Skip to main content

Debug intents

  • How-to guide
  • 5-min read

When intents don't behave as expected, you can diagnose the problem with browser console methods and common troubleshooting patterns.

Browser console methods​

The AppShell exposes two global methods for debugging intents from the browser's developer tools.

Prerequisites​

  1. Open your browser's developer tools by pressing F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I in Windows/Linux and Cmd+Option+I in Mac.
  2. Set the JavaScript context to top, not the app's iFrame. This is important because the AppShell methods are only available in the top-level context.

Debug intents

sendIntent method​

Use this method to test the receiving side of your app without building the sending UI first. The global sendIntent method has the same functionality as the SDK method.

Use it to manually trigger an intent from the console and test how the AppShell resolves it:

// Test if your intent payload opens the right target
sendIntent({ 'dt.entity.host': 'HOST-F66B242CD3A5E38E' });

// Test with explicit target to bypass the dialog
sendIntent(
  { 'dt.entity.host': 'HOST-F66B242CD3A5E38E' },
  {
    recommendedAppId: 'dynatrace.classic.hosts',
    recommendedIntentId: 'view-host',
  },
);

lastIntent variable​

Use it to verify that the source app sent the payload you expected. If the payload is missing properties or has unexpected values, the issue is on the sending side. The lastIntent variable holds a reference to the most recently sent intent in your browser window:

lastIntent;
// -> { intentPayload: { 'dt.entity.host': 'HOST-F66B242CD3A5E38E' } }

Troubleshoot common problems​

No matching app​

Nothing appears in the Open with... dialog. The AppShell found no installed app whose intent declarations match the payload properties.

Check the following:

  1. Is the target app installed?—the app must be installed in the environment. Check the Hub.
  2. Do the required properties match?—the target app's intent declaration must have required: true for at least one property that the source app includes in the payload. Open the Intent Explorer and compare.
  3. Is the property name exact?—property names are case-sensitive. dt.entity.Host is not dt.entity.host.
  4. Is the schema type correct?—if the target declares "schema": { "type": "string" } but the source sends an object, the match fails.

App matches unintended payloads​

Your app's intent declaration is too broad, so it matches payloads you didn't intend.

Check the following:

  1. Are your required properties specific enough?—if your intent only requires dt.query, which is a very common property, your app matches almost every intent that includes a query. Add more required properties to narrow the match.
  2. Is this a self-intent?—your app may appear in its own Open with... standalone dialog when you send an intent with properties your own app also handles. This is expected behavior. Use keyProperties in sendIntent() to narrow matching.

Intent opens the wrong app​

When using recommended intents, the recommendedAppId or recommendedIntentId may be wrong.

Check the following:

  1. Verify the recommended intent mapping—look up the correct app and intent ID for your resource type in the recommended intents list.
  2. Fallback behavior—if the recommendedAppId does not exist or cannot handle the payload, the AppShell falls back to the Open with... dialog. This is by design, not a bug.

Target app receives incomplete properties​

The AppShell strips payload properties that the target app does not declare in its intent configuration.

Check the following:

  1. Declare all properties you need—in your app.config.json, every property your app needs to read must be listed in the intent's properties object. Undeclared properties are silently removed.
  2. Use lastIntent on the target side to see the full payload as received.

Add-on modal doesn't open​

The intent opened the target app in a new page instead of a modal overlay.

Check the following:

  1. Is visualMode: "modal" set?—the target app's intent declaration in the app.config.json file must include "visualMode": "modal" for the intent to render as an add-on. You can verify this in the Intent Explorer's Intent Properties panel.
  2. Is the add-on triggered from within another add-on?—currently, when an add-on triggers another add-on intent, the calling add-on closes and the new one opens. This is a known limitation. The calling context is lost.

Intent payload is too large​

This was a known issue where the AppShell encoded intent payloads as URL query arguments, and very large payloads caused rendering errors. This has been fixed.

If you still encounter payload size issues, keep payloads concise as a best practice: pass identifiers (entity IDs, query strings) rather than large data objects. If you need to share a large dataset, pass a reference (for example, a document ID) and let the target app fetch the data.

Next steps​

Still have questions?
Find answers in the Dynatrace Community