Background
When I first started writing Golang, I was always looking for a convenient debugging tool. Back then, I came across documentation about using gdb to debug and also tried delve, but neither felt easy to use. Later, on someone’s advice, I went back to the good old print statements…
Over the past couple of days, I was debugging go test and found that tests would always hang when run per package. I couldn’t think of a suitable method at first, so I thought of delve again. After giving it a try, I found it has become much more mature than before.
Usage
dlv attach ${pid} is the method I use most often. After attaching, you can use debugging commands similar to gdb. You can use help to view specific commands.
(dlv) help
The following commands are available:
args ------------------------ Print function arguments.
break (alias: b) ------------ Sets a breakpoint.
breakpoints (alias: bp) ----- Print out info for active breakpoints.
call ------------------------ Resumes process, injecting a function call (EXPERIMENTAL!!!)
clear ----------------------- Deletes breakpoint.
clearall -------------------- Deletes multiple breakpoints.
condition (alias: cond) ----- Set breakpoint condition.
config ---------------------- Changes configuration parameters.
continue (alias: c) --------- Run until breakpoint or program termination.
deferred -------------------- Executes command in the context of a deferred call.
disassemble (alias: disass) - Disassembler.
down ------------------------ Move the current frame down.
edit (alias: ed) ------------ Open where you are in $DELVE_EDITOR or $EDITOR
exit (alias: quit | q) ------ Exit the debugger.
frame ----------------------- Set the current frame, or execute command on a different frame.
funcs ----------------------- Print list of functions.
goroutine (alias: gr) ------- Shows or changes current goroutine.
goroutines (alias: grs) ----- List program goroutines.
help (alias: h) ------------- Prints the help message.
libraries ------------------- List loaded dynamic libraries.
list (alias: ls | l) -------- Show source code.
locals ---------------------- Print local variables.
next (alias: n) ------------- Step over to next source line.
on -------------------------- Executes a command when a breakpoint is hit.
print (alias: p) ------------ Evaluate an expression.
regs ------------------------ Print contents of CPU registers.
restart (alias: r) ---------- Restart process.
set ------------------------- Changes the value of a variable.
source ---------------------- Executes a file containing a list of delve commands.
sources --------------------- Print list of source files.
stack (alias: bt) ----------- Print stack trace.
step (alias: s) ------------- Single step through program.
step-instruction (alias: si) Single step a single CPU instruction.
stepout (alias: so) --------- Step out of the current function.
thread (alias: tr) ---------- Switch to the specified thread.
threads --------------------- Print out info for every traced thread.
trace (alias: t) ------------ Set tracepoint.
types ----------------------- Print list of types.
up -------------------------- Move the current frame up.
vars ------------------------ Print package variables.
whatis ---------------------- Prints type of an expression.
Type help followed by a command for full documentation.
Many of these commands are the same as those in gdb. Another command I use frequently is grs, which outputs all goroutines. You can also use grs -t, which is equivalent to gdb’s t a a bt. The only slight drawback is that it only outputs 10 stack frames, and any additional ones are truncated.
Additionally, it seems that processes forked by go test can’t be attached to. If you want to test, you must first compile it into a test file and then execute it. You can refer to this issue for more details.
$ dlv attach 19654
could not attach to pid 19654: decoding dwarf section info at offset 0x0: too short
Furthermore, by default, Go’s test caches results, which can be controlled via environment variables. However, with Go modules (go mod), it’s recommended to use ./ddl.test -test.count=1 to disable caching. It doesn’t feel very elegant.