Context Dumping

The /dumpcontext command captures complete API request/response data for debugging provider interactions. Dumps are saved in OpenAI-compliant JSON format, making them easy to replay with curl or analyze for troubleshooting.

Quick Start

# In an interactive session, enable dumping for the next request only
/dumpcontext now

# Enable dumping for all requests
/dumpcontext on

# Enable dumping only when errors occur
/dumpcontext error

# Check current status
/dumpcontext status

# Disable dumping
/dumpcontext off

Command Options

Mode	Description
now	Dump context on the next request only
status	Show current dump status (default)
on	Dump context before every request
error	Dump context only when errors occur
off	Disable context dumping

Dump Location

Dumps are saved to <cache>/dumps/ (see Application Directories) with filenames in the format:

YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-<provider>-<random>.json

Example: 20251208-183505-openai-asq1d9.json

Dump File Structure

Each dump file contains the complete HTTP request and response:

{
  "provider": "openai",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-08T18:35:05.039Z",
  "request": {
    "url": "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
    "method": "POST",
    "headers": {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "User-Agent": "llxprt-code"
    },
    "body": {
      "model": "gpt-5.5",
      "messages": [...],
      "tools": [...],
      "stream": false,
      "tool_choice": "auto",
      "temperature": 1
    }
  },
  "response": {
    "status": 200,
    "headers": {...},
    "body": {...}
  }
}

Note: The Authorization header is intentionally omitted from dumps for security.

Using Dumps with curl

Dumps are OpenAI API compliant and can be replayed with curl. Since the dump includes metadata alongside the request body, extract the body first:

Extract and Send Request

# Linux example: LLXPRT_CACHE_HOME -> LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME -> Linux default.
# See Application Directories for the macOS and Windows defaults.
DUMPS="${LLXPRT_CACHE_HOME:-${LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.cache/llxprt-code}}/dumps"
jq '.request.body' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json" > /tmp/body.json

curl -X POST "$(jq -r '.request.url' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json")" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
  -d @/tmp/body.json

One-liner Alternative

# Pipe the body directly to curl
jq '.request.body' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json" | \
  curl -X POST "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
    -d @-

Using with Different Providers

For OpenAI-compatible providers (like local models or alternative endpoints):

# Extract URL from dump and use with custom auth
DUMP="$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json"
jq '.request.body' "$DUMP" | \
  curl -X POST "$(jq -r '.request.url' "$DUMP")" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY" \
    -d @-

Analyzing Dumps

View Request Summary

# Show provider, model, and message count
jq '{
  provider: .provider,
  model: .request.body.model,
  message_count: (.request.body.messages | length),
  tool_count: (.request.body.tools | length),
  response_status: .response.status
}' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json"

Extract Conversation History

# Show messages with roles
jq '.request.body.messages[] | {role, content: .content[:100]}' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json"

List Available Tools

# Show tool names and descriptions
jq '.request.body.tools[] | {name: .function.name, description: .function.description[:50]}' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json"

Check Response Details

# Show response finish reason and token usage
jq '{
  finish_reason: .response.body.choices[0].finish_reason,
  usage: .response.body.usage
}' "$DUMPS/YOUR_DUMP.json"

Use Cases

Debugging API Issues

When encountering unexpected behavior:

1. Enable dumping: /dumpcontext on
2. Reproduce the issue
3. Disable dumping: /dumpcontext off
4. Analyze the dump to see exactly what was sent/received

Comparing Provider Responses

Capture the same prompt across different providers to compare:

1. Run with provider A, dump enabled
2. Switch providers: /provider openai
3. Run same prompt with provider B
4. Compare the dump files

Reporting Bugs

Include relevant dump files (with sensitive data redacted) when reporting provider-related bugs. The dumps show exactly what LLxprt sent and what the API returned.

Testing API Compatibility

Use dumps to verify that OpenAI-compatible providers handle requests correctly:

# Replay a known-good request against a new endpoint
jq '.request.body' dump.json | \
  curl -X POST "http://localhost:1234/v1/chat/completions" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d @-

Combining with Debug Logging

For comprehensive debugging, combine context dumping with debug logging:

# Enable both debug logging and context dumping
llxprt --debug llxprt:*

# In session
/dumpcontext on

This gives you:

• Debug logs: Internal application flow and timing
• Context dumps: Exact API payloads and responses

See Debug Logging for more information.

Security Considerations

• Authorization headers are never included in dumps
• Dumps may contain sensitive conversation content
• Store dumps securely and clean up when no longer needed
• Consider redacting sensitive data before sharing dumps

# Clean up old dumps. This Linux example honors LLXPRT_CACHE_HOME, then
# LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME, then the Linux default; see Application Directories for
# the macOS and Windows defaults.
CACHE_DIR="${LLXPRT_CACHE_HOME:-${LLXPRT_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.cache/llxprt-code}}"
rm -f "${CACHE_DIR}/dumps/"*.json

# Or keep only recent dumps
find "${CACHE_DIR}/dumps" -name "*.json" -mtime +7 -delete