# Developer mode and the technical menus

Developer mode is a session switch that reveals the Technical menu, technical fields and the debug menu. Activate it from the Developer Tools block or with ?debug=1 in the address bar, and leave it when you are done.

Developer mode is neither a permission nor a user setting: it is a switch kept in your browser session. While it is on, Jaah shows what it normally hides: the **Technical** and **Translations** menus of Settings, **Groups** and **Privileges** under Users & Companies, technical fields and columns, extra links in General Settings, and a bug icon in the top bar that opens the debug menu. It stays on until you leave it or log out. Administrators turn it on from General Settings; anyone can append `?debug=1` to an address, but what then appears still depends on their access rights.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the *Role / Administrator* role to use the **Developer Tools** block of General Settings; without it, use the address bar.
- Developer mode reveals tools that change the system for everyone: views, actions, record rules, parameters. Read first, change only what you understand, and try experiments on a test database.
- Choose the variant. The plain mode is enough for the technical menus. The variant **with assets** loads the interface files non-minified, for debugging the interface; the variant **with tests assets** also loads the test files. Both are slower.

## Steps {#steps}

1. Open **Settings/General Settings** and scroll down to **Developer Tools**, the block just before **About**. It offers three links: **Activate the developer mode**, **Activate the developer mode (with assets)** and **Activate the developer mode (with tests assets)**.

![The Developer Tools block of General Settings with the three activation links.](https://jaah.app/web/image/6998-c35da385/general-settings-developer-mode-developer_tools-en.png)

2. Click **Activate the developer mode**. The page reloads and the address now carries `?debug=1`. A bug icon appears in the top bar; its tooltip reads **Open developer tools**.

![After the reload, the bug icon of the debug menu is in the top bar.](https://jaah.app/web/image/7002-f4697276/general-settings-developer-mode-debug_icon-en.png)

3. Look at the Settings menu bar. **Technical** is there with its folders **User Interface**, **Email**, **Database Structure**, **Automation**, **Security**, **Parameters**, **Actions** and **Sequences & Identifiers**; on this platform it also holds **Brand Identity**. **Translations** offers **Languages**, **Import / Export** and **Application Terms**. **Users & Companies** gains **Groups** and **Privileges**. In General Settings, the links **Manage Languages**, **Edit Layout** and **Preview Document**, the **Import & Export** setting and the blocks **Progressive Web App** and **Performance** appear; in the Apps app, **Update Apps List** and **Apply Scheduled Upgrades**.
4. Click the bug icon. The debug menu lists tools for the current screen, for instance **Fields**, **Access Rights** and **Record Rules** of the current model, **Set Default Values**, and **Metadata** of an open record, followed by general tools: **Regenerate Assets**, **Become Superuser** (administrators only), **Activate Test Mode** and **Leave Debug Mode**.

![The debug menu with the tools of the current screen and "Leave Debug Mode" at the end.](https://jaah.app/web/image/7006-935ef0a9/general-settings-developer-mode-debug_menu-en.png)

5. When you are done, choose **Leave Debug Mode** in that menu. The page reloads without the flag and the bug icon disappears. The **Developer Tools** block offers **Deactivate the developer mode** for the same purpose, and `?debug=0` in the address bar works everywhere. Logging out ends it as well.

!!! warning "Become Superuser"
    **Become Superuser** runs your session as the superuser account, which the usual access rights do not apply to. Use it only to diagnose a problem, and leave it as soon as you have what you need.

## Result {#result}

Developer mode is off again: the technical menus, the technical fields and the bug icon are hidden. Looking around changed nothing; only what you confirmed inside a technical form took effect, and it took effect for every user.

## FAQ {#faq}

### Is developer mode a permission? {#is-developer-mode-a-permission}

No. It is a flag of your session. The group behind the technical menus, *Technical Features*, is implied by *Role / User*, so every internal user has it, but it only counts while the session is in developer mode. What you can then do is still limited by your other groups: without the Settings app you will not see a **Technical** menu, with or without developer mode.

### My colleague does not see the Technical menu {#colleague-does-not-see-technical-menu}

Developer mode is per browser session, so each person turns it on in their own browser. The Settings app itself is shown to the *Access Rights* and *Role / Administrator* groups only; a colleague without them has nowhere to find the **Technical** menu.

### What is "Load demo data"? {#what-is-load-demo-data}

A link of the **Developer Tools** block that appears in developer mode when the database has no demonstration data. It loads the demonstration data of the installed apps into the current database. Keep it for test databases: never use it on the database your company works in.

### Can I activate it without the Settings app? {#activate-without-settings}

Yes. Add `?debug=1` to the address of any page and press Enter; `?debug=assets` gives the variant with assets. `?debug=0` turns it off. The menus and fields you then see are still those your groups allow.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/general-settings/developer-mode-and-technical-menus
- Updated: 2026-10-13
- Version: General settings and administration 19.0.1.0
- Verified: 2026-10-13