How do I debug a Node.js application?

Read what your application printed

An application that crashes says why, on its standard output. That output goes to a log file on your account rather than to your browser.

For a project deployed with Hodifly, it is one file per project and per branch:

~/logs/hodifly-<project>-<branch>.log

Everything your code writes with console.log or console.error is in there, along with the stack trace of anything that brought the application down. Open it in cPanel > File Manager, or over FTP. It survives deploys and rollbacks, and it is trimmed automatically when it gets large.

Do not confuse it with the deployment log (cPanel > Hodifly > your project > the deployment), which covers the build: installing dependencies, compiling. One tells you whether your code was built, the other what it did once it was running.

For an application you set up yourself in Setup Node.js App, add the same thing to the .htaccess file in the folder the domain points at, giving the full path:

PassengerAppLogFile "/home/USER/logs/my-app.log"

Get a fuller error page

By default the error page in the browser is deliberately bare. Passenger can show a detailed one instead, which is useful while you work but must not stay on a live site: add these to the same .htaccess file, and take them out afterwards.

PassengerAppEnv development
PassengerFriendlyErrorPages on

Split your problem in two

If the cause is still not obvious, create a small "Hello World" application. If it runs, the server is fine and the problem is in your code. If it does not, see "What should I do if a Node.js application won't start?".

Updated on: 31/08/2026