Reverse remote debugging with pdb

Allows remote debugging with pdb (Python built-in debugger) by reverse and direct connections to tools like netcat and socat.

Inspired by: https://pypi.org/project/rpdb/

Installation

pip install reverse_pdb

Usage:

Remote reverse debugging

1. Given this snippet to be debug with pdb

def add_numbers(a, b):
    return a + b
result = add_numbers(3, 5)

breakpoint()

print("The sum is:", result)

2. Add the following changes

from reverse_pdb import remote_pdb_reverse

def add_numbers(a, b):
    return a + b
result = add_numbers(3, 5)

rdb = remote_pdb_reverse("127.0.0.1", 4444)
rdb.set_trace()

print("The sum is:", result)

3. Run a netcat listener

nc -vlp 4444

4. Run your code and interact with pdb from the netcat session

Remote "direct" debugging

1. Add these changes

from reverse_pdb import remote_pdb

def add_numbers(a, b):
    return a + b
result = add_numbers(3, 5)

rdb = remote_pdb("127.0.0.1", 4444)
rdb.set_trace()

print("The sum is:", result)

2. Run a netcat client

nc -v localhost 4444

3. Run your code and interact with pdb from the netcat session

Note:

In the above examples the loopback (127.0.0.1) is used for simplicity, however, any IP/hostname is also valid.

Uses cases

Remote debugging from:

1. Behind a firewall/NAT
2. Airflow tasks
3. Sealed environments like AWS MWAA (AWS managed Airflow)

Author

Ulises ulises.odysseus22@gmail.com