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Version: 2.4

Form Runtime Debugger

The Fluent Form Runtime Debugger examines a rendered form with its current data and context. Use it when a field has an unexpected value or validation state, an effect changes another field, or the form cannot be submitted. The Form Logic Editor shows the configured relationships; the runtime debugger shows what happened in this form instance.

Open the debugger​

  1. In the avatar menu, expand Diagnostics and turn Debug on. This control requires the Toolbar.FluentDebugger privilege.
  2. Open the form you want to investigate. A round code button appears on the form while Debug is on; click it to open the debugger.
  3. Reproduce the issue after opening the form so the effect history contains the relevant interaction.

The debugger has two tabs: JEXL console for evaluating an expression in the current form, and Diagnostics for the current state, explanations, and recent effect runs.

Choose the scope​

The scope bar starts at Whole form. Use this to inspect the root form status and the complete recent effect history.

To focus on a node, click Select element by clicking and then click the rendered element, or search for it in Find element. Selection does not run that element's normal action. The selected element and its location in the form appear below the scope bar. Choose Whole form to clear the element scope.

Above the tabs, the selected node shows its current control status and validation error keys. A container can be invalid because of errors in child fields even when it has no error key of its own. The separate Whole form · Validation errors summary lists invalid controls in the form; click an item there to select it.

For a node bound to form data, Open in JEXL console inserts its path from the root, for example $value.customer.emails[0].address, and switches tabs. A layout node without a data path has no value-path action.

Root value versus selected value

Selecting a node changes the diagnostic scope. It does not replace the JEXL variable $value: $value always means the root form value. Use Open in JEXL console to inspect the selected node's value.

Read the diagnostics​

The Diagnostics tab checks the current form state and offers focused questions, such as why an element is hidden or what prevents submission. Refresh an explanation after changing the form; an older answer may refer to the previous state.

Effect history groups entries by recorded interaction. Expand a run to see the effects, their conditions, actions, outcomes, and paths they read or wrote. With an element selected, the list keeps effects directly related to its trigger, read, or write path, plus the upstream and downstream effects connected to them within the same run. A separate sibling branch is hidden. The count of shown and omitted effects follows the same selected scope. Switch to Whole form to see every recorded entry again.

Click an effect frame to inspect its captured context in the JEXL console. When available, this includes variables such as $event, $payload, $input, or $response from that frame. Copy for AI exports the displayed history as redacted JSON without raw form values; it follows the current scope. Clear effect history starts a fresh recording window.

Effect history is bounded. Older details can expire, and a path that was not recorded as an effect source cannot be inferred from the history. The displayed chain describes one recorded run; it does not prove causality across separate interactions or every read hidden inside an arbitrary expression.

Evaluate a value in the console​

The JEXL console evaluates against the current form. Enter $value for the whole form or a concrete path such as $value.customer.name for one field, then choose Evaluate or press Ctrl+Enter. You can select part of an expression and evaluate only that selection. Structured results use JSON syntax highlighting; plain text remains text. In a narrow debugger panel, the result fills the space below the expression editor. An effect frame selected in Diagnostics supplies its captured context to the console until you clear that frame selection.

For how effects are configured, see Form Effects and the Form Effects Reference.