Debugging

Debugging messages can be enabled by a Site Administrator in Quick-access menu > Development > Debugging.

Debugging messages are intended to help diagnose problems and/or help Totara developers. By default Totara does not show any error messages through the interface. If you are having problems (e.g. blank screens or incomplete screens), turning on debugging is usually the first thing to try.

There are two main settings which control debugging output. Display debug messages controls whether debugging messages are displayed in the interface or just recorded in the server logs. Debug messages determines the severity at which a debugging message is displayed or recorded, or otherwise discarded.

For production sites we recommend setting Display debug messages to No, to prevent debugging messages from being displayed to users. Otherwise, this could make the site vulnerable from a security perspective, as debug messages can give clues to a hacker as to the setup of your site.

We recommend production sites set Debug messages to Minimal or Normal. Minimal will ensure that severe problems are logged. Setting to Normal will ensure that minor problems and notices are also logged, but this may cause the server error log to grow rapidly, potentially filling available disk space. In either configuration, ensure that your server logs are properly configured to be purged when appropriate.

If you have a problem with your Totara site and ask for help, a developer may ask you to turn debug messages on, in order to locate the cause of the problem. If debugging must be reproduced on a production site, it is recommended to only increase the level of debugging by setting Debug messages to All or Developer, then returning the setting to its original value after the debugging messages have been recorded in the site logs. On non-production sites, additionally setting Display debug messages to Yes will allow debugging messages to be displayed directly through the interface.

Debugging settings

You can configure the debugging settings by going to Development > Debugging from the Administration block. Remember to click Save changes once you have made any adjustments. 

define('MDL_PERF', true);
 define('MDL_PERFDB', true);
 define('MDL_PERFTOLOG', true);
 define('MDL_PERFTOFOOT', true);