Debug keys persist across server restarts even when "Persist debug settings" is off

[dirkwa]

Hi, thank you for all the great work on Signal K server!

While working on the R19 admin UI I noticed some confusing behaviour around debug logging.

What I found

There appear to be two separate mechanisms that persist debug keys across restarts:

1. The ~/.signalk/debug file, controlled by the "Persist debug settings over server restarts" toggle in Server Log.

2. The enableDebug field in each plugin's config file (e.g. plugin-config-data/freeboard-sk.json). This gets set to true when you activate a debug key via the Server Log dropdown — and because plugins.ts calls app.logging.addDebug(plugin.packageName) on every plugin start when enableDebug is true, the keys come back on every restart regardless of the "Persist" toggle.

The result is that users who select debug keys via the Server Log dropdown and then turn "Persist" off (or never turn it on) are surprised to find those keys still active after a restart.

Small separate bug

In logging.js, fs.unlinkSync(debugPath) is called unconditionally when turning "Persist" off. If the debug file doesn't exist this throws ENOENT, which prevents rememberDebug from being set to false and the DEBUG_SETTINGS event from being emitted. I have a one-line fix for this in a PR already.

Question

Is the enableDebug flag in plugin config intentional as a separate persistence mechanism, independent of the "Persist" toggle? If so, should the UI make this clearer? Or should the two mechanisms be consolidated?

Also wondering: since debug keys are now effectively persisted at the plugin config level anyway, is the "Persist debug settings over server restarts" toggle in Server Log still serving a purpose? Could it be removed to simplify the UI?

Happy to help with a fix once I understand the intended design. Thanks!

[tkurki]

I admit it is confusing and admit to having been confused by it.

@sbender9 what do you think if we just remove the Persist setting and always save the debug setting? Is there a use case, other than bailout from a bad configuration that prohibits server's normal operation somehow (too much logging, loop)? But even then you might have persistence on, so it does not really help.

[dirkwa]

The real estate on the server log page is precious,
what about we reorg that page:

top in one line/block

1. log searchable by pattern like "grep"
2. play/pause button
3. copy top clipboard button
4. remove debug selection and persistence here and leave that to the Server -> Plugin Config

main

5. maximize log output window

[dirkwa]

Related: #1514

[dirkwa]

Related: #1152