Where does Laravel DD() and Dump() output write to?

Question

I just picked up a Laravel project that I haven't touched in about 2 years. In the past, as I recall a DD() or Dump() would show up in the browser itself, somewhat embedded in all the other output results. I used the extensively for debugging, and it worked great. To be clear, the output that I'm referring to was black background, multi-colored characters, and dynamic so I could drill in to see records, parameters, etc.

Fast forward to now. I don't see any output at all. Example, if I run this code, I would expect to see "Testing dump from ReportController.php" in my browser, at the very top of the Reports blade:

 dump('Testing dump from ReportController.php');
  //****************************
  // R E T U R N   T O   reports.show
  return View('reports.show')
    ->with(compact('grid'))
    ->with(compact('gridSummary'))
    ->with(compact('report'))
    ->with(compact('reportqueries'))
    ->with(compact('reportdata'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsPOS'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsPOSH'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsINC'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsINCH'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsBUDG'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsVAC'))
    ->with(compact('availablereportsRECR'));
}

But...nothing. The blade renders just fine, but my text isn't there.

I'm clearly doing something wrong, or different than I did in the past. Where, exactly, does my message show up? Clearly this is a very simple example, but if I can find this then maybe I can work my way through the rest of my questions. I just don't know where to look.

Thanks,

Jeff

Answer 1

Some of the possible reasons why you are unable to see dump() output are:

Environment Configuration: Check your environment configuration files (e.g., .env) to see if there are any settings related to debugging or output. For example, the APP_DEBUG variable should be set to true in your .env file to enable detailed error messages and debugging information.

Middleware: Laravel's middleware can sometimes affect the output. Ensure that there are no custom middleware modifications in your project that might be interfering with the output.

Browser Developer Console: Sometimes, the output from dump() or dd() might not be immediately visible in the browser, especially if there are JavaScript errors or issues. Check your browser's developer console for any errors that might be preventing the display of debugging information.

In your case, if you are using Laravel 10, dd() and dump() should still work as expected. I am using Laravel 10 and dd() works like charm. Either used in browser or API testing tools like Postman, it works great and outputs the desired data in view.