---
title: $inspect
tags: rune-inspect
---

> [!NOTE] `$inspect` only works during development. In a production build it becomes a noop.

The `$inspect` rune is roughly equivalent to `console.log`, with the exception that it will re-run whenever its argument changes. `$inspect` tracks reactive state deeply, meaning that updating something inside an object or array using fine-grained reactivity will cause it to re-fire:

<!-- codeblock:start {"title":"$inspect(...)"} -->
```svelte
<!--- file: App.svelte --->
<script>
	let count = $state(0);
	let message = $state('hello');

	$inspect(count, message); // will console.log when `count` or `message` change
</script>

<button onclick={() => count++}>Increment</button>
<input bind:value={message} />
```
<!-- codeblock:end -->

On updates, a stack trace will be printed, making it easy to find the origin of a state change (unless you're in the playground, due to technical limitations).

## $inspect(...).with

`$inspect(...)` returns an object with a `with` method, which you can invoke with a callback that will then be invoked instead of `console.log`. The first argument to the callback is either `"init"` or `"update"`; subsequent arguments are the values passed to `$inspect`:

<!-- codeblock:start {"title":"$inspect(...).with(...)"} -->
```svelte
<!--- file: App.svelte --->
<script>
	let count = $state(0);

	$inspect(count).with((type, count) => {
		if (type === 'update') {
			debugger; // or `console.trace`, or whatever you want
		}
	});
</script>

<button onclick={() => count++}>Increment</button>
```
<!-- codeblock:end -->

## $inspect.trace(...)

This rune, added in 5.14, causes the surrounding function to be _traced_ in development. Any time the function re-runs as part of an [effect]($effect) or a [derived]($derived), information will be printed to the console about which pieces of reactive state caused the effect to fire.

```svelte
<script>
	import { doSomeWork } from './elsewhere';

	$effect(() => {
		+++// $inspect.trace must be the first statement of a function body+++
		+++$inspect.trace();+++
		doSomeWork();
	});
</script>
```

`$inspect.trace` takes an optional first argument which will be used as the label.