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Inline Values

See variables, function returns, and loop iterations update inline as you type.

Inline values are ParrotJS’s flagship feature: runtime values appear right next to the expression that produced them, updating continuously as you type.

PRO feature. Full inline runtime values are a PRO feature. On the free tier, ParrotJS shows live comments and console output only. See Free vs PRO.

What Gets Captured

ParrotJS instruments your code and captures a value for:

  • Variable assignments — const x = compute(); shows the assigned value.
  • Expression statements — standalone expressions show their result.
  • Function returns — return values display at the call site.
  • Loop iterations — each iteration of a loop shows the current value, with an iteration counter.
  • Object and array literals — nested structures render inline (to a configurable depth).

How It Looks

// PRO shows these inline, as you type:
const add = (a, b) => a + b;
const result = add(3, 7);            // → 10
const user = { name: 'Ada', age: 36 };  // → {name: 'Ada', age: 36}

Values update automatically as you edit — no save, no re-run, no terminal.

Controlling the Output

Setting Default Effect
parrotjs.showInlineValues true Master switch for inline value display
parrotjs.maxInlineLength 80 Maximum characters before an inline value is truncated with …
parrotjs.maxObjectDepth 3 Maximum object nesting shown inline; deeper levels render as {…}
parrotjs.autoLog true Automatically capture all meaningful expressions (see Auto-Log)
parrotjs.executionDelay 300 Debounce before re-executing after you stop typing

Sticky Values

Values persist across edits as dimmed italic annotations, so you don’t lose sight of the last known value while you’re mid-edit. When code re-executes:

  • Updated values refresh to the current styling.
  • Errors automatically clear on a successful re-execution.
  • Run ParrotJS: Clear Sticky Values to reset all persistent values.

Selection Evaluation

Select any expression in your code and ParrotJS evaluates it against the current execution context, showing the result as a temporary inline decoration at the end of the line. Handy for probing sub-expressions without adding markers.