console.dir() is short for console.log(util.inspect())

Sometimes when debugging node scripts via console.log you'll run into the situation, that console.log won't show you the complete object you want to inspect.

console.log( { foo: { bar: { baz: { foo: 'Show me!' } } } } );
// { foo: { bar: { baz: [Object] } } }

The solution to this problem is to use util.inspect which also includes the option to color the output.

console.log( util.inspect( { foo: { bar: { baz: { foo: 'Show me!' } } } }, { depth: null, colors: true } );
// { foo: { bar: { baz: { foo: 'Show me!' } } } }

Frederic Hemberger just told me that console.dir uses util.inspect under the hood, which means we can make it even shorter! 🎉

console.dir( { foo: { bar: { baz: { foo: 'Show me!' } } } }, { depth: null, colors: true } );
// { foo: { bar: { baz: { foo: 'Show me!' } } } }