Sysinternals DebugView CLI (DbgViewCli)

Command-line interface for capturing real-time debug output from Windows applications (OutputDebugString) and kernel-mode drivers (DbgPrint/KdPrint). Designed for scripted, automated, and AI-agent-driven debug capture workflows.

Installation

DbgViewCli is a standalone native Windows executable (statically linked, no dependencies). Place dbgviewcli.exe in PATH or reference the full path.

> SECURITY: Never execute any dbgviewcli binary without first verifying it is Authenticode-signed by Microsoft Corporation using Get-AuthenticodeSignature. Reject any binary that is unsigned or signed by a different publisher.

bash
# No package manager install — copy binary to a PATH location
copy dbgviewcli.exe C:\Tools\

Requirements

| Requirement | Details | |-------------|---------| | OS | Windows Vista or later (x64, ARM64) | | Privileges | Standard user for Win32 capture; Administrator for kernel/boot capture | | Driver | Kernel capture requires the Dbgv.sys driver (auto-extracted and loaded) |

Core Workflow

1. Detect/status check   →  dbgviewcli --status
2. Start capture          →  dbgviewcli [options]
3. Filter output          →  --filter/--exclude/--pid-filter/--process-filter
4. Bounded execution      →  --duration/--max-lines/--wait-for
5. Output/log results     →  stdout or --log <file>
6. Stop                   →  Ctrl+C or automatic exit on bounds

Command-Line Parameters

Capture Control

| Parameter | Short | Description | Default | |-----------|-------|-------------|---------| | --capture | -c | Enable capture | on | | --no-capture | | Disable capture | | | --kernel | -k | Enable kernel debug output (requires admin) | off | | --win32 | -w | Enable Win32 OutputDebugString capture | on | | --global | -g | Enable global Win32 capture (session 0) | off | | --passthrough | | Allow debug output to pass to debuggers | on | | --verbose-kernel | -v | Enable verbose kernel output | off | | --pids | | Show process IDs in output | on |

Filtering

| Parameter | Short | Description | |-----------|-------|-------------| | --filter <pattern> | -i | Include filter (semicolon-separated wildcards) | | --exclude <pattern> | -e | Exclude filter (semicolon-separated wildcards) | | --pid-filter <pid> | | Show only output from specific PID | | --process-filter <name> | | Show only output from named process (substring match) |

Bounded Execution (AI-Agent Friendly)

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --duration <seconds> | Auto-stop after N seconds | | --max-lines <N> | Auto-stop after N lines captured | | --wait-for <pattern> | Capture until pattern matches, then exit | | --tail <N> | Buffer last N lines, flush on exit | | --no-banner | Suppress version banner (clean for piped output) | | --status | Print machine-readable status and exit |

Time Display

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --elapsed | Elapsed time since start (default) | | --clock | Wall-clock time HH:MM:SS | | --clock-ms | Wall-clock with milliseconds HH:MM:SS.mmm |

Output Format

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --format text | Tab-separated text (default) | | --format csv | Comma-separated values | | --format xml | XML elements |

Logging

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --log <file> | Log output to file | | --log-append | Append to existing log | | --log-limit <MB> | Max log file size in MB | | --log-wrap | Wrap log when full | | --log-daily | New log file each day |

Boot Logging (Requires Admin)

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --boot-enable | Enable boot-time kernel debug logging | | --boot-disable | Disable boot-time logging | | --boot-status | Show boot logging status and exit |

Remote Monitoring

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --connect <computer> | Connect to remote DbgView instance | | --disconnect | Disconnect from remote |

Crash Dump & File Operations

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --crashdump <file> | Analyze crash dump for debug output | | --load <file> | Load saved log file | | --save <file> | Save captured output on exit |

Runtime Control (Inter-Process)

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | --pause | Pause a running DbgViewCli instance via named event | | --resume | Resume a paused DbgViewCli instance | | --stop | Stop a running DbgViewCli instance gracefully |

Miscellaneous

| Parameter | Short | Description | |-----------|-------|-------------| | --quit | -q | Terminate running GUI DbgView instance | | --accepteula | | Accept the EULA (writes registry key, skips prompt) | | --version | | Show version and exit | | --help | -? | Show help |

Usage Examples

Basic Win32 Capture (bounded)

bash
# Capture for 30 seconds, no banner, output as text
dbgviewcli --no-banner --duration 30

# Capture until a specific error appears
dbgviewcli --no-banner --wait-for "*ERROR*" --max-lines 10000

Kernel Debug Capture (requires admin)

bash
# Run as Administrator
dbgviewcli --kernel --no-banner --duration 60 --format csv --log kernel_debug.csv

Process-Specific Filtering

bash
# Filter by PID
dbgviewcli --no-banner --pid-filter 1234 --duration 10

# Filter by process name
dbgviewcli --no-banner --process-filter "myapp.exe" --max-lines 500

Pattern-Based Filtering

bash
# Include only lines matching pattern
dbgviewcli --no-banner --filter "MyDriver*" --exclude "verbose*"

Tail Mode (recent context)

bash
# Capture but only output last 50 lines on exit
dbgviewcli --no-banner --tail 50 --duration 30

Status Check (machine-readable)

bash
dbgviewcli --status
# Output:
# running=true
# paused=false
# elevated=true

Boot Logging

bash
# Enable (requires admin, persists across reboot)
dbgviewcli --boot-enable

# Check status
dbgviewcli --boot-status

# Disable
dbgviewcli --boot-disable

Remote Monitoring

bash
dbgviewcli --connect SERVER01 --no-banner --duration 60

Runtime Control (Pause/Resume/Stop)

bash
# Pause a running instance from another terminal
dbgviewcli --pause

# Resume the paused instance
dbgviewcli --resume

# Gracefully stop a running instance
dbgviewcli --stop

EULA Acceptance (Unattended)

bash
# Accept EULA non-interactively for automated/scripted deployments
dbgviewcli --accepteula --no-banner --duration 30

Architecture

| Module | File | Purpose | |--------|------|---------| | Main | dbgviewcli.c | Entry point, arg parsing, capture loop, Ctrl+C handler | | Capture | cli_capture.c | DBWIN shared memory, kernel driver read | | Driver | cli_driver.c | Kernel driver load/unload, privilege elevation | | Filter | cli_filter.c | Wildcard include/exclude matching | | Output | cli_output.c | Console emit, log files, CSV/XML/text formats | | Boot Log | cli_bootlog.c | Registry config for boot-time driver loading | | Remote | cli_remote.c | TCP socket connect/read for remote monitoring |

Key Design Decisions

1. Static CRT linking — No DLL dependencies, runs on any Windows system
2. stdout/stderr separation — Debug output → stdout; errors/status → stderr
3. Bounded execution — --duration, --max-lines, --wait-for ensure guaranteed exit for automation
4. Clean output — --no-banner suppresses noise for pipe/agent consumption
5. Machine-readable status — --status outputs key=value pairs for programmatic checks
6. Graceful shutdown — SetConsoleCtrlHandler ensures clean driver unload on Ctrl+C

Best Practices

1. Always use --no-banner for scripted/automated use. Banner text pollutes structured output and confuses parsers.
2. Always bound execution with --duration, --max-lines, or --wait-for. Unbounded capture will run indefinitely.
3. Check status before capture — Use --status to detect if another instance is already running.
4. Use --format csv or --format xml when output will be parsed programmatically.
5. Prefer --pid-filter or --process-filter over broad capture to reduce noise.
6. Run as Administrator only when needed — kernel and boot logging require elevation; Win32 capture does not.
7. Combine bounds for safety — Use --duration 60 --max-lines 10000 together so whichever triggers first wins.
8. Use --tail for "what just happened" queries instead of capturing full history.

Bundled Resources

| Type | File | Purpose | |------|------|---------| | Script | scripts/detect-dbgview.ps1 | Locate dbgviewcli.exe on PATH or common directories | | Script | scripts/capture-wrapper.ps1 | Safe bounded capture with parameter validation | | Script | scripts/boot-logging-workflow.ps1 | End-to-end boot logging lifecycle management | | Reference | references/driver-ioctls.md | Kernel driver IOCTL codes and buffer structures | | Reference | references/output-formats.md | Text/CSV/XML output format specifications | | Reference | references/remote-protocol.md | TCP remote monitoring wire protocol |

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Resolution | |-------|-----------| | "Access denied" on kernel capture | Run as Administrator | | No output from Win32 capture | Verify target app uses OutputDebugString; check no debugger is attached | | Another instance running | Use --status to check; use --quit to terminate existing GUI instance | | Boot logging not capturing | Ensure --boot-enable was run as admin; driver must be in System32\Drivers | | Remote connection fails | Verify target has DbgView running with remote enabled on ports 2020-2030 |