# GoogleChromeLabs/ndb

ndb is an improved debugging experience for Node.js, enabled by Chrome DevTools

Repository: https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/ndb
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ndb
Language: JavaScript
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: nodejs, debugging, devtools
Archived: true
Last push: 2022-05-26T07:03:35+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2966, "days_push": 1560, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 10869, forks 241 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:44.569814+00:00)

## What it is
ndb is a command-line tool that provides an improved debugging experience for Node.js applications using Chrome DevTools as its UI. It supports debugging child processes, breakpoints before module loading, in-UI file editing, and profiling via the --prof flag.

## Use cases
- debug a node.js server script with chrome devtools
- debug npm scripts like unit tests
- debug child processes automatically
- set breakpoints before modules are required
- profile a node app with --prof
- edit source files directly in the debugger UI

## When to choose
- you want a full GUI debugger for Node.js without configuring inspector flags
- you need to debug npm scripts or arbitrary binaries like mocha
- you debug applications that spawn child processes

## When to avoid
- you prefer VS Code's built-in Node.js debugger
- you want an actively developed tool - the last release was in 2022
- you cannot tolerate a ~280MB Chromium download via Puppeteer

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: developer-tools, cli, gui
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cross-platform, cli
- tags: debugging, chrome-devtools, nodejs-debugger, breakpoints, profiling, command-line, nodejs

## Member repositories
- GoogleChromeLabs/ndb (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:44.569814+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 2026-08-29T17:17:27.462596+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/ndb (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:44.569814+00:00, sha b792a594dd9d)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/ndb (fetched 2026-08-29T08:16:39.457708+00:00, sha 6dc0c8178077)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.