10 Best Debugging Tools in 2026

Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source code editor from Microsoft that has become the most popular editor among developers. Supports nearly every programming language with syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and debugging. Thousands of extensions add features like Git integration, live share, and remote development. Fast, lightweight, and highly customizable. Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The editor that changed how developers code.

IntelliJ IDEA is JetBrains' flagship IDE for JVM languages. Deep code understanding powers smart completions and refactorings. Supports Java, Kotlin, Scala, and more out of the box. Ultimate edition adds web and enterprise frameworks. Built-in tools for databases, HTTP, and Docker. The IDE that makes Java development a pleasure.

WebStorm provides IDE for JavaScript development. JetBrains intelligence for web technologies—professional JavaScript development environment. The intelligence is deep. The features are comprehensive. The price is professional. JavaScript developers wanting full IDE experience use WebStorm for professional development.

OpenTelemetry provides observability standards for applications. Traces, metrics, and logs with vendor-neutral APIs—the standard that unifies observability instrumentation. The standard is becoming universal. The vendor neutrality prevents lock-in. The community is huge. Applications instrumenting for observability use OpenTelemetry for standard instrumentation.

PyCharm is JetBrains' IDE for Python. Deep language understanding, debugging, and Django support—professional Python development environment. The intelligence is deep. The debugging is excellent. The frameworks are supported. Python developers wanting IDE power choose PyCharm for comprehensive Python development.

VS Code edits code for millions of developers. Microsoft's free editor that became the standard—extensible, fast, and everywhere. The extensions cover everything. The performance is good. The features keep expanding. Most developers use VS Code because it works and everyone else does too.

Sentry is an application monitoring platform providing error tracking, performance tracing, session replay, and uptime monitoring with event-based pricing for development teams of all sizes.

K9s manages Kubernetes clusters from the terminal. Navigate resources, tail logs, exec into pods—kubectl power with a terminal UI. The navigation is fast. Common operations are keyboard-accessible. The overview is comprehensive. Kubernetes operators use K9s because terminal navigation is faster than dashboard clicking.

Cypress is a modern end-to-end testing framework built for the web, offering fast, reliable testing with time-travel debugging and automatic waiting.

Nova is a comprehensive native macOS code editor designed for developers. It features a hyper-fast and flexible text editor with smart autocomplete, multiple cursors, a Minimap, and extensive language support. Beyond just editing, Nova provides robust workflows for building, running, and cleaning projects with custom scripts, and includes built-in debugging for languages like PHP, Python, Chrome, Node.js, and Deno. The product integrates essential development tools such as a Transmit file browser, Prompt terminal, local and remote file browsers, Git source control, and a symbol navigator. Its highly customizable interface allows for personalized key bindings, workspace layouts, and editor tweaks. Nova is also highly extensible with a robust JavaScript-based API, enabling users to add support for new languages, themes, and functionalities through an integrated extension browser.