Debug Plexcord plugins using the Logger utility, Chrome DevTools, error boundaries, and common debugging techniques.

Debugging

Good debugging skills are the difference between spending 5 minutes and 5 hours fixing a bug. This guide covers Plexcord's built-in debugging tools and effective techniques.

The Logger

Plexcord provides a Logger class that outputs colorized, prefixed messages to the DevTools console. Always use this instead of plain console.log.

Creating a Logger

import { Logger } from "@utils/Logger";

// Create a logger for your plugin
// Parameters: name (shown as prefix), optional color (hex)
const logger = new Logger("MyPlugin", "#FFD700");

Logger Methods

logger.log("Basic message");           // Gray prefix
logger.info("Informational message");  // Blue prefix
logger.warn("Warning message");        // Yellow prefix  ⚠️
logger.error("Error message");         // Red prefix     ❌
logger.debug("Debug message");         // Only shown with debug mode on

Logging Values

// Log objects (they're inspectable in DevTools)
logger.log("Plugin state:", { count: 5, active: true });

// Log arrays
logger.info("Loaded items:", [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);

// Log errors with stack traces
try {
    doSomethingRisky();
} catch (e) {
    logger.error("Failed to do risky thing:", e);
}

Logger in Practice

import definePlugin from "@utils/types";
import { Logger } from "@utils/Logger";

const logger = new Logger("KeywordTracker", "#FF6B6B");

export default definePlugin({
    name: "KeywordTracker",
    description: "...",
    authors: [{ name: "You", id: 0n }],

    start() {
        logger.info("Plugin starting up");
        logger.log("Settings loaded:", settings.store);
    },

    stop() {
        logger.info("Plugin shutting down");
    },

    flux: {
        MESSAGE_CREATE({ message }) {
            logger.debug("Processing message:", message.id);
        }
    }
});

Opening DevTools in Discord

To access the browser console in Discord:

Platform	Shortcut
Windows / Linux	`Ctrl + Shift + I`
macOS	`Cmd + Option + I`
Alternative	Right-click → "Inspect Element"

If DevTools doesn't open, enable it first: Settings → Plexcord → Enable DevTools. On some builds, you may need to run Discord with --enable-devtools flag.

Filtering Console Output

In DevTools Console:

Type your plugin name in the filter box (e.g., MyPlugin) to see only your logs
Use log levels: click on the level dropdown to filter by Info/Warn/Error
Enable "Verbose" to see debug-level logs

Common Debugging Scenarios

Plugin Not Appearing in Settings

Check for TypeScript errors: pnpm tsc --noEmit
Verify the file is at the correct path (src/plugins/ or src/userplugins/)
Make sure it exports export default definePlugin({...})
Check for syntax errors: a single bad bracket stops the whole file from loading

`start()` Not Running

Open DevTools and check for:

// In DevTools console, check if plugin loaded:
Vencord.Plugins.plugins.MyPlugin
// Should show your plugin object, not undefined

If it's undefined, your plugin failed to load. Look for red error messages around the "Plexcord" prefix.

Settings Not Saving

// Bad: assigning to a nested object directly
settings.store.nested.value = "new";  // ❌ Won't trigger save

// Good: assign directly to store properties
settings.store.myValue = "new";  // ✅ Triggers save

Flux Events Not Firing

Test if the event fires at all:

// Add this temporarily to your plugin:
start() {
    const { FluxDispatcher } = Vencord.Webpack.Common;

    FluxDispatcher.register(action => {
        if (action.type === "MESSAGE_CREATE") {
            logger.log("Flux event received!", action);
        }
    });
},

If you see the log, the event fires but your flux: handler might have an issue. If you don't, the event name might be wrong.

Patches Not Working

Use the patch debugger in DevTools console:

// Find the module your patch targets
Vencord.Webpack.findAll(m => m.toString?.().includes("yourSearchString"))

If this returns an empty array, the string you're searching for doesn't exist in the loaded modules. Check your find value.

Inspecting Discord's Webpack Modules

Plexcord exposes Webpack tools in DevTools:

// Find any module by content
Vencord.Webpack.find(m => m.MessageStore)

// Find all matching modules
Vencord.Webpack.findAll(m => m?.default?.displayName === "Message")

// Get common modules
Vencord.Webpack.Common.UserStore.getCurrentUser()
Vencord.Webpack.Common.ChannelStore.getChannel("12345")

These are invaluable for understanding what data is available to your plugin.

Accessing Plugin State in DevTools

// Access your plugin object
const plugin = Vencord.Plugins.plugins.MyPlugin;

// Check settings
plugin.settings.store

// Call plugin methods
plugin.start()
plugin.stop()

Error Boundaries for React Components

If your plugin renders React components in Discord's UI, wrap them in error boundaries to prevent crashes from breaking Discord:

import ErrorBoundary from "@components/ErrorBoundary";

function MyComponent() {
    return (
        <ErrorBoundary
            noop          // Silent fallback (renders nothing on error)
            // fallback={<div>Component failed to render</div>}
        >
            <MyActualComponent />
        </ErrorBoundary>
    );
}

Debug Build vs. Release Build

When you run pnpm build --watch (watch mode), each file change triggers a rebuild. Full reloads apply the changes:

# Run in watch mode: rebuilds on file save
pnpm build --watch

In Discord with DevTools open (Ctrl+Shift+R to hard reload):

Save your plugin file
Wait for watch build to finish
Hard reload Discord via DevTools: Ctrl+Shift+R

Useful DevTools Console Snippets

// List all loaded plugins
Object.keys(Vencord.Plugins.plugins)

// Check if a specific plugin is enabled
Vencord.Plugins.isPluginEnabled("MyPlugin")

// Manually trigger plugin start/stop for testing
Vencord.Plugins.plugins.MyPlugin.start()

// Inspect raw settings storage
Vencord.Settings.plugins.MyPlugin

// Check Plexcord version
Vencord.Build.VERSION

Debugging Checklist

When something isn't working, go through this checklist:

TypeScript compiles without errors (pnpm tsc --noEmit)
Plugin appears in Vencord.Plugins.plugins
Plugin is enabled in Discord settings
No red errors in DevTools console
Correct event name in flux: handler
start() runs (add logger.info("started"))
Settings have the expected values (logger.log(settings.store))
Patches find their target (Vencord.Webpack.findAll(...))

Debugging

Debugging

The Logger

Creating a Logger

Logger Methods

Logging Values

Logger in Practice

Opening DevTools in Discord

Filtering Console Output

Common Debugging Scenarios

Plugin Not Appearing in Settings

`start()` Not Running

Settings Not Saving

Flux Events Not Firing

Patches Not Working

Inspecting Discord's Webpack Modules

Accessing Plugin State in DevTools

Error Boundaries for React Components

Debug Build vs. Release Build

Useful DevTools Console Snippets

Debugging Checklist

Next Steps

Advanced Features

Examples

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