Joomla - Debug

It is quite challenging for the developers to use the debugging system if they don't have tools to help them. However, Joomla contains a tool to perform this job, which is known as "Debug System". It includes a plugin combined with an option in 'Joomla's Global Configuration', which can be used to turn to the debug system on or off.

Joomla debug system allows developers to see session information, profile information, memory usage, database queries, log messages, and some other useful information. In this article, you will learn how to enable the debug system and access debug information in Joomla.

Enable Debug Mode in Joomla

First of all, you are required to enable the plugin known as 'System - Debug'. Check out the following steps to understand how to enable it.

• Login to your Joomla account and navigate to the "Extensions - Plugin" from the Joomla Taskbar.

• Enter 'debug' in the search box, and you will get a list showing only the 'System - Debug' plugin. It will look like the following image:

• Click on the checkbox which is available before the plugin's name and enable the plugin from the toolbar.

After you have enabled the plugin, you are required to activate the debug system through Joomla's Global Configuration. To activate the debug system in Joomla, you need to follow below steps:

• Navigate to the "System - Global Configuration" from the Joomla Taskbar.

• Click on the "System" tab to access the options available under this tab. You will see the Debug settings in the middle of your screen, as shown below:

• Click on "Yes" to activate the 'Debug System' and save the settings from the toolbar.

This process will add an extra footer on every page of the Joomla website. It will be displayed in both frontend and backend. It keeps all kinds of data that are required for debugging purposes. It will look like the following screen:

Enable Debug Mode only for Super Users

Joomla also provides you an option to hide debug information for all users of the website but limited to the super users. To do this, you need to follow below steps:

• Navigate to the "Extensions - Plugin" and click on the "System - Debug" plugin, that you have already accessed before.
• Click on the "Access" option available on the right side of the page and choose "Super Users" from the drop-down menu. Click on "Save" to keep the settings.

Now, the debug information will only be visible to the super users.