How to Debug Variables in Smarty like in PHP var_dump()

Question

I have some variables inside a template and I don't know where I assigned them. I need to know what is inside a particular variable; for instance, say I have a variable in smarty called member. I tried with {debug} but it didn't work, and no popup was shown.

How can I output/debug smarty variables using something like var_dump() inside the templates?

score 374 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 30 '19 at 08:23

374

You can use {php} tags

Method 1 (won't work in Smarty 3.1 or later):

{php}

$var =
$this->get_template_vars('var');
var_dump($var);

{/php}

Method 2:

{$var|@print_r}

Method 3:

{$var|@var_dump}

edited Aug 30 '19 at 08:23

algorhythm

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answered Mar 12 '10 at 10:03

pinaki

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Resorting to php tags is not good practice and ideally they should be disabled for security reasons anyway. @debug_print_var (see answer from Chris) is a much better solition. – thelem Nov 21 '12 at 23:41
1

With the latest version of Smarty disabling the `{php}...{/php}` tags, Methods 2 or 3 are better options. – Luke Stevenson Jun 05 '13 at 11:55
1
Output looks even better if you surround it with
```
 tags. Methods above are the best.
```
– Alexander Kludt Feb 07 '14 at 13:59
3

Add an additional param to print_r() to make it return the output to smarty, to avoid an extra echo at the end: {$var|@print_r:true} – ivanhoe Dec 13 '14 at 09:54
1
Most clean view of the variable gives `{$var|@dump}` and it doesn't even need to be wrapped with `
`. `{$var|dump}` works just the same on Smarty 3.
– Sharak Jan 22 '22 at 12:52

Tom Haigh · Answer 2 · 2011-11-28T11:01:15.420

123

This should work:

{$var|@print_r}

or

{$var|@var_dump}

The @ is needed for arrays to make smarty run the modifier against the whole thing, otherwise it does it for each element.

edited Nov 28 '11 at 11:01

answered Mar 12 '10 at 10:12

Tom Haigh

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A lot better then the chose answer. – Damien Aug 15 '12 at 11:27
1

better then the chosen answer? srsly? the chosen answer has those solutions in it too but just contains one more for older smarty versions, so I cannot really get how you could say it's better than the chosen one xD – oliiix Mar 14 '18 at 12:16
@oliiix Just take a look at the revisions. In 2012 the answer was far away from where it is now! – csabinho Nov 03 '22 at 09:13

score 29 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 17 '13 at 20:03

29

For what it's worth, you can do {$varname|@debug_print_var} to get a var_dump()-esque output for your variable.

edited Sep 17 '13 at 20:03

Nathaniel Ford

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answered Sep 09 '11 at 09:32

Chris

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Sometimes you are not sure what the variable is and many times `@print_r` and `@var_dump` did not work (in x-cart for example), but `@debug_print_var` output was there. – skobaljic Nov 23 '13 at 00:37
Thanks so much! Your answer is the only that works form me. – Tana Nov 07 '17 at 16:35

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 28 '11 at 12:10

13

just use {debug} in your .tpl and look at your sourcecode

answered Apr 28 '11 at 12:10

david

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3

Nice. This actually created a pop-up window for me, so I didn't have to look at the source. Had to disable my pop-up blocker though. – Hobo Jul 11 '12 at 09:22

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 06 '17 at 19:46

6

In new Smarty it is:

<pre>
{var_dump($variable)}
</pre>

answered Mar 06 '17 at 19:46

Alexander Zakusilo

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karadayi · Answer 6 · 2017-07-02T10:45:30.790

5

Try out with the Smarty Session:

{$smarty.session|@debug_print_var}

or

{$smarty.session|@print_r}

To beautify your output, use it between <pre> </pre> tags

edited Jul 02 '17 at 10:45

answered Jan 13 '15 at 15:58

karadayi

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 12 '10 at 09:54

2

try this .... Set $debugging to TRUE in Smarty.

answered Mar 12 '10 at 09:54

RubyDubee

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sure i know that, but i need to do it without modding the core php files – streetparade Mar 12 '10 at 09:55

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 26 '17 at 13:09

1

To debug in smarty in prestashop 1.6.x :

{ddd($variable)} -> debug and die

{ppp($variable)} -> debug only

An onther usefull debug tag :

{debug}

answered Jun 26 '17 at 13:09

Aurelink

11
1

Bastilol · Answer 9 · 2017-11-28T10:17:50.127

1

If you want something prettier I would advise

{"<?php\n\$data =\n"|@cat:{$yourvariable|@var_export:true|@cat:";\n?>"}|@highlight_string:true}

just replace yourvariable by your variable

edited Nov 28 '17 at 10:17

answered Nov 13 '17 at 14:36

Bastilol

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score 1 · Answer 10 · answered Feb 15 '18 at 12:12

1

in smarty V3 you can use this

{var_dump($variable)}

answered Feb 15 '18 at 12:12

Awais fiaz

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score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Dec 11 '19 at 11:57

1

I prefer to use <script>console.log({$varname|@json_encode})</script> to log to the console.

answered Dec 11 '19 at 11:57

Peter van Sark

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r_a_f · Answer 12 · 2020-04-01T12:19:05.043

1

{$variable|@debug_print_var nofilter} and you not need to add "<pre>" tags

{$variable|var_dump} show you more (but worse formatting) because debug_print_var not showing private variable in object!

edited Apr 01 '20 at 12:19

answered Apr 01 '20 at 12:09

r_a_f

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score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 10 '22 at 11:42

1

For better display :

{$var|@dump}

answered Nov 10 '22 at 11:42

Nicolas Facciolo

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score 0 · Answer 14 · edited Jan 09 '14 at 10:19

0

In smarty there is built in modifier you could use that by using | (single pipeline operator). Like this {$varname|@print_r} will print value as print_r($php_variable)

edited Jan 09 '14 at 10:19

Saghir A. Khatri

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answered Jan 09 '14 at 09:57

Pranav Bhatt

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How to Debug Variables in Smarty like in PHP var_dump()

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