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Python Academy · Lesson

Debugging with pdb

Use Python's built-in debugger to step through code interactively.

What Is pdb?

pdb is Python's built-in interactive debugger. It lets you pause execution, inspect variables, and step through code line by line.

import pdb

def faulty(n):
    result = n * 2
    pdb.set_trace()   # execution pauses here
    return result + 1

faulty(5)

breakpoint() — Python 3.7+

breakpoint() is a built-in shorthand for import pdb; pdb.set_trace(). It respects the PYTHONBREAKPOINT env var.

def process(data):
    for item in data:
        if item < 0:
            breakpoint()   # drop into pdb here
        print(item)

process([1, -2, 3])

All lessons in this course

  1. The logging Module Basics
  2. Handlers, Formatters, and Filters
  3. Structured Logging
  4. Debugging with pdb
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