SignalPress debugging tools help developers inspect runtime state, trace errors, and work safely with full-page caches — without leaving WordPress. This section is for troubleshooting developers, separate from Capturing Events with sp_capture() (production event delivery).
Open SignalPress → Settings → Debugging for most options. SignalPress → System Logs (left menu) is a separate viewer for the PHP error log.
What each tier includes
| Tier | Debugging features |
|---|---|
| 0 (Free) | Basic sp() — screen + browser console |
| 1 (Plus) | System Logs viewer, Capture toasts (admins, off by default) |
| 2 (Pro) | Pro debugging (PHP + JS), Clockwork, cache compatibility, automatic error monitoring |
See Free vs SignalPress Pro for the full tier matrix.
The unified sp() helper
Both free and Pro tiers expose sp() in PHP and JavaScript:
PHP
sp( $order, 'Checkout payload' );
JavaScript
sp(window.location.href, 'Current URL');
sp_dump() is an alias. When Tier 2 Pro debugging is active and licensed, Pro owns sp() entirely. Otherwise the basic debugger handles captures.
Permissions
| Permission | Feature |
|---|---|
| Manage debugging | Debugging tab settings, runtime output, cache bypass cookie, reload-without-cache links |
| View System Logs | Open System Logs page and fetch rows |
| Clear logs | Clear the PHP error log file (when writable under wp-content) |
On Tier 0 and Tier 1, only administrators effectively have these capabilities. On Tier 2, grant them per role — Permissions and Access.
Admin locations
| Feature | Where |
|---|---|
| Debugging settings | SignalPress → Settings → Debugging |
| Cache compatibility | Same tab — Cache compatibility section |
| Clockwork diagnostics | Same tab — Clockwork section |
| Automatic error monitoring | Same tab — below Pro settings |
| System Logs | SignalPress → System Logs |
Per-integration Developer diagnostics (browser console logging, PHP error log) and optional Capture toasts live on each service Settings tab — Tier 1+. See Pro debugging.
When to use what
| Goal | Start here |
|---|---|
| Quick variable dump on a page | Basic sp() or Pro debugging |
| Rich DevTools timeline | Clockwork |
| Site uses LiteSpeed / NitroPack | Cache compatibility |
| Capture PHP/JS errors as SignalPress events | Automatic error monitoring |
Read debug.log without SSH | System Logs |
| Trace why an event did not deliver | Connection Tests and Delivery Log |
| Confirm an event sent while browsing the storefront | Capture toasts |
Safety defaults
- Debugging runtimes are off by default (basic and Pro).
- Output is limited to users with Manage debugging (or administrators on lower tiers).
- Basic and Pro redact secret-like keys from dumps.
- Pro skips REST, AJAX, JSON, cron, and WP-CLI requests for screen output.
- Automatic error monitoring never interrupts the original request when capture fails.
What to read next
- Basic debugging with sp() — free tier screen and console output
- Pro debugging — channels, destinations, and JS API
- Clockwork and Chrome DevTools — DevTools extension workflow
- Debugging with page caches — LiteSpeed and NitroPack bypass
- Automatic error monitoring — PHP and browser errors as events
- System Logs viewer — dashboard access to
debug.log