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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Dlg – Zero-cost printf-style debugging for Go

Hey HN, I tend to use printf-style debugging as my primary troubleshooting method and only resort to gdb as a last resort. While I like its ease of use printf debugging isn't without its annoyances, namely removing the print statements once you're done. I used to use trace-level logging from proper logging libraries but adding trace calls in every corner quickly gets out of control and results in an overwhelming amount of output. To scratch my own itch I created dlg - a minimal debugging library that disappears completely from production builds. Its API exposes just a single function, Printf…

Dlg is a Go debugging library designed for developers who prefer printf-style debugging. It provides a single Printf function that works like standard output but automatically disappears from production builds when… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1

    A dbg(…) macro for C++. Contribute to sharkdp/dbg-macro development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    ChatGDB is a tool designed to superpower your debugging experience with GDB, a debugger for compiled languages. Use it to accelerate your debugging workflow by leveraging the power of ChatGPT to assist you while using GDB! It allows you to explain in natural language what you want to do, and then automatically execute the relevant command. Optionally, you can ask ChatGPT to explain the command it just ran or even pass in any question for it to answer. Focus on what's important - figuring out that nasty bug instead of chasing down GDB commands at the tip of your tongue. See it here:…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3AW

    Hey HN, I wanted to show you a product a small team and I have been working on for 4 years. https://jam.dev It’s called Jam and it prevents product managers (like I used to be) from being able to create vague and un-reproducible bug tickets (like I used to create). It’s actually really hard as a non-engineer to file useful bug tickets for engineers. Like, sometimes I thought I included a screenshot, but the important information the engineer needed was what was actually right outside the boundary of the screenshot I took. Or I'd write that something "didn't work" but the engineer…

    2024 · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Hi, I created httpdbg, a tool for Python developers to easily debug HTTP(S) client requests in Python programs. I developed it because I needed a tool that could help me trace the HTTP requests sent by my tests back to the corresponding methods in our API client. The goal of this tool is to simplify the debugging process, so I designed it to be as simple as possible. It requires no external dependencies, no setup, no superuser privileges, and no code modifications. I'm sharing it with you today because I use it regularly, and it seems like others have found it useful too—so it might be…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    A C++ library for debugging purposes that can print any variable, even user-defined types. - philip82148/cpp-dump

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    A simple Python debugger and profiler that generates animated visualizations of program flow, useful for algorithm learning. - CCExtractor/vardbg

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Simple logger for Go programs. Allows custom formats for messages. - apsdehal/go-logger

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Hey HN, the is Chris, creator of FireDBG. We’ve been working on this debugger just about a year now. Time travel debugging isn’t a new concept, the new idea here is to use call tree visualisation to help us navigate the debug trace. It supports various Linux distros on x64 and macOS on x64 and M1. It’s only available for Rust right now, but we do want to bring this debugging experience to other programming languages. Please give it a try! Would love to know your thoughts. What’s your anecdote in debugging programs? My stupidity is usually in the form of: after a few hours of debugging, I…

    2023 · firedbg.sea-ql.org · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Debugging-friendly exceptions for Python. Contribute to cknd/stackprinter development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Hey HN, I just built an experimental VSCode extension called LLM Debugger. It’s a proof-of-concept that lets a large language model take charge of debugging. Instead of only looking at the static code, the LLM also gets to see the live runtime state—actual variable values, function calls, branch decisions, and more. The idea is to give it enough context to help diagnose issues faster and even generate synthetic data from running programs. Here’s what it does: * Active Debugging: It integrates with Node.js debug sessions to gather runtime info (like variable states and stack traces). *…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Hi! I've been building a debugger on my nights and weekends because it's fun, and I personally need a better debugger for my work. GDB and LLDB pain me greatly; we can and will do better! As explained in the README, it's still very early-days and it's not ready for use yet, but check back often because it's improving all the time! Check out https://calabro.io/uscope for a more detailed explanation. Thanks for taking a look!

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Helps analyze goroutines. Inspired by TDA for Java and goroutine-inspect for golang. - openziti/goroutine-analyzer

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    A few years ago, my team moved from Java to Go. Working on Go projects, we came across a variety of logging frameworks with different APIs outputting messages in different formats. Go seemed to be lacking a logging abstraction like slf4j, which has been so invaluable to the Java ecosystem. Without that abstraction layer, the APIs for configuring logging vary wildly across projects, and libraries must either add a dependency on one of those frameworks or simply avoid structured logging altogether. Dazl is a logging abstraction layer that decouples the logging API from specific Go logging…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    A syntax-highlighting pager for git, diff, grep, rg --json, and blame output - dandavison/delta

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Interactive, node-by-node debugging and visualization for TensorFlow - ericjang/tdb

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    An alternative to stack traces for your Go errors. Contribute to bracesdev/errtrace development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    goboscript is a text-based programming language which compiles to Scratch. It allows you to write Scratch projects in text, and compile it into a .sb3 file - which can be opened in the Scratch editor, TurboWarp or be uploaded to the Scratch website. goboscript allows you to create advanced Scratch projects with ease, you can use any text editor, use a version control system such as git. You can refactor your code using search and replace. Text code can be copy pasted, which allows you to easily reuse code or share it with others. goboscript syntax is concise and easy to read. goboscript…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Convenient generic print() for C. Contribute to exebook/generic-print development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Write your BPF programs in Go, not C. gobee transpiles a Go subset to BPF C and generates typed cilium/ebpf bindings. - boratanrikulu/gobee

    May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    Debugging a crash can sometimes feel like a noir detective story: following faint clues, chasing red herrings, and eventually hitting the moment where the whole case finally makes sense. I leaned into that idea and built Fatal Core Dump, a small game where the investigation is real crash debugging. The game gives you a Linux binary, its core dump, a source file, and some logs. You solve the mystery by debugging it. The premise: an engineer dies when an airlock on an asteroid mining station opens unexpectedly. Your job is to determine whether it was a simple software bug or something more…

    Mar 2026 · robopenguins.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    The main homepage for ForensicDbg - your new modern crash debugger!

    29d ago · forensicdbg.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    I've created a powerful tool to help Go developers uncover the hidden giants in their compiled binaries. Go Size Analyzer is like an X-ray machine for your Go executables, revealing: Which dependencies are eating up your binary size Unexpected bloat from standard library or vendor packages Size changes between binary versions with a visual diff Key features that set it apart: Interactive treemap visualizations (check out the demo: https://gsa.zxilly.dev) Slick terminal UI for deep diving into package hierarchies Cross-platform support (works on Linux, macOS, and Windows binaries)…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    This project is inspired by some of the asserts in Unreal engine. Due to reliance on core_intrinsics it is necessary to develop using nightly Rust, but there are stubs in place so a production build will not require nightly. I recently released version 0.2 which includes no_std support and adds optional log message arguments to the ensure macro.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24DO

    AI agents are great at writing code but blind at runtime. They guess, print, and waste tokens. I built dbg to give them a real debugger experience. Since it is backend based with the few I implemented (still at basic level) it can support 15+ languages with one simple CLI (still some work needed but it is functional as it is): LLDB, Delve, PDB, JDB, node inspect, rdbg, phpdbg, GHCi, etc. Profilers too (perf, pprof, cProfile, Valgrind…) I also added GPU profiling via `gdbg` (CUDA, PyTorch, Triton kernels). It auto-dispatches and shares the same unified interface. (Planning to bring those…

    Apr 2026 · redknightlois.github.io · its alternatives →

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