IceCream – Never use print() to debug again

7/19/2026 at 7:21:30 AM

Or use tests and/or a debugger. Which gives you all the listed benefits w/o an additional dependency.

by oweiler

7/19/2026 at 5:11:28 PM

Different tools for different cases. Debuggers are great for a snapshot in time but print statements are better for seeing the execution flow.

by ollysb

7/20/2026 at 7:05:40 AM

As a profession we need to phase out point in time debuggers and replace them with reverse debuggers or "time travel" debuggers

by slifin

7/20/2026 at 12:21:13 PM

I think PIT debuggers have their use especially with regards to altering state mid run, but this is the first time I've heard of reverse debugging and it seems incredibly useful, especially for multithreaded software I'm often debugging

by ____mr____

7/19/2026 at 8:04:35 AM

Yeah, the amount of wasted hours with 1960's teletype debugging.

Ah but servers and embedded, that is why telemetry, execution traces, and debugger controlled action points exist.

by pjmlp

7/19/2026 at 7:43:49 AM

>Do you ever use print() or log() to debug your code?

I haven't written my own code in months at this point...kind of depressing to think about

by RockRobotRock

7/21/2026 at 9:44:17 AM

My own TS project was inspired by IceCream: https://github.com/Leftium/gg#coding-agent-access

It began as a better `console.log()` for humans, but I ended up making it better for AI coding agents.

I got tired of copying dev console output, so coding agents can now just insert the exact calls they need and query the output without human intervention.

by Leftium

7/20/2026 at 4:44:02 AM

i got half way through the readme for this project and had the same thought and got sad and just left the page

by _345

7/19/2026 at 1:41:54 PM

My first thought as well. Debugging is actually a decent use case of AI.

by squirrellous

7/19/2026 at 5:07:04 PM

I have a board with a logic analyzer, debug/flash probe, PSU, and multimeter on my desk being driven and debugged all autonomously by the AI.

While the automation and systems side of my brain is thrilled that all of this id automated and integrated, developer brain is sad

by vitally3643

7/19/2026 at 6:32:04 PM

So what do you actually do then?

by benj111

7/19/2026 at 9:28:27 AM

Debugging in python is already so easy with `print(f"{myvar=}")` and `breakpoint()`...

by awoimbee

7/19/2026 at 12:09:58 PM

This is the correct answer. `ic(foo(123))` can be written as `print(f'{foo(123)=}')` without depending on yet another third-party library which is not pulling its weight.

by Hackbraten

7/19/2026 at 11:51:39 AM

I haven’t used print for debugging for ages. Now it’s all trace on azure and hope your bug ends up in the sampled data in whatever that stupid thing is called. App insights or some rubbish. Apparently a good old log file just isn’t good enough it has to be larded up with a query language. Grep was fine guys.

by smackeyacky

7/19/2026 at 8:01:20 PM

Cannot recommend icecream, way too slow. But the use case of logging shines with realtime systems, or concurrent apps. You won't be able to efficiently debug them without logging. I live in my debugger, but logging is mandatory for the big picture.

by rurban

7/20/2026 at 6:15:34 AM

hey! icecream author here. what/how/where is icecream too slow for your use case(s)? feedback is how good products become great

by grun

7/19/2026 at 5:44:51 PM

It's neat how trivial it is to do this in C, only takes a couple of macros. https://github.com/trvv/_/blob/d4899741c4f35833b8e86d16e2163...

Looks like the project has a linked repo that appears to do a similar thing for C but it doesn't generically format the arguments.

by trvv

7/20/2026 at 4:13:40 AM

Yeah this is a miss for me. I've never felt that this was a considerable source of friction. Certainly not enough to justify a dependency.

by hankbond

7/20/2026 at 6:28:00 AM

hey! icecream author here. let me know your thoughts on what could make icecream more useful to you. feedback is how good products become great

by grun

7/19/2026 at 10:30:54 AM

Remember COBOL's EXHIBIT?

by Borborygymus

7/19/2026 at 3:11:26 PM

...use slightly fancier print() instead!

by IshKebab

7/19/2026 at 8:44:23 AM

why another tool for that ? think standard with other team/company and use the same integrated ones.

by soizi

7/19/2026 at 11:45:49 AM

[dead]

by imagent