Debugging Xcode Plugins
The (short) guide for Xcode plugin debugging, based on my experiences working on Alcatraz package manager and DerivedData Exterminator
Attach LLDB to Xcode by its process ID:
xcode-debug() {
lldb -p `ps aux | grep Xcode | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}'`
}Add the xcode-debug function and a handy alias to your dotfiles, since debugging Xcode is very Hotel California:
alias xcd='xcode-debug'Add breakpoints to your plugin code for later inspection, using file names and line numbers:
(lldb) breakpoint set --file BestXcodePlugin.m --line 45Inspect all the things!
(lldb) po myObject
$0 = 0x0000000400131f00 <MyPluginObject: 0xabad1dea>And when you crash Xcode, check out the system logs:
tail -b 5 -f /var/log/system.logUseful Plugins for Development
- Xcode Explorer lists and filters notifications emitted by Xcode, and displays view hierarchies
- Plugin Console shows plugin log messages within the Xcode console
Written by Delisa Mason
Related protips
3 Responses
I have it on good authority that this will actually make the world implode.
ps aux | grep Xcode | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}'
or just pgrep Xcode ;)
With xCode 5, you can "run" your plugin by configuring it to debug xCode itself :
Managed Schemes > Run > Info tab > Executable = Xcode.app
I was very surprised that xCode is able to debug itself without side effects.
Have a fresh tip? Share with Coderwall community!
