flight-profiler-reload

Reload function implementation based on the latest file content without restarting the process. Enables live patching — edit the source file, then reload to apply the change immediately.

Prerequisites: Read the flight-profiler-attach skill first for platform requirements, installation, permissions, and connection details.

When to Use

• You've identified a bug via watch/trace and want to apply a fix without restarting
• You're iterating on a fix in a long-running process where restart is expensive
• You want to verify a code change takes effect before deploying
• You want to add print() or logging statements into a function for auxiliary diagnostics — the output will appear in the target process's stdout/log. This is useful when you know where the process log is directed (e.g., a log file, container stdout, or a terminal). Note: reload is not limited to adding prints — it can change the actual execution logic of the method as well

Usage

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload module [class] method [-v]" --no-color

Positional Arguments

• module — the module name as it would be imported in the target process. For example, if the target code does from myapp.utils import helper, then module is myapp.utils. PyFlightProfiler locates the module via importlib.import_module. If you're unsure of the module name, run a separate command to resolve it first: flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "module /absolute/path/to/file.py" --no-color, then use the returned module name here.
• class (optional) — class name if method belongs to a class
• method — target method name

Options

Flag	Description	Default
-v, --verbose	Display the full method source after reload. Without -v, methods longer than 20 lines are truncated (first 10 + last 10 lines).	off

Output Format

Success — function was reloaded with new code:

Reload is done successfully.
Located file path: /path/to/file.py
Extracted method source:
def compute(x, y):
    result = x + y
    print(f"compute({x}, {y}) = {result}")
    return result

No change — the source file has not been modified since the function was last loaded:

Error: Method source has not changed.
Located file path: /path/to/file.py
Extracted method source:
def compute(x, y):
    return x + y

Error — module/method not found or other failure:

Error: Cannot locate method nonexistent in module __main__.

Output Fields

Field	Description
Status line	"Reload is done successfully." or "Error: <reason>."
Located file path	The source file path resolved from the module (shown when module is found)
Extracted method source	The method source code read from the file (shown when method is located)

Examples

1. Reload unchanged function — source not modified

If the file hasn't been edited since the function was loaded, reload reports no change:

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ compute" --no-color

Error: Method source has not changed.
Located file path: /Users/zy/workspace/app/main.py
Extracted method source:
def compute(x, y):
    return x + y

This is expected — edit the source file first, then reload.

2. Reload module-level function after edit

After editing compute in the source file:

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ compute -v" --no-color

Reload is done successfully.
Located file path: /Users/zy/workspace/app/main.py
Extracted method source:
def compute(x, y):
    result = x + y
    print(f"compute({x}, {y}) = {result}")
    return result

3. Reload class method after edit

After editing Calculator.add in the source file:

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ Calculator add -v" --no-color

Reload is done successfully.
Located file path: /Users/zy/workspace/app/main.py
Extracted method source:
    def add(self, a, b):
        print(f"Calculator.add({a}, {b})")
        return a + b

4. Nonexistent method

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ nonexistent" --no-color

Error: Cannot locate method nonexistent in module __main__.

5. Nonexistent module

flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload nonexistent_module func" --no-color

Error: Unexpected error during reload: No module named 'nonexistent_module'.

Typical Debug-Fix Workflow

The simplest cycle is: edit source → reload → observe the effect. If the method is on a regularly triggered call path (e.g., handling HTTP requests), you'll see the change take effect immediately after reload.

For deeper investigation — such as observing internal method arguments, return values, or call trees — use watch/trace before and after reload:

# Optional: use watch/trace to inspect internal behavior before the fix
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "watch __main__ compute -n 3" --no-color

# Step 1: Edit the source file to fix the issue
# (use Edit tool to modify the function)

# Step 2: Apply the fix live and verify the new source
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ compute -v" --no-color

# Optional: use watch/trace to verify internal behavior after the fix
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "watch __main__ compute -n 3" --no-color

If you edited multiple methods in one fix, reload each method separately:

# Reload each modified method individually
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ Calculator validate -v" --no-color
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ Calculator process -v" --no-color
flight_profiler <pid> --cmd "reload __main__ helper_func -v" --no-color

Limitations

• Method-level only — reload operates at the function/method level. It cannot reload module-level statements, class definitions, global variable assignments, or import changes. Only the function body is replaced.
• One method per reload — each reload command updates exactly one method. If a fix spans multiple methods, run reload once for each modified method.
• All changes must be inside the function body — reload only replaces the function body. Any new code — including import statements — must be placed inside the function. Python supports function-level imports, so move them into the body:

# WRONG — module-level import is outside the function body, reload ignores it
import json

def process(data):
    return json.dumps(data)

# CORRECT — import inside the function body, reload picks it up
def process(data):
    import json
    return json.dumps(data)

• No class restructuring — adding/removing methods, changing inheritance, or modifying class-level attributes requires a process restart.

Tips

• Always use -v to verify the reloaded source matches what you expect
• The reload reads the current file on disk — make sure your edits are saved before reloading
• Reload replaces the function object's code — existing references to the function will use the new implementation
• For methods longer than 20 lines, the source is truncated by default (first 10 + last 10 lines). Use -v to see the full source.
• "Method source has not changed" means the bytecode compiled from the file matches the running code — the file hasn't been modified

Related Commands

• watch / trace — diagnose the issue before reloading, and verify the fix after reloading
• console — for one-off fixes that don't warrant editing the source file, or to execute new imports before reload

Source Files

• CLI plugin: flight_profiler/plugins/reload/cli_plugin_reload.py
• Parser: flight_profiler/plugins/reload/reload_parser.py
• Server plugin: flight_profiler/plugins/reload/server_plugin_reload.py