Unified Run and Debug Experience

Xano's new Unified Run and Debug experience brings together the old Run panel and the old Debugger into a single, streamlined interface. Whether you're testing an API endpoint or tracing how data flows through a complex function stack, this update makes the entire process faster and more intuitive. Let's walk through everything you need to know.

Getting Started with the Run Panel

When you click the blue Run button on your endpoint, a panel slides out from the right side of the screen. By default, you'll land on the Input tab, where you can enter values to simulate incoming data. If your endpoint uses a Get All Root Input function, you can hardcode values here to mimic real requests — great for testing without live data.

Exploring the Response, Timing, and Debug Tabs

Once you run your endpoint, the Response tab displays your results. From here, you can copy the response, grab the cURL command, or copy the auth token. You can also create an init test or jump straight into the debugger.

The Timing tab gives you a breakdown of how long each element in your function stack took to execute. This is invaluable for spotting bottlenecks — for example, you might discover that an external API call is responsible for the bulk of your response time.

The Debugger tab is where things get truly interactive. Clicking Activate Debugger brings up simplified controls: Stop, Restart, and Next. If you prefer the classic step-in and step-out controls, toggle on Advanced Options to reveal that familiar UI.

Navigating with Keyboard Shortcuts

One of the most convenient upgrades is keyboard navigation. Use your arrow keys to step through your function stack, watching variables populate in real time on the right side of the screen. To step inside a function, press Alt + Down Arrow. This lets you travel freely through nested logic without ever leaving your keyboard.

Working with Subpaths Like Never Before

Subpaths have been completely reworked to speed up development. Once you've run your function stack and data is available, you can click on any variable in the debugger to open its variable panel. From there, hit the Subpath button to browse your live data and select the exact path you need — no more copying and pasting values manually.

If a variable doesn't have data yet, simply save it and run the stack again. The data will then be available for subpath selection. You can navigate nested objects and arrays with ease, and Xano will even indicate array indexes automatically (like index zero for the first item). Remove the index to retrieve all items in an array at once.

Putting It All Together

With the Unified Run and Debug experience, you can troubleshoot endpoints, analyze performance timing, step through business logic interactively, and build precise subpaths — all in one place. It's a significant quality-of-life improvement that keeps you in flow and builds faster.