Debug Your App with Developer Menu Tools

The in-app developer menu provides access to debugging tools, including an element inspector and performance monitor.

Set up port forwarding

To access the developer menu debugging tools of your app, connect your app to the Metro bundler. To connect your app to the Metro bundler, you must set up port forwarding.

To set up port forwarding

• Open a command prompt, and run the following command, depending on your device.

  Vega Virtual Device:

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   vega virtual-device start
  

   vega device start-port-forwarding --device <DEVICE_NAME> -p <PORT> --forward false
  

  Fire TV Stick:

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   vda reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081 && vda reverse tcp:8097 tcp:8097
  

Start the Metro bundler

Before you start your app, by using the Vega Virtual Device or a Fire TV Stick, start the Metro bundler.

To start the Metro bundler

• Open a command prompt, and run the following command.

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   npm start
  

Start your app

After you start the Metro bundler, you can start your app.

To start your app

• Follow the instructions to start your app in either the Vega Virtual Device or Fire TV Stick.

Debug your app

After you have your app running in either the Vega Virtual Device or Fire TV Stick, you can debug your app.

To debug your app

1. In the Metro bundler terminal window, press d to open the developer menu in your running app.

2. Choose a debugging option:

• Reload - reloads the app.
• Open Debugger - opens the Flipper debugger (React Native 0.72) or Chrome DevTools (React Native 0.73 or later). You can also access the debugger using Chrome's remote debugger.
• Show Element Inspector - displays the React Native's element inspector.
• Disable Fast Refresh - disables hot-reloading of the app after code changes.
• Configure Bundler - configures the address where the JavaScript bundle is available.
• Show Perf Monitor - opens the performance monitor.

Related topics

• Fix Debugging Issues
• Perform Line-by-Line Debugging with Vega Studio
• Manage Files, Crash Reports, and Logs
• React Native basic debugging docs

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Last updated: Jul 22, 2026