In case you run into issues here are a few tips that can help you diagnose the problem.
Generally, it's not a bad idea to configure Emacs to spit the backtrace on error
(instead of just logging the error in the *Messages*
buffer). You can toggle
this behavior by using M-x toggle-debug-on-error
.
Debugging Projectile commands
Emacs features a super powerful built-in Emacs Lisp debugger and using it is the best way to diagnose problems of any kind.
Tip
Here's a great crash course on using the debugger.
To debug some command you need to do the following:
- Figure out the name of the command you want to debug (e.g. by using C-h k to see which command is associated with some keybinding)
- Find the source of the command (e.g. by using M-x
find-function
RETfunction-name
) - Press C-u C-M-x while in the body of the function
- Run the command again
At this point you'll be dropped in the debugger and you can step forward until you find the problem.
Profiling Projectile commands
Emacs comes with a built-in profiler. Using it is pretty simple:
- Start it with M-x
profiler-start
. - Invoke some commands.
- Get the report with M-x
profiler-report
.
Tip
If you intend to share the profiling results with someone it's a good idea to save the report buffer to a file with C-x C-w.
Commonly encountered problems (and how to solve them)
Sometimes a Projectile command might hang for a while (e.g. due to a bug or a configuration issue). Such problems are super annoying, but are relatively easy to debug. Here are a few steps you can take in such situations:
- Do M-x
toggle-debug-on-quit
- Reproduce the problem
- Hit C-g around 10 seconds into the hang
This will bring up a backtrace with the entire function stack, including function arguments. So you should be able to figure out what's going on (or at least what's being required).
I upgraded Projectile using package.el
and nothing changed
Emacs doesn't load the new files, it only installs them on disk. To see the effect of changes you have to restart Emacs.