Debugging on Mac OS X

  1. Open a project

    Each WebKit component -- JavaScriptCore, WebCore, and WebKit -- contains its own Xcode project. Open the project belonging to the component you want to debug.

  2. Set the project's build products location

    To find the WebKit you built, Xcode needs to know the build products location that build-webkit used. You can set the build products location from the project's Info window.

  3. Set the project's active build configuration

    Xcode also needs to know the build configuration you used. You can set the active build configuration from the project's Build window.

  4. Add a custom executable to the project

    Choose any WebKit application you want to use for debugging. To use Safari, select /Applications/Safari.app.

  5. Set the project's active executable

    You can set the active executable from the project's Build window. Choose the executable you just added.

  6. Close and re-open the project

    This will force Xcode to discover generated source files, which output to your build products location, allowing you to set breakpoints in them.

  7. Launch the debugger

    In the Debugger window, click the "Debug" button.

  8. See the Xcode Debugging Guide for more information on using Xcode to debug software on Mac OS X.

Debugging on Windows

  1. Open WebKit/WebKit/win/WebKit.vcproj/WebKit.sln

    You can open it in either Visual Studio 2005, or Visual C++ Express 2005. If you get errors about not being able to find .vsprops files, run update-webkit, then close and relaunch Cygwin and Visual Studio or Visual C++ Express.

  2. Set WebKit.vcproj as the solution's StartUp project

    Select the WebKit project in the Solution Explorer, then choose Project > Set as StartUp Project. This will cause the project to turn bold in the Solution Explorer.

  3. Set WebKit.vcproj's Debugging properties

    With the WebKit project selected, choose Project > Properties, then navigate to Configuration Properties > Debugging. Set the following options:

    Command
    $(PROGRAMFILES)\Safari\Safari.exe
    Environment
    WEBKITNIGHTLY=$(OutDir)

    Then click OK to close the properties dialog.

  4. Launch the debugger

    Choose Debug > Start Debugging.

It is also recommended that you follow the instructions to configure Visual Studio to use Apple's Safari for Windows symbol server. This will give Visual Studio the information it needs to provide reliable backtraces when pausing in the debugger or when a crash occurs.