[ Web Proxy ]
URL:
Viewing: https://docs.cloud.google.com/code/docs/intellij/debug [Back]  [Original]

Debug Kubernetes applications with Cloud Code for IntelliJ  |  Google Cloud Documentation Skip to main content
Google Cloud Documentation [Google Cloud Documentation]
Send feedback

Debug Kubernetes applications with Cloud Code for IntelliJ Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Note: Debugging support is available for Java, Kotlin, Node.js, Go, and Python.

Cloud Code for IntelliJ allows you to easily debug your applications deployed to a Kubernetes cluster. You can debug an application on a local cluster (like minikube or Docker Desktop), Google Kubernetes Engine, or any other Cloud provider.

With Cloud Code's debugging support, you skip manual setup like setting up port forwarding, installing a debugging backend, or injecting language-specific debug arguments in the right way. All you need is a Cloud Code-ready Kubernetes application that includes a skaffold.yaml configuration file.

Cloud Code also enables you to debug an application while making changes to, and iterating on, source code.

Supported IDEs

The following table lists the languages and IDEs that Cloud Code supports for debugging. The table also lists the required plugins, where applicable:

Language Supported IDEs and editions Required plugin
Java IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate N/A
IntelliJ IDEA Community N/A
Go IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Go plugin
GoLand N/A
Node.js IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Node.js plugin
WebStorm N/A
Python IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Python plugin
PyCharm Professional N/A

For more information about IDE support, see Supported JetBrains IDEs.

With Cloud Code, you can set breakpoints and debug remote applications running in containers for the following languages:

Java

Cloud Code automatically adds an environment variable, JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS, with the appropriate JDWP configuration to enable debugging. If JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS is already present, Cloud Code uses existing settings specified in JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS.

Node.js

Depending on the structure of your application and its image build configuration, you might have to help the debugger map your local sources to the remote sources in the container. This enables the Node debugger to correctly process your breakpoints.

You can configure this in one of the following ways:

Go

To configure your application for debugging, your app must be a Go Module-based application and be identified as being Go-based by setting one of the standard Go runtime environment variables in the container, such as GODEBUG, GOGC, GOMAXPROCS, or GOTRACEBACK. GOTRACEBACK=single is the default setting for Go and GOTRACEBACK=all is a generally useful configuration.

Optionally (but recommended), your app should be built with the -gcflags='all=-N -l' options to disable optimizations. Skaffold Profiles are a useful option for this purpose and can be set with the Deployment Profile field in your Run configuration on the Build/Deploy tab.

Python

To configure your application for debugging, ensure you meet the following prerequisites:

For more information, see the Skaffold debug documentation.

Debug an application

  1. To start the development cycle in debug mode on your Kubernetes cluster, click the debug action for run action icon [run action icon] Develop on Kubernetes.

    Starting the Kubernetes cluster development cycle in debug mode [Starting the Kubernetes cluster development cycle in debug mode]

    The continuous development cycle initiates in debug mode.

    Cloud Code attaches a debug session:

    Kubernetes debugger attached [Kubernetes debugger attached]

  2. You can now perform the tasks you normally do when debugging local code, like setting breakpoints and stepping through code, against a live Kubernetes cluster.

    Kubernetes debugger session [Kubernetes debugger session]

  3. To end the debugging session, click the stop icon on the Develop on Kubernetes Run Configuration.

What's next

Get support

To submit feedback or report an issue in your IntelliJ IDE, go to Tools > Cloud Code > Help / About > Submit feedback or report an issue to report an issue on GitHub.
Send feedback

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2026-08-11 UTC.

Need to tell us more? [[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2026-08-11 UTC."],[],[]]

Web Proxy Viewer  |  New URL  |  Original Page