How do I view gstreamer debug output?

Question

How to view the output of functions like GST_CAT_INFO, GST_DEBUG etc? Do I need to compile gstreamer myself with debug level set or it can be done at application level?

Answer 1

Debugging messages can be printed in stderr by using the GST_DEBUG environment variable (if gstreamer has been compiled with --enable-gst-debug, which is default).

For example: GST_DEBUG=audiotestsrc:5 gst-launch audiotestsrc ! fakesink will log everything (5) from the audiotestsrc element.

You can change your program debugging output at runtime using setenv("GST_DEBUG","cat:level...", 1)

Sometime reading GStreamer debugging can be tedious. You can give gst-debug-viewer a try.

You can read the Documentation for other details.