For AI agents: A markdown version of this page is available at https://docs.datadoghq.com/security/application_security/setup/nodejs/troubleshooting.md. A documentation index is available at /llms.txt.
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Common Issues

No security signals appearing

If you don’t see AAP threat information in the Trace and Signals Explorer for your Node.js application, follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

  1. Verify Agent version:

    • Ensure you’re running Datadog Agent v7.41.1 or higher.
    • Check Agent status: datadog-agent status.
  2. Check Node.js tracer version:

    • Confirm you’re using Node.js tracer v4.30.0 or higher.
    • Verify the tracer is loaded: node -e "console.log(require('dd-trace/package.json').version)".
  3. Verify environment variables:

    • Ensure DD_APPSEC_ENABLED=true is set.
    • Check DD_SERVICE and DD_ENV are properly configured.
    • Verify DD_APM_ENABLED=true if using APM features.
  4. Check tracer initialization:

    • Ensure dd-trace/init is required at the start of your application.
    • Verify the tracer is properly loaded before your application code.

Application fails to start

  1. Check Node.js version compatibility:

  2. Check dd-trace installation:

    • Ensure dd-trace is properly installed: npm list dd-trace.
    • Reinstall if necessary: npm install dd-trace.
  3. Module loading errors:

    • Check for conflicts with other SDKs.
    • Verify the tracer is required before other modules.

Performance impact

  1. High latency:

    • Check Agent resource usage.
    • Verify network connectivity between Agent and Datadog.
    • Consider adjusting sampling rates.
    • Review performance considerations.
  2. High memory usage:

    • Monitor Node.js process memory usage.
    • Check for memory leaks in your application.
    • Consider adjusting tracer configuration.

Configuration issues

  1. Environment variables not recognized:

    • Ensure environment variables are set before starting the application.
    • Check for typos in environment variable names.
    • Verify that the tracer is initialized with the correct configuration.
  2. Tracer initialization problems:

    • Make sure require('dd-trace/init') is the first line in your application.
    • Check for syntax errors in your tracer configuration.
    • Verify that the tracer is being imported correctly.

Still having issues?

If you’re still experiencing problems:

  1. Check the Application Security Monitoring troubleshooting guide.
  2. Review the Node.js tracer documentation.
  3. Enable debug logging: DD_TRACE_DEBUG=true.
  4. Contact Datadog support.