debuggee

A debuggee is a program or process that is being debugged. In software debugging, the debuggee is the target of the actions performed by a debugger. The debugger controls the debuggee’s execution, enabling features such as breakpoints, stepping through code, inspecting and modifying memory and registers, and observing system calls. The debuggee may be launched by the debugger or the debugger may attach to an already running process using operating system facilities such as ptrace on Unix-like systems or Debug APIs on Windows.

During a debugging session, the debuggee is typically paused when a breakpoint is hit or when the debugger requests a suspend; the debugger then inspects the state and may resume, step through instructions, or alter values. The separation between debugger and debuggee allows debugging without modifying the program’s source code, although certain debugging techniques require modifying the program’s execution in memory at runtime (for example, inserting breakpoints or patching code).

Terminology: debuggee emphasizes the program as the subject of debugging; the counterpart debugger denotes the tool or person performing debugging. In some contexts the debuggee is called the target, the inspected process, or the debug target.

Security and safety: Attaching to a debuggee can pose security risks or cause instability, particularly for sensitive or real-time systems. Some environments restrict attachment, especially in production.

See also: Debugger, Breakpoint, ptrace, Debugging.