camunda / camunda/c8ctl

`cluster start --debug` produces no additional output compared to without the flag

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bug
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
7
Forks
0
Avg merge
15h 36m
Merged PRs (30d)
28

Description

Summary

c8ctl cluster start --debug produces identical output to c8ctl cluster start. The --debug flag has no visible effect on a successful startup.

Expected behavior

Per the help text (--debug Stream raw c8run output during start), the flag should show additional raw c8run output that is not shown in normal mode.

Actual behavior

The output is the same with or without --debug. The only raw c8run line (All processes are running and healthy, exiting script...) appears in both cases.

Root cause

In default-plugins/cluster/c8ctl-plugin.js, the startC8Run function captures all c8run output into startupOutput regardless of the --debug flag (line ~835). When debug is true, the output is also streamed in real time (line ~839). However, after c8run exits, printSummary always calls extractStartupSummary(rawOutput) which dumps the captured output to the console unconditionally (line ~776).

So the same output appears either way:

  • Without --debug: output is captured silently, then printed at the end via printSummary
  • With --debug: output is streamed in real time and printed again at the end via printSummary

On a fast, successful startup, c8run emits very little output before exiting, so there is no practical difference.

Possible fixes

  1. Suppress printSummary's raw output dump when --debug is active — since it was already streamed in real time, printing it again is redundant.
  2. Show more detail in debug mode — e.g., log the health-check polling attempts in waitForClusterReady, show the c8run spawn command and arguments, or increase the verbosity of the startup process.
  3. Both — avoid duplicating output and add more useful debug information.

Reproduction

# These produce identical output:
c8ctl cluster start
c8ctl cluster start --debug

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in default-plugins/cluster/c8ctl-plugin.js, especially startC8Run and printSummary, and reproduce cluster start with and without --debug. Check the captured c8run output and the optional waitForClusterReady diagnostics; done means debug mode provides distinct useful output without duplicating the normal startup output.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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