Facebook Debugger
You paste a URL, it shows you exactly what Facebook sees — title, description, image — and lets you force a re-scrape after you fix things.
The short verdict
- Always check Open Graph tags in the debugger before sharing a new page
- After updating metadata, use Scrape Again to force a re-fetch
- Clear your site cache first if the debugger keeps showing old data
- Don't rely on it for Twitter or LinkedIn — use their own validators
I've used this thing more times than I'd like to admit, usually after a client says 'why does my link look broken on Facebook?'
What I'd actually use it for
Three things, really. First, checking Open Graph tags before I publish — paste the staging URL, see if the og:title, og:description, and og:image are all there and correct. Second, debugging a live page that's showing wrong previews: run it, see what Facebook cached, then fix the tags and hit Scrape Again. Third, forcing a re-scrape after any metadata change. That last one is the most common use case for me. You update the page, but Facebook won't pick it up until you tell it to. The debugger is that tell.
What it's good at
It's dead simple. Paste a URL, click Debug, and you get a clean breakdown of what Facebook sees: title, description, image, URL, site name. If something's missing or broken, it'll flag it with a warning. The Scrape Again button is the killer feature — it forces Facebook to re-crawl the URL and update its cache. No waiting 24 hours for it to happen naturally. I've used it to fix previews within minutes of publishing a fix. Also, it's free. No account needed beyond a basic Facebook login.
What it's awkward for
It only shows you Facebook's view. If you're trying to debug Twitter cards or LinkedIn previews, you need separate tools. Also, the debugger sometimes shows cached data even after you hit Scrape Again — especially if your site has aggressive caching or a CDN. I've had to clear Cloudflare cache, wait a minute, then re-scrape. And the interface is a bit barebones: no history, no batch checking, no export. You're pasting one URL at a time. For a quick check it's fine, but if you're auditing 50 pages, you'll want something else.
Alternatives I'd consider
For Twitter/X previews, the Twitter Card Validator does the same thing. LinkedIn has a Post Inspector. If you want a broader social preview checker that covers multiple platforms at once, tools like Metatags.io or HeyMeta let you preview how a URL looks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google in one view. But for Facebook specifically, the official debugger is still the most reliable — it's the source of truth for what Facebook actually caches.
Next step
Quick answers
How do I use the Facebook Debugger?
Go to the Sharing Debugger on Meta for Developers, paste your URL, and click Debug. The tool will show how Facebook reads your page.
Why is Facebook showing the wrong image for my page?
The og:image tag may be missing, incorrect, or the image may not meet Facebook's size requirements. Use the debugger to see what Facebook sees.
How do I force Facebook to re-scrape my URL?
After updating your page's metadata, paste the URL in the Sharing Debugger and click Scrape Again (or Fetch new information).
Why does the debugger show old data even after I updated the page?
Your site or plugin cache may be serving the old version. Clear your cache and try re-scraping again.
Sources
Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.
- Meta for Developers — Sharing Debugger — Official tool page
- Meta Open Graph documentation — How Facebook reads shared-page metadata
Notes from Callum Bennett.