Debugging is an essential part of the software development process, allowing developers to identify and fix errors in their code.

With a ton of tools available, finding the right debugging tool can significantly enhance productivity and streamline troubleshooting. In this article, we’ll explore the 11 best debugging tools that cater to developers of all levels, from beginners to seasoned professionals.

These tools not only simplify the debugging process but also provide valuable insights into code performance and behavior, ultimately leading to cleaner, more efficient software.

Whether you're working on web applications, mobile software, or complex systems, these tools will empower you to tackle bugs with confidence and efficiency.

Let’s dive into these helpful debugging tools and find out how they can empower you to tackle bugs with confidence and efficiency!

1. Polypane

Build, debug, and test websites using a powerful browser designed for developers.
Free Trial | Powerful Debugging Tools

Polypane is a specialized browser tailored for web developers, designers, and marketers who aim to create responsive, high-quality websites efficiently. It offers a unique environment where developers can view their sites across multiple devices and screen sizes simultaneously, enabling a seamless testing process.

Features:

• Responsive Design Viewports: Display mobile screens to 5K monitors in one comprehensive overview.
• Accessibility Tools: Access over 80 tests and 19 simulators to ensure your site is usable for everyone.
• Site Quality Assurance: Tools to test user experience across devices and networks.
• Multiple Synced Viewports: Work with several viewports that sync automatically for real-time updates.
• Debugging Tools: Over two dozen built-in debugging tools to streamline development.
• Live Reloading: Instant updates to your site as you code, without needing to refresh manually.
• Dark Mode Support: Test your site in dark and light modes without manual switching.
• CSS Specificity Calculator: Analyze and manage CSS specificity easily.

💻 Website link: polypane.app

2. TrackJS

Find and reproduce JavaScript errors efficiently.
(Free Trail | Real-Time Detection)

TrackJS is an automated error-tracking tool specifically designed to simplify the detection and resolution of JavaScript errors in web applications.

It provides developers with clear insights into how users interact with their websites before encountering errors, enabling faster bug fixes and improved user experience.

TrackJS supports a wide range of browsers and frameworks, making it a versatile choice for modern web development teams.

Features:

• Automatic Error Detection: Identifies JavaScript errors as they occur in real-time. Telemetry Timeline:** Offers a detailed timeline of user interactions leading up to an error.
• Easy Installation: Can be set up in just 5 minutes with minimal changes to your HTML or via npm.
• Cross-Browser Compatibility: Works across all major browsers to catch errors from every user.
• Framework Support: Compatible with popular JavaScript frameworks.
• Clear Alerts and Reports: Provides straightforward reports and alerts for quick understanding and action.
• No Code Modification Required: Installs without needing to alter your existing codebase.
• Comprehensive Error Tracking: Catches errors from every user, browser, and framework.

💻 Website link: trackjs.com

3. Octomind

Find bugs before your users do with a powerful AI-powered testing tool.
(Free Plan | Continuous Monitoring)

Octomind is an innovative platform that leverages AI to streamline the process of end-to-end (e2e) testing for web applications. It functions as an agent-powered QA tool that autonomously generates, executes, and maintains test cases, significantly reducing the manual effort required for quality assurance.

Features:

• Automated Test Generation: AI agents analyze your web app to automatically create initial test cases.
• Continuous Test Execution: Tests can be scheduled to run automatically, ensuring ongoing quality checks.
• Auto-Maintenance: Upcoming feature to adapt test code in real-time as app changes occur.
• Debugging Assistance: Provides detailed information when tests fail, aiding in quick inspection and debugging.
• Parallel Test Execution: Tests run concurrently, completing within 20 minutes regardless of suite size.
• CI/CD Integration: Easily integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines for streamlined workflows.
• Synthetic Monitoring: Monitors applications in production, alerting users to any issues.
• Local Testing and Debugging: Download standard Playwright code to run and debug tests locally.
• Flakiness Resistance: Improved logic to reduce false positives and ensure stable test results.

💻 Website link: octomind.dev

4. bcons

Easily log your PHP data values and get errors, warnings, cookies, & session data messages.
(Free Plan | Comprehensive Debugging)

bcons is a powerful PHP debugging tool that allows developers to perform various debugging tasks, such as logging messages, inspecting variable values, and analyzing application data.

It provides a comprehensive set of features to help developers effectively troubleshoot and optimize their PHP applications.

Features:

• Syntax Checker: Analyzes PHP code for syntax errors and provides immediate feedback.
• Error Reporting: Displays detailed error messages and line numbers for easier troubleshooting.
• Code Optimization: Suggests improvements for better performance and readability.
• Security Analysis: Scans code for common security vulnerabilities and provides recommendations.
• Version Compatibility: Checks code against different PHP versions to ensure compatibility.
• Code Snippets: Offers a library of reusable code snippets for common tasks.
• Documentation Links: Provides direct links to PHP documentation for functions and features.
• Interactive Examples: Offers live coding examples to demonstrate solutions and best practices.
• Export Reports: Enables users to download diagnostic reports for offline review.

💻 Website link: bcons.dev

5. Cypress

Create, run, and debug tests for modern web applications seamlessly.
(Free Trial |Visual Debugging)

Cypress is a powerful open-source testing framework specifically designed for modern web applications. It provides an integrated environment to develop, run, and debug tests directly in the browser.

With its user-friendly interface and robust APIs, Cypress aims to simplify the testing process, ensuring that developers can easily catch bugs and ensure application quality without the typical complexities associated with testing frameworks.

Features:

• Cypress App: An open-source application for writing and running tests.
• Browser Testing: Test your applications directly in the browser with real-time feedback.
• Visual Debugging: Debug failed tests using familiar in-browser developer tools.
• Flake Resistance: Eliminate flaky tests by simulating real user interactions.
• Cypress Cloud: Scale testing efficiently with features like test parallelization and load balancing.
• Smart Orchestration: Optimize test execution across multiple environments.
• Visual Reviews: Review test runs visually to ensure accuracy and functionality.
• Test Analytics: Access detailed analytics on test performance and trends.
• UI Coverage: Identify untested parts of your application with visual coverage reports.
• Automated Accessibility Checks: Ensure your application meets accessibility standards automatically.

💻 Website link: cypress.io

6. Loggly

Centralize and analyze log data from various sources.
Free Trial | Real-time Monitoring and Alerting)

Loggly is a powerful log management and analytics platform that provides organizations with a unified view of their logs, enabling them to proactively monitor, troubleshoot, and derive actionable insights from their data. Developed and backed by SolarWinds, Loggly offers a comprehensive suite of features to streamline log management and empower businesses to make data-driven decisions.

Features:

• Proactive Log Monitoring: Continuously monitor logs for real-time alerts and insights.
• Troubleshooting and Diagnostics: Quickly diagnose issues by analyzing log data.
• Security and Compliance: Ensure security by monitoring logs for compliance and anomalies.
• Log Analysis and Reporting: Generate reports and analyze log data for trends and insights.
• DevOps Integrations: Integrate seamlessly with popular DevOps tools and platforms.
• Universal Log Source Support: Aggregate logs from various sources including cloud services, applications, and servers.
• Powerful Search Capabilities: Fast and efficient searching over large volumes of log data.

💻 Website link: loggly.com

7. GlitchTip

Monitor errors, performance, and uptime for your applications seamlessly.
(Free Plan | Unlimited Projects)

GlitchTip is an open-source error tracking and performance monitoring tool that helps developers collect and organize error data in real time. It provides insights into application performance, allowing users to monitor uptime and performance metrics without breaking the bank.

Features:

• Error Tracking: Collects exceptions, log messages, and security policy violations in one place.
• Performance Monitoring: Identifies slow web requests, database calls, and transactions without complex setup.
• Uptime Monitoring: Pings your site to ensure it’s responsive and sends alerts when it goes down.
• Unlimited Projects and Team Members: Manage multiple projects with no restrictions on team size.
• Custom Alerts: Set alerts via email or webhook based on your specific needs.
• Open Source: View, modify, and host the code on your own server.

💻 Website link: glitchtip.com

8. Ember Inspector

Debug and inspect Ember.js applications directly in the Chrome Developer Tools.
(Free | 4.8/5 Rating | 30K+ Installs)

Ember Inspector is a Chrome extension developed by the Ember.js community that enhances the Chrome Developer Tools specifically for Ember.js applications.

It provides a set of tools that allow developers to easily inspect and debug their Ember.js applications, making it easier to understand and navigate the application's components, routes, and data.

Features:

• Routes Overview: Displays all routes defined in the application.
• Naming Conventions: Helps adhere to Ember's conventions for naming URLs, controllers, templates, and routes.
• Rendering Information: Shows which templates, controllers, and models are currently being rendered.
• Object Inspection: Allows inspection of application objects, supporting Ember features like bindings and computed properties.
• Console Access: Makes application objects accessible in the console as the $E variable.

💻 Website link: https://chromewebstor…

9. Redux DevTools

Power up your Redux development workflow with a powerfull debugging extension.
(Free | 4.7/5 Rating | 1M+ Installs)

Redux DevTools is a powerful extension for the Chrome web browser that provides developers with a suite of tools for debugging and inspecting their Redux-based applications. It allows developers to track and visualize the state changes in their applications, enabling them to better understand and optimize their code.

Features:

• Time-travel debugging: The extension allows developers to step through their application's state changes over time, making it easy to identify and fix bugs.
• State diff monitoring: Developers can see the exact changes made to their application's state, which helps them understand how and why the state is changing.
• Logging: The extension provides a detailed log of all the actions and state changes that have occurred in the application.
• Filtering and search: Developers can filter and search through the logged actions and state changes to quickly find the information they need.
• Serialization and deserialization: The extension can serialize and deserialize the application's state, making it easy to share and reproduce issues.
• Custom monitors: Developers can create custom monitors to track specific aspects of their application's state and behavior.

💻 Website link: https://chromewebs…

10. SigNoz

Get APM, logs, traces, metrics, exceptions, & alerts in a single tool.
(Paid | Datadog Alternative)

SigNoz is an open-source, Datadog-like observability platform that provides a single pane of glass for monitoring your application's performance, including application performance monitoring (APM), distributed tracing, log management, metrics, dashboards, and alerts.

Features:

• Metrics: Comprehensive infrastructure monitoring and custom metric support.
• Traces: Distributed tracing to identify performance bottlenecks across services.
• Logs: Scalable log ingestion, search, and analysis.
• Dashboards: Configurable dashboards to suit any use case.
• Errors: Automatic exception recording with a stack trace and linked span data.

💻 Website link: signoz.io

11. FormStory

Capture and monitor web form submissions, even if they fail or are abandoned.
(Free Trial | Instant Alerts)

FormStory is a web form tracking and monitoring software designed to ensure businesses never lose potential leads due to malfunctioning or abandoned forms. With its AI-powered analytics, it captures and stores client information, providing instant notifications for form submissions, errors, and abandonment.

Features:

• Real-Time Monitoring: Continuous tracking of web forms to detect issues instantly.
• Instant Notifications: Alerts for form submissions, abandonments, and errors.
• Data Capture: Stores all filled inputs, ensuring no client information is lost.
• Form Analytics: Provides insights into submission rates, bounces, and conversion metrics.
• Compatibility: Works with any form type, including Google Forms, Typeform, and JotForm.
• User-Friendly Setup: Simple steps to integrate monitoring into your website.
• Customizable Alerts: Tailor notifications based on specific form activities.

💻 Website link: formstory.io

That's it! Thanks for reading!

If you have any other debugging tools that are lesser known and I haven’t covered above, feel free to comment on them below and I might add them!