pdbp (Pdb+)

pdbp (Pdb+) is an advanced console debugger for Python. It can be used as a drop-in replacement for pdb and pdbpp.

pdbp (Pdb+) makes Python debugging a lot easier (and more fun!)

Installation:

pip install pdbp

Then add import pdbp to an __init__.py of your project, which will automatically make Pdb+ the default debugger at breakpoints:

import pdbp

(If using flake8 for code-linting, you may want to add # noqa to that line):

import pdbp  # noqa

You can also make pdbp the default debugger by setting an environmental variable:

PYTHONBREAKPOINT=pdbp.set_trace

Usage:

To trigger a breakpoint in your code with pytest, add --trace (to start tests with a breakpoint) or --pdb (to trigger a breakpoint if a test fails).

To trigger a breakpoint from a pure python run, use:

python -m pdbp <script.py>

Basic Pdb+ console commands: n, c, s, u, d => next, continue, step, up, down

(To learn more Pdb+ console commands, type help in the Pdb+ console and press Enter/Return.)

pdbp (Pdb+) makes improvements to pdbpp so that it works in all environments. It also includes other bug-fixes. "Sticky" mode is the default option, which shows multiple lines of code while letting you see where you're going (while typing n + Enter).

If you somehow reset pdb to Python's built-in version, you can always replace pdb with pdbp again as the default debugger by running this:

import pdb
import pdbp
for key in pdbp.__dict__.keys():
    pdb.__dict__[key] = pdbp.__dict__[key]

Here's how to customize pdbp/pdb options if you don't like the default settings: (Shown below are the default settings.)

import pdb
if hasattr(pdb, "DefaultConfig"):
    pdb.DefaultConfig.filename_color = pdb.Color.fuchsia
    pdb.DefaultConfig.line_number_color = pdb.Color.turquoise
    pdb.DefaultConfig.truncate_long_lines = False
    pdb.DefaultConfig.sticky_by_default = True

You can also trigger Pdb+ activation like this:

import pdbp
pdbp.set_trace()

pdbp (Pdb+) commands:

Post Mortem Debug Mode:

The where / w command, which displays the current stack:

Sticky Mode vs Non-Sticky Mode:

The default mode (sticky) lets you see a lot more lines of code from the debugger when active. In Non-Sticky mode, only one line of code is shown at a time. You can switch between the two modes by typing sticky in the Pdb+ console prompt and pressing Enter/Return.

Sticky Mode:

Non-Sticky Mode:

Tab completion:

Multi-layer highlighting in the same stack:

More examples:

Pdb+ is used by packages such as seleniumbase:

• https://pypi.org/project/seleniumbase/
• https://github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase

(Pdb+ is maintained by the SeleniumBase Dev Team)