Supercharge Chrome with 10 Dev Tools for Coders
Chrome is the dominant web browser today, commanding a massive 67% market share globally. With its open ecosystem, Chrome empowers developers to customize their environments with extensions and tools to boost productivity. For coders, having the right Chrome developer tools can optimize workflows and troubleshooting. In this post, we'll review 10 must-have Chrome dev tools to take your skills up a notch.
These top-rated extensions make debugging, testing, collaboration and productivity a breeze. We've compiled tools across categories based on community ratings and reviews. For each tool, we'll explore the key features that make them so essential for developers.
As a platform dedicated to showcasing innovative developer tools, DevHunt features many of the extensions we'll cover. Our community helps developers discover and evaluate the latest Chrome tools to level up their game.
Top Debugging Tools for Chrome
Debugging is a pain point for most coders. Robust Chrome extensions for setting breakpoints, stepping through code and inspecting state are a must-have. Here are top debugging tools highly-rated by developers:
React Developer Tools
This tool enables debugging React component trees, state changes and props visually. Setting breakpoints and stepping through code in real-time allows tracking bugs precisely. Integrations with Redux, React Router and libraries provide full visibility into complex React apps. On DevHunt, React Developer Tools earns a 4.9 rating for these debugging superpowers.
Angular Batarang
Angular developers rely on Batarang to inspect components, services, modules and more to understand Angular apps. The profiling features help track and optimize performance. Integrations with router, filters, promises and other Angular building blocks enable rapid end-to-end debugging. Angular Batarang has over 1200 shining DevHunt reviews.
Chrome DevTools
For basic JavaScript debugging, Chrome DevTools is essential. Features like breakpoints, call stack inspection and variable watching accelerate development. Auditing page loads, profiling JavaScript, and network throttling helps optimization. Though not as specialized as other tools, Chrome DevTools gives universal debugging fundamentals.
Must-Have Debugging Tools
Let's do a deeper dive on some of the top-rated debugging extensions for tackling coding headaches:
React Developer Tools
For React developers, visualizing complex component hierarchies, state changes and props is difficult without specialized tools. React Developer Tools makes it easy to inspect the React runtime. Breakpoints and stepping through code lets you track re-renders and state changes. The props pane shows data flowing through your app for easy debugging. Integrations with Redux, React Router and more provide the full picture. With its essential debugging superpowers, it's easy to see why React Developer Tools earns a shining 4.9 rating on DevHunt.
Angular Batarang
Angular Batarang enables inspecting and modifying app data models for unparalleled debugging productivity. The dependency graph visualization exposes the injector hierarchy to debug dependencies. Batarang excels at debugging Angular data bindings by examining and modifying scope inheritance chains live. Integration with the router lets you debug configurations and parameters. The profiling module helps track and optimize performance by recording timing metrics to identify bottlenecks. It's clear why Angular Batarang earns rave reviews on DevHunt from Angular developers.
Chrome DevTools
While less specialized than React and Angular extensions, Chrome DevTools is the Swiss army knife for basic JavaScript debugging. Setting breakpoints and stepping through code accelerates tracking runtime issues. Inspecting the call stack and variables provides insights into behavior. Network request inspection helps pin down asset problems. Auditing page loads, DOM size, and JavaScript profiling guides optimization. Throttling the network and CPU enables debugging real-world environments. For fundamental debugging skills, Chrome DevTools is a must-have starting point according to DevHunt users.
Top Testing Tools for Chrome
Testing often gets deprioritized, but strong test automation catches bugs early and reduces risk. Chrome has stellar extensions for UI, integration, unit and end-to-end testing.
Puppeteer enables robust browser test automation. ChromeLens excels at isolated React component testing. WebDriverIO integrates with Selenium for advanced browser test orchestration. Other top options like uiTest and Enzyme provide additional testing superpowers. Paired with frameworks like Jest, these tools form complete test suites that developers rave about on DevHunt.
Must-Have Productivity Extensions
Beyond debugging and testing, developers rely on Chrome extensions that boost productivity. Here are some top-rated picks:
Tab Merger Pro declutters crowded tabs into collapsible grouped collections for sanity. OneTab enables saving all tabs into a list and restoring them instantly with one click. Vimium provides keyboard shortcuts for navigation and control without touching the mouse, speeding up workflows. Top choices like Momentum, Todoist and Grammarly also provide motivation, task tracking and writing assistance.
According to DevHunt users, these extensions help reclaim hours lost to tab overload, distraction and inefficient workflows. They are considered essential for any developer looking to raise their productivity game.
Top Collaboration Tools
Collaboration is key for agile dev teams. Chrome extensions enable real-time coordination and debugging between teammates for major productivity gains.
Debugger for Chrome facilitates remote debugging and tackling issues together. Screenity's screen sharing allows seamless collaboration by letting teammates view and control your screen. Other excellent options like Visual Studio Live Share and Asana provide real-time editing, task tracking and team communication.
According to DevHunt reviews, these tools are transforming remote-first workflows by enabling efficient collaboration as if working in-person.
Key Takeaways
The top developer tools featured here, curated by community ratings and reviews, represent must-have Chrome extensions for taking your productivity, debugging, testing and collaboration to the next level.
While hundreds of useful tools are available, these choices offer the capabilities most developers rely on daily. If you take one thing away, it should be to try out some highly recommended new tools to give your environment a boost.
To stay on top of the latest innovative developer tools, explore DevHunt's constantly updated recommendations and ratings. Our community discovers the perfect Chrome extensions to customize workflows while learning about cutting-edge innovations.
The open Chrome ecosystem provides the building blocks for developers to optimize their processes. With the right tools, you can accomplish more than ever. Don't settle for the status quo. Let DevHunt help unlock your potential!