console.log() not working in JavaScript & Node.js [Solved]

# Table of Contents

Note: if encountered the issue in a Node.js application, click on the second subheading.

# console.log() not working in JavaScript (the Browser)

console.log() might not work in JavaScript when you've specified a filter in your Console tab.

Open your developer tools by pressing F12 and select the Console.tab
Make sure you haven't typed a filter into the search field.

remove the filter

Either remove the filter by pressing the x button or by manually deleting it.
Refresh the page by pressing F5.

The next thing you should try is to click on the Default levels dropdown menu in your Console tab and make sure everything is selected.

click on default levels and select everything

Make sure that the Verbose, Info, Warning and Errors options are all selected as shown in the screenshot.

If the issue persists:

Click on the cogwheel icon at the top left of your Console tab.

Check the Preserve log checkbox.

Try to refresh your page and see if the issue persists.

You can also:

Click on the > icon in the top left corner of your Console tab.

Make sure that "X messages" is selected.

select x messages

You can also try to clear the cache and hard reload:

Make sure your developer tools are opened.
Right-click on the reload button in the top left corner of the browser window.
Select "Empty Cache and Hard Reload".

empty cache and hard reload

# Restore to the default settings and reload

If the issue persists:

Click on the upper cogwheel icon in your developer tools tab.

Scroll down to the bottom until you see the Restore defaults and reload button and click on it.

restore defaults and reload

# Make sure your `console.log()` statement is reached

Make sure that your console.log() statement is reached.

An error might've occurred before console.log() was called or the branch of your logic in which console.log() was called might not have run.

If you call console.log() conditionally (e.g. in an if or else if statement), then the code block that is responsible for calling console.log() might not have run because the condition isn't met.

For example, the following console.log() statement never runs because the if condition is never met.

index.js

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if (5 > 10) {
  console.log('bobbyhadz.com');
}

The code for this article is available on GitHub

# Make sure you've added an event listener to the correct DOM element

If you are running into issues when using the addEventListener() method, make sure you've added the event listener to the correct DOM element.

If you've specified an incorrect selector, then the event won't get dispatched and the console.log() statement won't run.

Here is an example that selects a button element by its id and

index.js

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const button = document.getElementById('btn');

button.addEventListener('click', () => {
  console.log('button clicked');
});

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The JavaScript code above assumes that you have the following HTML.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />

    <style>
      body {
        margin: 100px;
      }
    </style>
  </head>

  <body>
    <h2>Start page: bobbyhadz.com</h2>

    <button id="btn">Click</button>

    <script src="index.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

make sure event listener is added to correct dom element

The code for this article is available on GitHub

Also, make sure that you've loaded your JavaScript file in your HTML file as shown in the code sample.

index.html

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<script src="index.js"></script>

If you forget to load your .js file, your JavaScript code won't run and the console.log() statement won't print.

# Make sure the `console.log()` method is not overwritten somewhere in your code

Another cause of the issue where console.log() doesn't work is if it gets overwritten somewhere in your code or by a third-party package.

index.js

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console.log = () => {};

console.warn(console.log);

console.log('bobbyhadz.com');

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The code sample above overwrites the console.log() method and sets it to a function that doesn't do anything.

You can try to use a method like console.warn() to log the value of console.log() to see if it was overwritten somewhere.

console log overwritten

If the value of console.log is overwritten, you have to figure out where it happened and then correct the assignment.

You can also preserve a reference to the original console.log() method before it gets overwritten.

index.js

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const oldConsoleLog = console.log;

console.log = () => {};

oldConsoleLog('bobbyhadz.com');

The oldConsoleLog variable stores a reference to the original console.log() method.

# console.log() not working in Node.js (the Server)

If you don't see your console.log() statements when working in Node.js, make sure that you are looking at your terminal window and not at the browser's console tab.

Suppose we have the following index.js file.

index.js

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console.log('bobbyhadz.com');

Open your terminal in the same directory in which the index.js file is stored and run it with the node index.js command.

shell

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node index.js

run file with node index js command

Notice that the console.log() statement is printed to the terminal window and not the browser's Console tab.

If you are running your code in an Express.js server or any other server, switch to the terminal window in which you've started your server to view the output of your console.log() statements.

You can also run console.log() statements in the Node.js REPL (Read–eval–print loop).

Open your terminal and issue the node command to start the REPL.

shell

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node

Then issue your console.log() statements.

shell

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console.log('bobbyhadz.com')

console.log('example.com')

use console log in node repl

You can type .exit or press Ctrl + C twice to exit the Node.js REPL.

shell

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.exit

# Make sure your `console.log()` statement is reached

Make sure that your console.log() statement is reached.

An error might've occurred before console.log() was called or the branch of your logic in which console.log() was called might not have run.

For example, the following console.log() statement never runs because the if condition is never met.

index.js

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if (1 > 15) {
  console.log('bobbyhadz.com');
}

If I run the file with node index.js I can see that nothing gets printed.

condition not met nothing printed to console

You could either move your console.log() call to a code block that always runs or add an else statement.

index.js

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if (1 > 15) {
  console.log('bobbyhadz.com');
} else {
  console.log('example.com');
}

console log in else statement runs

The console.log() call in the else statement runs in the example.

# Make sure the `console.log()` method is not overwritten somewhere in your code

Another cause of the issue where console.log() doesn't work is if it gets overwritten somewhere in your code or by a third-party package.

index.js

Copied!
console.log = () => {};

console.log('bobbyhadz.com');

The code sample above overwrites the console.log() method and sets it to a function that doesn't do anything.

You can try to use a method like console.warn() to log the value of console.log() to see if it was overwritten somewhere.

index.js

Copied!
console.log = () => {};

console.warn(console.log);

console.log('bobbyhadz.com');

If the value of console.log is overwritten, you have to figure out where it happened and then correct the assignment.

You can also preserve a reference to the original console.log() method before it gets overwritten.

index.js

Copied!
const oldConsoleLog = console.log;

console.log = () => {};

oldConsoleLog('bobbyhadz.com');

The oldConsoleLog variable stores a reference to the original console.log() method.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

I wrote a book in which I share everything I know about how to become a better, more efficient programmer.

You can use the search field on my Home Page to filter through all of my articles.

console.log() not working in JavaScript & Node.js [Solved]

# Table of Contents

# console.log() not working in JavaScript (the Browser)

# Restore to the default settings and reload

# Make sure your console.log() statement is reached

# Make sure you've added an event listener to the correct DOM element

# Make sure the console.log() method is not overwritten somewhere in your code

# console.log() not working in Node.js (the Server)

# Make sure your console.log() statement is reached

# Make sure the console.log() method is not overwritten somewhere in your code

# Additional Resources

Borislav Hadzhiev

# Make sure your `console.log()` statement is reached

# Make sure the `console.log()` method is not overwritten somewhere in your code

# Make sure your `console.log()` statement is reached

# Make sure the `console.log()` method is not overwritten somewhere in your code