How to debug AWS Lambda Node.js locally using serverless module? - node.js

Question

I am completely new to AWS and serverless etc. To speed up development I would like the ability to debug my application locally.
Following this article Running and Debugging AWS Lambda functions locally I have attempted to achieve just that.
In Visual Studio Code when I run the debug configuration, the application exits instantly without error (A break-point is set on the declaration and initialisation of the 'content' variable). I am not sure I have the function name correct. I am trying to enter at the main 'handler' function defined in 'index.js' as:
exports.handler = (event, context, callBack) =>
{
let bIsPostRequest = false, bIsPutRequest = false, bIsGetRequest = false, bIsDelRequest = false;
let content = "";
...
Here is my 'launch.json' configuration file:
{
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Debugger",
"program":
"${workspaceFolder}\\node_modules\\serverless\\bin\\serverless",
"args":[
"invoke",
"local",
"-f",
"index.handler", // function name
"--data",
"{}"
],
"outFiles": [
"${workspaceFolder}\\index.js"
]
}
]
}
Also, I am not 100% certain on the definition of 'outfiles' in the configuration. I have come to the conclusion it is the file(s) I am trying to debug, however if this is the case 'outfiles' does not seem a fitting name to me.
The local environment I am working in is a windows one.

Answer 1

After coming across this post I managed to get the debugger working. Here is the configuration to match my needs:
const lambdaLocal = require('lambda-local');
var lambdaFunc = require("./index.js");
lambdaLocal.execute({
lambdaFunc: lambdaFunc,
lambdaHandler: "handler",
event: {
context: {
"resource-path": "/products",
"http-method": "GET"
},
"body-json": {
name : "ProductA"
}
}
}).then(function(done) {
console.log(done);
}).catch(function(err) {
console.log(err);
});
I saved this file as 'debugLocal.js' in my main working directory. The launch.json file now looks as follows:
{
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Launch Debugger",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}\\debugLocal.js"
}
]
}
So far everything appears to be replicated fairly well. One thing to note is the file paths on includes had to be changed slightly i.e. require("./js/inc/globalDefines.js"); instead of require("js/inc/globalDefines.js");