Debugging

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The npx shiplight debug command launches a visual debugger for YAML E2E test files. It opens a local web UI where you can browse tests, step through statements, inspect the browser, and edit YAML — the human-in-the-loop path for hand-tuning complex UI tests.

npx shiplight debug                                    # browse current directory
npx shiplight debug tests/                             # browse tests/ directory
npx shiplight debug tests/login.test.yaml              # open a specific test
npx shiplight debug tests/login.test.yaml --open       # open and launch browser

Create a New Test

Use --new to create a test file and start debugging immediately:

npx shiplight debug tests/checkout.test.yaml --new --url https://myapp.com/checkout

This creates the file with a starter template if it doesn't exist, then opens the debugger.

Options

Option	Description	Default
--port <n>	Server port	6174
--url <url>	Starting URL for new tests	—
--new	Create the test file if it doesn't exist	—
--open	Auto-open the debugger in your browser	—
--no-open	Don't auto-open the browser	default

The debugger auto-detects your playwright.config.ts and uses its settings (browser, baseURL, auth, etc.). If no config is found, it runs in standalone mode with a built-in browser sandbox.