Legacy storefronts still run pipelines, and a pipeline is hard to follow from its XML alone. Intellij SFCC pauses a running pipeline on a node, opens the Pipeline Editor at that node and lists everything the pipeline has collected so far in the Pipeline Dictionary
SFCC Debug
Sandbox 01
version2
Cart.xml
SiteGenesis (3)How it works
Pipeline debugging runs inside the same Salesforce B2C Commerce (SFCC) debug session as the Script Debugger. Every session starts both: script breakpoints stop JavaScript and DemandwareScript, pipeline breakpoints stop pipeline nodes. A Script node can hand over to the script debugger, so a breakpoint in its .ds file stops there too
With a site scope selected, the session tells the instance which site you are debugging. With Global scope no site is sent
Set a breakpoint
Open the pipeline
Open the pipeline XML, for example app_storefront_controllers/cartridge/pipelines/Cart.xml. It opens in the Pipeline Editor
Mark a node
Select a node and click Breakpoint in the editor toolbar. You can also click the gutter of the XML source on a line that belongs to a node. The breakpoint shows up as SFCC Pipeline in Run › View Breakpoints
Start the session
Start the Salesforce B2C Commerce (SFCC) configuration with Debug, see Start a session
Run the pipeline
Open the storefront URL that runs it, for example https://<host>/on/demandware.store/Sites-SiteGenesis-Site/default/Cart-Show. The start node buttons of the Pipeline Editor open or copy that URL for you
When the request reaches the node, the console prints "Pipeline breakpoint hit." and the editor shows the paused node
While paused
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Step Over, Step Into, Step Out | Move through the pipeline node by node, the way the instance's pipeline debugger steps |
| Resume | Runs to the next pipeline or script breakpoint |
| Run to Cursor | Put the cursor on a node's line in the XML and the pipeline runs to that node |
After a step the console prints "Pipeline step paused."
The Frames list shows a Pipeline stack. Each frame reads as the pipeline name followed by the node ID
Pipeline Dictionary
The variables view opens with Pipeline Dictionary expanded. It holds the keys the pipeline has set so far, such as objects from pipelets and the outputs of script nodes. Expand objects to see their members, and use Evaluate Expression to check a value or a decision condition
When the pipeline stopped on an error, the dictionary starts with an Exception entry that names the exception type and message
Every frame of the stack shows the same dictionary, the one of the node where the pipeline is paused. To see values from an earlier node, set a breakpoint there and run the request again
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
| The session stops with "Debugger failed to initialize pipeline state before launch." | The pipeline debugger couldn't reach the instance. Check the connection, then start the session again |
| A pipeline breakpoint is never hit | Upload the pipeline, check that the request runs that pipeline and node, and select the site in the site scope widget |
| You can't set a breakpoint on an XML line | The line doesn't belong to a node. Use the node's own line, or set it in the graph |
| Dictionary values look the same in every frame | That is expected, see Pipeline Dictionary |
| A script node doesn't stop | Set a script breakpoint in its .ds or .js file. Pipeline breakpoints stop on nodes, not inside scripts |