# Liquid console

The **Liquid console** is a scratchpad for testing [Mechanic Liquid](https://learn.mechanic.dev/platform/liquid) code. It's available in the footer of every page of the Mechanic app — look for it at the bottom of the screen.

Type any Liquid code, submit it, and see the output immediately. This is useful for experimenting with filters, testing snippets from a task, or inspecting data available for a specific event.

{% hint style="info" %}
Most Mechanic users don't need the Liquid console day-to-day. It's mainly useful when writing or debugging task code, or when support asks you to inspect event data.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://3145272362-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrnkixbmVHvKHMwAbm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a7ae82699cb3126cfa0eabf54931b0732100f8d4%2Fliquid_console_mechanic.jpg?alt=media" alt="The Liquid console with a sample Liquid expression and its output"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
The console can make Shopify Admin API requests (up to 10 per submission), which [task previews](https://learn.mechanic.dev/core/tasks/previews) cannot. However, it has tighter memory limits than actual task runs. If you reach a limit, try testing your code in a task subscribing to mechanic/user/trigger instead.
{% endhint %}

## Inspecting event data

When viewing a specific event in the Mechanic app, the console has access to that event's data — the same variables your tasks had when they processed it. This makes it a useful debugging tool.

For example, on a shopify/orders/create event page, you could use `{% log order.line_items[0] %}` to inspect the contents of an order's first line item.

![Using the Liquid console to inspect an order's line items on an event page](https://3145272362-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQrnkixbmVHvKHMwAbm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-0f0a5629048fae05d6e900c039c82a89598690a4%2F2022-05-18%2017.48.01.gif?alt=media)

{% hint style="info" %}
Looking at a child event? Try using `{% log event.parent %}` in the console to inspect data available from the parent. Or, to examine data from an ancestor event further back, try `{% log event.parent.parent %}`.
{% endhint %}