Most development environments come equipped with built-in debugging tools that work well during local development-but they face serious limitations in production systems. Typical examples include performance issues dependent on load, unexpected behavior from third-party libraries, or specific infrastructure configurations that can’t be reproduced during testing. In these cases, traditional debuggers fall short: they interrupt application runtime, are not suitable for complex real-time environments, and often require multiple redeployments, log analysis, or manual intervention. This slows down debugging and increases business risk.
Why Traditional Debuggers Aren’t Enough in Production
Traditional debuggers are designed for development environments-contexts where pausing application execution is acceptable, data is synthetic, and traffic is simulated. Production environments follow different rules. The Dynatrace Live Debugger enables developers to examine applications in real time, directly in production, without disrupting system operations. When an issue is detected, there’s no need to sift through logs, recreate it in test, or restart the app.
Key Improvements Over Traditional Debugging
- Production debugging – Investigate issues instantly, often without needing a separate test environment.
- Non-breaking breakpoints – Capture variable values, stack traces, and process information without halting execution.
- No deployment required – No need to redeploy or rebuild, accelerating the development cycle.
- Debugging without source code – Analyze external libraries and third-party services even when source code isn’t available.
- Integrated telemetry and logging – All relevant data in one place, within the IDE or Dynatrace platform.
Dynatrace Live Debugger vs. Traditional Debuggers
The Dynatrace Live Debugger offers capabilities found in no other tool, enabling developers to fix critical issues quickly and safely-even in production environments.
| Feature | Dynatrace Live Debugger | Traditional IDE Debugger (e.g. IntelliJ, VS Code) |
| Environment Support | Works in development, test, and production environments | Primarily for local or remote debugging; limited in production |
| Non-breaking Breakpoints | Yes – application execution is not interrupted | No – most debuggers pause application execution |
| Debugging Without Deployment | No rebuild or redeploy required; instant access to code state | Rebuild and redeploy often required |
| Third-party Code Support | Can debug even without source code (e.g. Apache Tomcat, Spring Boot, ExpressJS) | Debugging is limited or impossible without source code |
| Kubernetes and Multi-cloud Support | Yes – fully usable in production environments | Works locally or in limited remote contexts |
| Security and Data Protection | Enterprise-grade protection, source code isolation, auditable access | IDE-specific; no built-in auditing |
Real-World Enterprise Challenges Only Dynatrace Live Debugger Can Solve
Let’s look at real examples where Dynatrace Live Debugger helped resolve issues that would otherwise be difficult-or impossible-to address with traditional tools.
1. Error in Production That Can’t Be Reproduced Locally
Challenge:
A financial transaction system intermittently throws errors to users. However, the error cannot be reproduced in the test environment, and logs offer insufficient insight.
Solution:
Using the Dynatrace Live Debugger, developers set non-breaking breakpoints on the relevant functions. Snapshots from the live environment provided a clear view of the transaction state, variable values, and stack trace details. This revealed a rare case in the production database that triggered the error.
2. Anomaly in a Kubernetes-Based Microservice
Challenge:
One microservice instance becomes intermittently unavailable, while others function normally. Monitoring tools show no discrepancies.
Solution:
The Dynatrace Live Debugger allowed targeted debugging within the affected pod. The live snapshot uncovered that the service was stuck due to a database lock. Developers resolved the issue without restarting the system or stopping the service.
3. Multi-Region Load Balancing Error
Challenge:
A SaaS provider’s European customers experience intermittent API errors, while users in other regions see no issues. Logs show no differences, and infrastructure seems fine.
Solution:
With Dynatrace Live Debugger, developers traced request paths by region. They discovered that an outdated load balancer configuration was routing European traffic to an incompatible server. The issue was fixed immediately without any redeployment.
How to Use the Live Debugger
Using Dynatrace Live Debugger involves three simple steps:
- Select the line or function where you suspect the issue.
- Set a non-breaking breakpoint. This doesn’t interrupt execution but automatically captures all relevant data when the line runs.
- Analyze the results. The snapshot includes variable values, full stack trace, process context, and tracing details.
Breakpoints can also have time limits, trigger conditions, and logical filters.
Can You Use the Live Debugger Without Source Code?
Yes. Even without source code, breakpoints can be placed based on stack traces-where third-party libraries interact with your code. This allows debugging even when external code is inaccessible.
Availability of Dynatrace Live Debugger
In summary, the Dynatrace Live Debugger makes it possible to debug remote-yes, even production-environments directly from your IDE, with enterprise-grade security, scalability, and full observability.
The Live Debugger has been generally available since April 9, 2025.
Want to be among the first to harness the power of Live Debugger?
Contact the expert team at Telvice Zrt. and discover how to make the most of Dynatrace developer tools.
