ExDbug

A lightweight, namespace-based debugging utility for Elixir, inspired by Node.js's "debug" library. ExDbug enables contextual logging with zero production overhead and runtime-configurable output.

Features

• Toggle debug output dynamically via environment variables
• Zero overhead in production builds through compile-time optimization
• Namespace-based log filtering with wildcard support
• Rich contextual debugging messages
• Seamless value tracking across function chains
• Designed for both human debugging and LLM-assisted development

Installation

Add ex_dbug to your dependencies in mix.exs:

def deps do
  [
    {:ex_dbug, "~> 0.1.0"}
  ]
end

Then run:

mix deps.get

Configuration

Compile-time Settings

Configure ExDbug in your config.exs (or environment-specific config):

config :ex_dbug,
  enabled: true  # Set to false to compile out debug statements

Runtime Control

Control debug output using the DEBUG environment variable:

# Enable all debug output
DEBUG="*" mix run

# Enable specific namespace
DEBUG="myapp:specific" mix run

# Enable all except specific namespace
DEBUG="*,-myapp:secret" mix run

Pattern syntax:

• * - Enable all namespaces
• myapp:* - Enable all namespaces starting with myapp:
• *,-myapp:db - Enable all except myapp:db
• Multiple patterns can use commas or spaces as separators

Usage

Basic Debugging

defmodule MyModule do
  use ExDbug, context: :my_namespace

  def my_function do
    dbug("Starting my_function")
    # Your code here
    error("An error occurred")  # Logs error-level message
  end
end

Value Tracking

defmodule MyCalculations do
  use ExDbug, context: :my_calculations

  def compute do
    track(1 + 2, "sum_of_1_and_2")  # Logs and returns the computed value
  end
end

LLM-Assisted Development

ExDbug enhances AI-assisted development by providing detailed execution traces that help language models:

• Understand complex call paths
• Debug concurrent operations
• Generate accurate Elixir code
• Analyze runtime behavior

The detailed logs and namespace organization make it easier for AI tools to interpret program flow and state changes.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add tests for your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

Released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.