> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.chatlayer.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.chatlayer.ai/~/changes/zWOY8fNiBBrqneKkuGvA/tips-and-best-practices/solving-bot-issues.md).
# Solving bot issues
Whenever your bot does not behave the way you expect it to, you will need to investigate to see exactly what the issue is. This is also called debugging. But where to start with debugging? How can you find what the cause of an issue is? This article will go through the basics of debugging in the Chatlayer platform. Make sure to check the subpages on the left side, where some common issues in the Chatlayer platform are described and how to solve them.
## Emulator
Debugging can be done very easily in the emulator, this is the `Test your bot` window in the right bottom corner. The emulator consists of three parts:
### Test your bot
The main part of the emulator shows the bot response on the left side, and typed input from the user on the right side:
The following symbols are available for debugging:
Next to that, you can find the following options in this window:
### Debugger tab
In the debugger you can find the following information:
`User says` the input the user has given
`Intent` the recognized intent
`Contexts` if any [contexts ](https://docs.chatlayer.ai/understanding-users/using-context)are active and what the lifespan is
`Bot dialog` with the id and name of the current dialog
`Read-Only Session data` This is all data that is retrieved up until this point in the session. If you need to use any of these variables, it is important that you add `internal.` before the variable. For example `internal.channel`
If there are any variables collected in the conversation along the way, they will be listed at the bottom. If you want to use these, `internal.` is not necessary
If you need to use any of the variables with a `{ }` behind it, remember to use the correct variable name when you open the variable. For example `internal.currentDialogstate.name`
Below `Messages` (on the right side) you can see all the messages the bot has given up until that point.
### NLP Result tab
The NLP Result tab shows the result of the NLP engine. Any recognized intents or entities are shown here
This information helps locating intent issues - if a wrong response is given in the bot, you can check here which intent was triggered.
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