--session-id egress-debug"

# Connect, then start capture (first call installs the in-process agent — forward-looking)
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION debug connect --process-name "server.js"
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION --json o11y get-http-requests

# Trigger the code path, then read what the process called downstream
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION --json o11y get-http-requests --url-pattern "*/api/*" --include-headers

# Pin a trace id — the agent injects it as traceparent on every hooked outbound request
ironbee-node-devtools-cli $SESSION --json o11y new-trace-id

Batch with execute

# Run JavaScript in the session VM — node platform only exposes callTool (no `page`)
ironbee-node-devtools-cli run execute --code "await callTool('debug_status', {}, true); await callTool('debug_list-probes', {}, true);"

Interactive Mode

ironbee-node-devtools-cli interactive

Shell Completions

eval "$(ironbee-node-devtools-cli completion bash)"
eval "$(ironbee-node-devtools-cli completion zsh)"