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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Sidekick

Like Chrome DevTools for your backend, now open source

Sidekick is an open-source debugging tool that captures stack traces and dynamic logs from running applications without requiring redeployment. Designed for developers who need real-time insights into their backend… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Sidekick launched in 2022; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1

    Sidekick is a live application debugger that lets you troubleshoot your applications while they keep on running. It allows you to add dynamic logs and put non-breaking breakpoints in your running application without the need of stopping & redeploying. Currently supporting Java, Python & Node.js runtimes. Sidekick Open Source is here to allow self-hosting and make live debugging more accessible. Built for everyone who needs extra information from their running applications.

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Trace and de-bug microservices remotely for $0

    2021 · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    A productivity browser for becoming focused and unstoppable

    2020 · perplexity.ai · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Bringing the simplicity of print() to production debugging!

    2022 · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Your agentic CLI developer. Contribute to geekforbrains/sidekick-cli development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6
    Sidekick▲480

    Build Zapier-style automations using only a chat interface

    2025 · sagekit.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    DevHunt▲945

    Open source Product Hunt for dev tools

    2023 · devhunt.org · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Capture bugs, record sessions, and fix with AI

    2024 · betterbugs.io · its alternatives →

  9. 9AW

    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 →

  10. 10

    Interact with your business apps in a ChatGPT-style

    2023 · jigso.io · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Fix bugs faster with open source, AI native observability

    2025 · traceroot.ai · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Everything you need to debug, in one shareable link

    2023 · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    Opengrep▲340

    The open source code security engine

    2025 · opengrep.dev · its alternatives →

  14. 14AC

    Practical guides to browser DevTools and AI-assisted debugging — Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge. Panels, shortcuts, performance traces and accessibility.

    2014 · devtoolstips.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    A macOS menu bar app that provides quick access to zot from anywhere on your system. - patriceckhart/zot-sidekick

    Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Instantly see user actions that lead up to a bug, in Slack

    2017 · kuoll.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17
    Sidekick▲107

    ChatGPT for developer docs. Search & update from Slack

    2023 · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    HI HN, Sidekick sees and operates every website you use. Use plain English and it navigates, clicks and types in your local browser Demo video (40s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w-KNcFfQ1g Try it free, for today all sign ups get 1 month of the paid Starter tier for free. There's also a Free tier I'm Colby a bootstrapped solo-founder I built Sidekick because I was drowning in repetitive workflows for my vacation rental management business, and I wanted my computer to do the clicking VCs rejected me and the idea. But I don’t need their money. I need real people to try it…

    2025 · firmware.ai · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Hey everyone! I’m excited to share a project I’ve been working on throughout my university studies. It’s called BiTE (https://github.com/WINSDK/bite) and it's a tool primarily focused on being an executable viewer with reverse engineering capabilities. BiTE supports Windows, MacOS, and Linux, along with their associated executable formats. It’s also capable of parsing and displaying debug information using DWARF/PDB formats, which I hope will be useful even for just comparing codegen. I’ve put a lot of effort into this and it's the first time I'm releasing something…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20
    errsole▲133

    First open-source Node.js logger with a built-in log viewer

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    FlowLens▲134

    Hi HN, We often run into this with coding agents like Claude Code: debugging turns into copy-pasting logs, writing long explanations, and sharing screenshots. FlowLens is an MCP server plus a Chrome extension that captures browser context (video, console, network, user actions, storage) and makes it available to MCP-compatible agents like Claude Code. You can try it here: https://magentic.ai/flowlens Any feedback—good, bad, or brutal—is welcome.

    Dec 2025 · magentic.ai · its alternatives →

  22. 22JA
  23. 23

    AI-powered debugging for Claude Code. Point, click, fix

    Jan 2026 · devlens.pro · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Software testing tool to help you test software features

    2021 · testsoothe.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →