#1 most frequent
United States of America
56.0%726 installations of 1,297
What is Chrome DevTools?
Chrome DevTools is a set of authoring, debugging, and profiling tools built into Google Chrome.
Categories & Use Cases
Product Demos
Who Buys & Uses Chrome DevTools
#2 most frequent
India
10.8%140 installations of 1,297
#3 most frequent
Canada
4.5%58 installations of 1,297
Pros
- Real-time inspection and modification of HTML and CSS elements
- Effective debugging of JavaScript errors and troubleshooting console issues
- Comprehensive performance optimization, including loading times and speed profiling
Cons
- Overwhelming and complex user interface for new users
- Poor discoverability of advanced features within the extensive toolset
- Specific technical shortcomings in specialized debugging functionalities
Great tool for GTM marketers
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Being a marketer, my usage of Chrome DevTools is probably different than most developers. First, it's a great way to make changes to a website page using CSS/HTML, screenshot it, and then show it to your designers/developers or even management to get approval. This is much easier than writing up a long email explaining the changes. Show, don't tell.
Next, with console, it's easy to troubleshoot and identify issues with JS on the website, screenshot the errors, and send it to the development team to fix.
Also, the ability to test responsiveness of the website, emulate devices, orientation, light/dark modes, etc. is crucial to make sure the company's website is properly tested and is functional.
Lastly, not many people know that you can create custom devices with resolutions and dimensions, and then use built-in screenshot tool to get a crisp screenshot using those custom dimensions. It's great for creating app screenshots.
Next, with console, it's easy to troubleshoot and identify issues with JS on the website, screenshot the errors, and send it to the development team to fix.
Also, the ability to test responsiveness of the website, emulate devices, orientation, light/dark modes, etc. is crucial to make sure the company's website is properly tested and is functional.
Lastly, not many people know that you can create custom devices with resolutions and dimensions, and then use built-in screenshot tool to get a crisp screenshot using those custom dimensions. It's great for creating app screenshots.
Pros
- Ability to emulate mobile devices to rest responsive websites
- Troubleshooting JS errors using console
- Identifying accessibility issues
- Testing CSS and HTML changes
Cons
- A lot of features are hidden under 3-dot menu and "more tools", they should be more visible, such as "Rendering"
- Checking WCAG contrast ratio in CSS colors doesn't always work due to how colors are set
Return on Investment
- It's hard to quantify, but the impact is positive with all the testing and troubleshooting it allows to ensure website operates smoothly
- It provides necessary information to fix issues and bugs, so it saves a lot of time that would be wasted blindly troubleshooting problems
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Mozilla Firefox
Other Software Used
Canva, Matomo Analytics, Odoo CRM, Odoo Email Marketing, Odoo Marketing Automation
The best tool to hunt down bugs
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
In my organization, we use Chrome DevTools to debug and inspect the web applications we are developing, and the easy, clear and complete set of tools it offers really improves and speeds up our debug process. Errors and bugs are always annoying, and having a tool that makes hunting them easier and faster is absolutely necessary nowadays.
Pros
- Debug source code
- Inspect web application elements, memory imprint and network
- Set code and DOM breakpoints
Cons
- Improve automatic breakpoints (caught/uncaught exceptions on blacklisted scripts)
Return on Investment
- Chrome DevTools makes debugging 100% or even faster than someone trying to hunt down bugs without any debugging tool
Usability
Other Software Used
Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Postman, DBeaver
State of the art but with a steep learning curve
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Chrome DevTools are an invaluable suite of web development tools for us at HarryAdney Internet Services for debugging, optimising, and enhancing our clients' websites. They make identifying any coding errors that may lead to slow or bloated websites. We use the tools extensivley in our web deveopment work to monitor and fix any errors or display issues which can arise.
Pros
- The Elements panel is usually our first port of call to inspect and modify HTML and CSS in real-time.
- The Issues panel helps us to identify and resolve problems like cookie issues etc.
- The console panel allows developers to see the log output created by their website in real-time.
- Lighthouse helps us identify any issues with accessibility
Cons
- They are tied to Chrome-based browsers, so don't give a reliable overview for user using other browsers, such as Safari or Firefox.
- There are so many "panels" it can get a bit overwhelming to use.
Return on Investment
- As a professional design and development agency we need to provide quality services to our clients. Chrome DevTools helps us deliver on that promise.
- We use Chrome DevTools on 100% of our client websites in combination with other more specialist tools for specific scenarios not adequately covered by Chrome DevTools.
- There's a definite learning curve to using Chrome DevTools, as you'd expect with such an extensive suite of tools. It's not unknown for "word blindness" to kick in, occasionally.
Usability
Other Software Used
Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Windsurf, Bitwarden, Google Drive, Malwarebytes
Every web developer, front end designer needs DevTools
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Chrome Dev Tools help me debug my websites, find css classes to change styles on my development websites, and also use it to test various different view ports , device or what the website looks like on certain mobiles. It also has the Lighthouse functionality which aids in my SEO activities and determining the performance of the website such as how the page assets load and page load speeds
Pros
- inspect elements by right clicking directly on the element on the website
- determine page speeds and optimization advise for SEO using the lighthouse
- great for seeing what websites will look like on mobile
Cons
- I don't really like the UI and visual aspect of the tool, I prefer a dark theme
- Sometimes it glitches after editing a style, and then I can't edit other styles until reload
Most Important Features
- Element Inspector
- Mobile views
- Lighthouse
Return on Investment
- It helps me every day to get my work done
- My websites can be easily styled as I can check these styles easily in the front end
- I spend less time figuring out what code is needed to get my websites to look right
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Mozilla Firefox
Other Software Used
Zoho Campaigns, Trello, Google Workspace, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer
Simple as you want or complex as you need.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Chrome DevTools allows us to debug/profile our online games' performance with detailed information about timings and call stacks per rendered frame. Using Chrome DevTools has allowed us to support many more lower-end devices and improve the quality of our products for every user. The powerful network tools are also amazing for improving loading times and figuring out WebSocket issues!
Pros
- Detailed debug info per frame with a very intuitive UI.
- Remote Chrome DevTools also works very well when using it on another remote machine.
- The script override tools are excellent and easy to use.
Cons
- I find the memory tab a little confusing, and with too much information, that can be hard for beginners.
Return on Investment
- Much more stable releases.
- More time spent on the product experience rather than bug fixing.
- A lot more users due to the improved performance in low-end mobile devices.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Safari and Mozilla Firefox
Other Software Used
MobaXTerm, Redis Software