XState Docs

# @xstate/inspect

These XState v4 docs are no longer maintained

XState v5 is out now! Read more about XState v5 (opens new window) and check out the XState v5 docs (opens new window).

The @xstate/inspect package (opens new window) contains inspection tools for XState.

See CodeSandbox example here (opens new window)

# Installation

  1. Install with npm or yarn:
npm install @xstate/inspect
# or yarn add @xstate/inspect
  1. Import it at the beginning of your project, before any other code is called:
import { inspect } from '@xstate/inspect';

inspect({
  // options
  // url: 'https://stately.ai/viz?inspect', // (default)
  iframe: false // open in new window
});
  1. Add { devTools: true } to any interpreted machines you want to visualize:
import { interpret } from 'xstate';
import { inspect } from '@xstate/inspect';
// ...

const service = interpret(someMachine, { devTools: true });

# Inspect Options

// defaults
inspect({
  iframe: () => document.querySelector('iframe[data-xstate]'),
  url: 'https://stately.ai/viz?inspect'
});

// the above is the same as this:
inspect();

Arguments: the options object passed to inspect(options) with the following optional properties:

  • iframe (function or iframe Element or false) - resolves to the iframe element to display the inspector in. If this is set to iframe: false, then a popup window will be used instead.

    ⚠️ Note: you might need to allow popups to display the inspector in a popup window, as they might be blocked by the browser by default.

    By default, the inspector will look for an <iframe data-xstate> element anywhere in the document. If you want to target a custom iframe, specify it eagerly or lazily:

    // eager
inspect({
  iframe: document.querySelector('iframe.some-xstate-iframe')
});

    // lazy
inspect({
  iframe: () => document.querySelector('iframe.some-xstate-iframe')
});

  • url (string) - the URL of the inspector to connect to. By default, the inspector is running on https://stately.ai/viz?inspect.

Returns: an inspector object with the following properties:

  • disconnect (function) - a function that disconnects the inspector and cleans up any listeners.

# Implementing

You can implement your own inspector by creating a receiver. A receiver is an actor that receives inspector events from a source (like a parent window or a WebSocket connection):

  • "service.register"

    {
  type: 'service.register';
  machine: AnyStateMachine;
  state: AnyState;
  id: string;
  sessionId: string;
  parent?: string;
  source?: string;
}

  • "service.stop"

    {
  type: 'service.stop';
  sessionId: string;
}

  • "service.state"

    {
  type: 'service.state';
  state: AnyState;
  sessionId: string;
}

  • "service.event"

    {
  type: 'service.event';
  event: SCXML.Event<any>;
  sessionId: string;
}

To listen to events from an inspected source, create a receiver with the appropriate create*Receiver(...) function; for example:

import { createWindowReceiver } from '@xstate/inspect';

const windowReceiver = createWindowReceiver(/* options? */);

windowReceiver.subscribe((event) => {
  // here, you will receive "service.*" events
  console.log(event);
});

You can also send events to the receiver:

// ...

// This will send the event to the inspected service
windowReceiver.send({
  type: 'xstate.event',
  event: JSON.stringify({ type: 'someEvent' }),
  service: /* session ID of the service this event is sent to */
});

The typical inspection workflow is as follows:

  1. The inspect(/* ... */) call on the client opens the inspector (e.g., in a separate window, or creates a WebSocket connection)
  2. The receiver sends an "xstate.inspecting" event to the client
  3. The client sends "service.register" events to the receiver
  4. An inspector listening to the receiver (via receiver.subscribe(...)) registers the machine (event.machine) by its event.sessionId
  5. The machine is visually rendered, and its current state (event.state) is highlighted
  6. As the service at the source receives events and changes state, it will send the receiver "service.event" and "service.state" events, respectively
  7. The inspector can use those events to highlight the current state and keep a log of events sent to that service
  8. When the service stops, a "service.stop" event is sent to the receiver with the event.sessionId to identify the stopped service.

# FAQs

  • How do I run the inspector in a NextJS app?

    Ensure that the inspector code only runs on the client, rather than the server:

    if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
  inspect({
    /* options */
  });
}

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