Every developer, even experienced ones, spends hours debugging. It’s part of the process. The difference between beginners and experts isn’t that experts never make mistakes — it’s that they know how to fix them faster.
Step 1: Read the Error Carefully
The console gives you clues. It’ll tell you the exact line and file where the error happened. Go there first. Most of the time it’s something small — a missing comma, a mistyped variable, or trying to use something that doesn’t exist.
Step 2: Use Prints and Logs
Don’t be afraid to use print() statements to test what’s happening. Printing values at different stages helps you track down where the logic goes wrong. It’s the simplest and most effective debugging tool you have.
Step 3: Break Problems Down
If a system doesn’t work, don’t look at 500 lines at once. Disable half, test, then narrow it down until you find the broken part. Debugging is like detective work — one clue at a time.
Step 4: Learn to Think Like Lua
When you understand how Lua runs code, errors start to make sense. You’ll recognize why something is nil or why a function doesn’t trigger. That understanding comes from actually learning Lua fundamentals.
If you want to get good at debugging and write cleaner, smarter code, the FiveM Development Course on LearnFiveM.com covers these skills in detail. Once you can debug like a pro, no script will ever intimidate you again.