Retain Node.js debug mode when starting another process - node.js

Question

To debug a Node.js process, I use:
node --inspect-brk foo_bar.js
But what if that instance would start another, separate instance, and this one would be - how to run that instance in debug mode as well?
The problem is, I am using the commander.js library for Node.js, like so:
var program = require('commander')
...
program.parse(process.argv)
This creates another instance of Node.js process, and hence I lose the debug functionality (I am debugging via Chromium browser). How can I overcome this?

Answer 1

Note: Commander only creates another process if you implement the subcommand using a stand-alone executable.
Commander detects debugger options being passed to the node invocation, and passes them to the subprocess with the debugging port incremented by 1.
e.g.
// index.js
const { program } = require('commander');
program
.command('sub', 'stand-alone');
console.log('1');
console.log('2');
program.parse();
// index-sub.js
console.log('3');
console.log('4');
% node --inspect-brk index.js sub
Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9229/25005682-6bf4-44fb-bdb2-2cc7749bb328
For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
Debugger attached.
1
2
Debugger listening on ws://127.0.0.1:9230/00d1924a-3122-4bef-86f2-65d562fbf3ed
For help, see: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/inspector
Debugger attached.
3
4