# Byebug

Debugging in Ruby

Repository: https://github.com/deivid-rodriguez/byebug
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/byebug
Language: Ruby
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: byebug, ruby, debugger, repl
Last push: 2026-07-27T03:09:11+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 34, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4916, "days_push": 37, "days_rel": 230, "gap_med": 296, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3349, forks 329 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:57.785713+00:00)

## What it is
Byebug is a feature-rich debugger for Ruby implemented as a C extension using the TracePoint and Debug Inspector APIs. It provides stepping, breakpoints, REPL evaluation, and variable tracking, both from within code and from the command line.

## Use cases
- debug a ruby script from the command line
- set a breakpoint inside a rails controller
- step through ruby code line by line
- inspect variable values while a ruby program runs
- add a repl debugger to ruby tests
- pause execution when an exception is raised

## When to choose
- you need a reliable, fast native debugger for MRI Ruby 3.3+
- you want classic gdb-style commands like break, step, and backtrace in Ruby
- you debug Rails apps and want to drop a breakpoint into controllers or models
- you want pry integration via pry-byebug for a better REPL

## When to avoid
- you need to debug JRuby or TruffleRuby, since byebug requires MRI
- you only want a standalone REPL without execution control, where plain pry suffices
- you need a graphical debugger UI rather than a command-line interface
- you are on Ruby older than 3.3.0

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: testing, developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages
- platform: ruby, cli, cross-platform
- tags: debugger, ruby-debugger, repl, tracepoint, breakpoints, stepping, pry-byebug, command-line

## Member repositories
- deivid-rodriguez/byebug (main) score 74
- deivid-rodriguez/pry-byebug (plugin) score 69

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:57.785713+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:40:58.505774+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/deivid-rodriguez/byebug (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:57.785713+00:00, sha 5a7956534807)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.