![\"Simon_Willison\u2019s_Weblog_and_DevTools_-_Node_js_and_Inspect_with_Chrome_Developer_Tools\"](\"https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/9599/131575749-a509c528-6746-42b0-8efd-03cd77f6dc2d.png\")
\n\nhttps://www.electronjs.org/docs/tutorial/debugging-main-process#--inspectport says you need to run:\n\n electron --inspect=5858 your/app\n\nI start Electron by running `npm start`, so I modified my `package.json` to include this:\n\n```json\n \"scripts\": {\n \"start\": \"electron --inspect=5858 .\"\n```\nThen I ran `npm start`.\n\nTo connect the debugger, open Google Chrome and visit `chrome://inspect/` - then click the \"Open dedicated DevTools for Node\" link.\n\nIn that window, select the \"Connection\" tab and add a connection to `localhost:5858`:\n\n![\"8_31_21__2_08_PM\"](\"https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/9599/131576143-03b28fd7-fab4-495a-8060-662b0247eabd.png\")
\n\nSwitch back to the \"Console\" tab and you can start interacting with the Electron environment.\n\nI tried this and it worked:\n\n```javascript\nconst { app, Menu, BrowserWindow, dialog } = require(\"electron\");\nnew BrowserWindow({height: 100, width: 100}).loadURL(\"https://simonwillison.net/\");\n```", "html": "I figured out how to use the Chrome DevTools to execute JavaScript interactively inside the Electron main process. I always like having a REPL for exploring APIs, and this means I can explore the Electron and Node.js APIs interactively.
\n
https://www.electronjs.org/docs/tutorial/debugging-main-process#--inspectport says you need to run:
\nelectron --inspect=5858 your/app\nI start Electron by running npm start, so I modified my package.json to include this:
\"scripts\": {\n \"start\": \"electron --inspect=5858 .\"Then I ran npm start.
To connect the debugger, open Google Chrome and visit chrome://inspect/ - then click the \"Open dedicated DevTools for Node\" link.
In that window, select the \"Connection\" tab and add a connection to localhost:5858:
Switch back to the \"Console\" tab and you can start interacting with the Electron environment.
\nI tried this and it worked:
\nconst { app, Menu, BrowserWindow, dialog } = require(\"electron\");\nnew BrowserWindow({height: 100, width: 100}).loadURL(\"https://simonwillison.net/\");