---
type: docs
title: "Debug daprd on Kubernetes"
linkTitle: "Dapr sidecar"
weight: 2000
description: "How to debug the Dapr sidecar (daprd) on your Kubernetes cluster"
---


## Overview

Sometimes it is necessary to understand what's going on in the Dapr sidecar (daprd), which runs as a sidecar next to your application, especially when you diagnose your Dapr application and wonder if there's something wrong in Dapr itself. Additionally, you may be developing a new feature for Dapr on Kubernetes and want to debug your code.

This guide covers how to use built-in Dapr debugging to debug the Dapr sidecar in your Kubernetes pods. To learn how to view logs and troubleshoot Dapr in Kubernetes, see the [Configure and view Dapr logs guide]({{< ref "logs-troubleshooting.md#logs-in-kubernetes-mode" >}})

## Pre-requisites

- Refer to [this guide]({{< ref kubernetes-deploy.md >}}) to learn how to deploy Dapr to your Kubernetes cluster.
- Follow [this guide]({{< ref "debug-dapr-services.md">}}) to build the Dapr debugging binaries you will be deploying in the next step.


## Initialize Dapr in debug mode

If Dapr has already been installed in your Kubernetes cluster, uninstall it first:

```bash
dapr uninstall -k
```
We will use 'helm' to install Dapr debugging binaries. For more information refer to [Install with Helm]({{< ref "kubernetes-deploy.md#install-with-helm-advanced" >}}).

First configure a values file named `values.yml` with these options:

```yaml
global:
   registry: docker.io/<your docker.io id>
   tag: "dev-linux-amd64"
```

Then step into 'dapr' directory from your cloned [dapr/dapr repository](https://github.com/dapr/dapr) and execute the following command:

```bash
helm install dapr charts/dapr --namespace dapr-system --values values.yml --wait
```

To enable debug mode for daprd, you need to put an extra annotation `dapr.io/enable-debug` in your application's deployment file. Let's use [quickstarts/hello-kubernetes](https://github.com/dapr/quickstarts/tree/master/tutorials/hello-kubernetes) as an example. Modify 'deploy/node.yaml' like below:

```diff
diff --git a/hello-kubernetes/deploy/node.yaml b/hello-kubernetes/deploy/node.yaml
index 23185a6..6cdb0ae 100644
--- a/hello-kubernetes/deploy/node.yaml
+++ b/hello-kubernetes/deploy/node.yaml
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ spec:
         dapr.io/enabled: "true"
         dapr.io/app-id: "nodeapp"
         dapr.io/app-port: "3000"
+        dapr.io/enable-debug: "true"
     spec:
       containers:
       - name: node
```

The annotation `dapr.io/enable-debug` will hint Dapr injector to inject Dapr sidecar into the debug mode. You can also specify the debug port with annotation `dapr.io/debug-port`, otherwise the default port will be "40000".

Deploy the application with the following command. For the complete guide refer to the [Dapr Kubernetes Quickstart](https://github.com/dapr/quickstarts/tree/master/tutorials/hello-kubernetes):

```bash
kubectl apply -f ./deploy/node.yaml
```

Figure out the target application's pod name with the following command:

```bash
$ kubectl get pods

NAME                       READY   STATUS        RESTARTS   AGE
nodeapp-78866448f5-pqdtr   1/2     Running       0          14s
```

Then use kubectl's `port-forward` command to expose the internal debug port to the external IDE:

```bash
$ kubectl port-forward nodeapp-78866448f5-pqdtr 40000:40000

Forwarding from 127.0.0.1:40000 -> 40000
Forwarding from [::1]:40000 -> 40000
```

All done. Now you can point to port 40000 and start a remote debug session to daprd from your favorite IDE.

## Commonly used `kubectl` commands

Use the following common `kubectl` commands when debugging daprd and applications running on Kubernetes.

Get all pods, events, and services: 

```bash
kubectl get all
kubectl get all --n <namespace>
kubectl get all --all-namespaces
```

Get each specifically:

```bash
kubectl get pods
```

```bash
kubectl get events --n <namespace>
kubectl get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp --n <namespace>
```

```bash
kubectl get services
```

Check logs:

```bash
kubectl logs <podId> daprd
kubectl logs <podId> <myAppContainerName>
kuebctl logs <deploymentId> daprd
kubectl logs <deploymentId> <myAppContainerName>
```

```bash
kubectl describe pod <podId>
kubectl describe deploy <deployId>
kubectl describe replicaset <replicasetId>
```

Restart a pod by running the following command: 

```bash
kubectl delete pod <podId>
```

This causes the `replicaset` controller to restart the pod after the delete.

## Watch the demo

See the presentation on troubleshooting Dapr on Kubernetes in the [Dapr Community Call #36](https://youtu.be/pniLPRbuLD8?si=bGid7oYSp9cThtiI&t=838). 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pniLPRbuLD8?si=bGid7oYSp9cThtiI&amp;start=838" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## Related links

- [Overview of Dapr on Kubernetes]({{< ref kubernetes-overview >}})
- [Deploy Dapr to a Kubernetes cluster]({{< ref kubernetes-deploy >}})
- [Debug Dapr services on Kubernetes]({{< ref debug-dapr-services >}})
- [Dapr Kubernetes Quickstart](https://github.com/dapr/quickstarts/tree/master/tutorials/hello-kubernetes)