> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://iii.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Use the Console
> Test functions, triggers, state, and queues interactively from the iii Console.
The iii Console provides interactive tools for testing and debugging your iii engine in real time. This guide covers common tasks you can perform from the console UI.
For a complete overview of all console pages and their features, see the [Console Reference](../console).
## Start the Console
The console comes preinstalled with iii. Start it with:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"dark-plus"}}
iii console
```
Then open your browser to [http://127.0.0.1:3113](http://127.0.0.1:3113).
The console connects to a running iii engine instance. Make sure your engine is started before launching the console. By default it expects the engine at `127.0.0.1:3111`.
## Invoke a Function
You can invoke any registered function directly from the console without wiring up a trigger.
1. Open the **Functions** page from the sidebar
2. Click on a function to open its detail panel
3. Enter a JSON payload in the input editor
4. Click **Invoke**
5. View the result or error in real time
For example, to invoke `users::getProfile`:
```json theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"dark-plus"}}
{
"user_id": "user-123"
}
```
The console sends the payload to the engine via `POST /_console/invoke` and displays the JSON response inline.
This is useful for:
* **Testing** a function during development without wiring up a trigger
* **Debugging** by sending specific payloads to reproduce an issue
* **Ad-hoc operations** like running a migration function manually
## Test an HTTP Trigger
The console provides a built-in request builder for HTTP-type triggers.
1. Open the **Triggers** page from the sidebar
2. Select an HTTP trigger from the list
3. Select the **HTTP method** (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH)
4. The **path** is pre-filled from the trigger configuration
5. Add **query parameters** as key-value pairs
6. Enter a **request body** (for POST/PUT/PATCH) as JSON
7. Click **Send** to execute the request
The response is displayed inline with status code, headers, and body.
For example, for a trigger registered at `POST /api/users`:
```json theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"dark-plus"}}
{
"name": "Alice",
"email": "alice@example.com"
}
```
## Test a Cron Trigger
You can manually fire a cron job without waiting for its next scheduled run.
1. Open the **Triggers** page from the sidebar
2. Select a cron trigger from the list
3. View the configured schedule expression (e.g. `0 */5 * * * * *`)
4. Click **Trigger Now** to fire the cron job immediately
## Test an Event Trigger
The console provides an event emitter for event-type triggers.
1. Open the **Triggers** page from the sidebar
2. Select an event trigger from the list
3. The event name is pre-filled from the trigger configuration
4. Enter a JSON payload
5. Click **Emit** to publish the event
## Manage State Entries
The States page lets you create, edit, and delete key-value state entries.
### Add a State Entry
1. Open the **States** page from the sidebar
2. Click **Add Item**
3. Enter the scope, key, and JSON value
4. Click **Save**
The entry is persisted via `state::set`.
### Edit a State Entry
1. Select a group from the left panel
2. Click an existing item
3. Modify the JSON value in the detail panel
4. Click **Save**
If you have `state:updated` triggers registered, they will fire automatically.
### Delete a State Entry
1. Select a group from the left panel
2. Click the delete icon on the item
3. Confirm the deletion
If you have `state:deleted` triggers registered, they will fire automatically.
## Inspect a Trace
The Traces page provides multiple visualization modes for understanding distributed operations.
1. Open the **Traces** page from the sidebar
2. Use filters to find a specific trace (by ID, service, span name, status, or duration)
3. Click on a trace to open the detail view
4. Select a visualization mode:
* **Waterfall Chart** — Timeline view of spans by start time and duration
* **Flame Graph** — Stack-based view where wider bars indicate longer duration
* **Service Breakdown** — Aggregate stats grouped by service
* **Trace Map** — Topology graph of service communication
* **Flow** — Node-based parent-child span relationships
### View Span Details
1. Click on any span in the trace visualization
2. The detail panel shows:
* **Info** — Span name, service, duration, status, IDs
* **Tags** — Span attributes as key-value pairs
* **Logs** — Events attached to the span
* **Errors** — Error messages and stack traces
* **Baggage** — Trace context baggage
## Navigate the Flow Graph
The Flow page shows an interactive graph of your system architecture.
Enable the Flow page by starting the console with `--enable-flow` or setting `III_ENABLE_FLOW=true`.
1. Open the **Flow** page from the sidebar
2. **Pan** — drag to move the viewport
3. **Zoom** — scroll to zoom in/out
4. **Inspect** — click a node to view its details (function ID, trigger config, etc.)
The layout is auto-arranged using a directed-graph algorithm (Dagre) and saved to the engine's state store.
## Send a Test Message to a Queue
The Queues page includes a JSON publisher for testing.
1. Open the **Queues** page from the sidebar
2. Click a topic to open the detail panel
3. In the **Overview** tab, enter a JSON payload
4. Click **Publish** to send the message
## Manage Dead Letters
Failed messages that exhausted retry handling appear in the Dead Letters tab.
1. Open the **Queues** page from the sidebar
2. Click a topic to open the detail panel
3. Select the **Dead Letters** tab
4. For each failed message, you can:
* **Retry** — redrive the message back to the queue
* **Delete** — discard the message permanently