Developer Tools

25 Must Have Free Libre Developer Tools for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Hazem Abbas

Jul 2, 2024 — 13 min read

When it comes to the world of software development, having the right tools can significantly enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and ensure high-quality code. One standout app that every developer should consider adding to their toolkit is "25 Must Have Free Libre Developer Tools."

This comprehensive collection of tools and apps is designed to cater to a wide range of development needs, from coding and debugging to testing and deployment, all while being free and open-source.

First and foremost, the app provides a meticulously curated list of essential development tools that are free to use. This is particularly beneficial for independent developers, startups, and small teams who may have limited budgets but still require robust tools to aid in their projects.

Each tool included in the list has been selected for its utility, reliability, and the value it brings to the development process. By offering these tools in one convenient package, the app saves developers the time and effort of searching for and evaluating individual tools.

One of the key features of "25 Must Have Free Libre Developer Tools" is its focus on open-source software. Open-source tools offer several advantages, including the ability to customize and modify the code to suit specific requirements.

Additionally, the open-source community is known for its collaborative nature, which means developers can benefit from continuous updates, improvements, and the collective expertise of a global network of contributors. This focus not only ensures that the tools are reliable but also fosters a sense of community and shared knowledge among developers.

The app also emphasizes usability and ease of integration. Each tool is accompanied by detailed documentation and usage guides, making it easy for developers to understand how to implement and utilize them effectively. Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting, the app provides the necessary information to get you up and running quickly.

Furthermore, the tools are designed to integrate seamlessly with various development environments and workflows, ensuring that they complement rather than disrupt existing processes.

In summary, "25 Must Have Free Libre Developer Tools" is an invaluable resource for developers looking to enhance their toolkit with high-quality, reliable, and versatile tools. By offering a curated list of free and open-source tools, the app not only supports budget-conscious developers but also promotes the principles of open-source collaboration and innovation.

With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive documentation, it ensures that developers can easily find and implement the tools they need to succeed in their projects. Whether you are working on a small personal project or a large-scale enterprise application, this app has something to offer for every developer.

1. DevToys

DevToys is a free development tool offering 30 utilities for tasks like converting data formats, encoding/decoding, formatting, generating hashes, compressing images, and testing. It features Smart Detection to automatically select the best tool for clipboard data.

2. Responsively.app

This is a free modified web browser that helps in responsive web development. A web developer's must have dev-tool.

3. Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is an open-source API development ecosystem known for its lightweight design and real-time request-response capabilities. It supports various HTTP methods including GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, CONNECT, OPTIONS, TRACE, and custom methods.

Users are encouraged to check the documentation for more details and can seek support via Discord, Telegram, or GitHub.

4. LocalStack

LocalStack is a cloud service emulator that allows AWS applications to run locally without needing a remote cloud provider. It supports numerous AWS services and offers a Pro version with additional APIs and features, simplifying testing and development workflows.

It works seamlessly on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It comes with Docker support, and can be installed using Docker Compose and Helm.

5. Lapce

Lapce is a fast, Rust-based text editor with a UI in Floem, utilizing Rope Science and Wgpu for rendering. Key features include built-in LSP support for intelligent code features and first-class modal editing support similar to Vim.

6. Tabby AI Coding Assistant

Tabby is a self-hosted AI coding assistant that serves as an open-source, on-premises alternative to GitHub Copilot.

It requires no DBMS or cloud service, has an OpenAPI interface for easy integration with existing infrastructure, and supports consumer-grade GPUs.

7. Zeal Offline Doc browser built

Zeal is a simple offline documentation browser inspired by Dash. It can be installed easily with any Linux systems.

8. Pyroscope

Grafana Pyroscope is an open-source continuous profiling platform that helps identify performance issues, analyze applications with high-cardinality tags, resolve high CPU utilization and memory leaks, understand call trees, and auto-instrument code to link profiling data to traces.

9. Plandex

Plandex is a reliable, developer-friendly AI coding agent for your terminal that can plan and complete large tasks across multiple files and steps. It helps developers quickly build new apps, add features, write tests, understand code, and fix bugs, reducing time spent on monotonous tasks.

10. JSON Hero

JSON Hero, created by the team behind Trigger.dev, simplifies reading and understanding JSON files with a user-friendly UI and multiple viewing options. It offers features like content inference, JSON Schema creation, value scanning, search functionality, keyboard accessibility, and easily shareable URLs.

11. massCode

massCode is a free and open-source code snippet manager for developers that enables them to collect and manage code snippets easily in one place. The app works for Windows, Linux and macOS.

12. Daytona

Daytona is a free, open-source development environment manager that allows users to set up fully configured development environments with a single command.

It supports various infrastructures, including local, remote, cloud-based, physical servers, and VMs, on both x86 and ARM architectures.

It initially supports dev container configuration files and aims to expand to DevFile, Nix, and Flox.

Additionally, it features a prebuilds system to improve setup times.

13. Maildev

MailDev is a simple way to test your project's generated email during development, with an easy to use web interface that runs on your machine built on top of Node.js. It can be easily installed using Docker.

14. DevUtils App (macOS)

DevUtils.app is a free native macOS toolbox for developers, offering features like JSON formatting, Base64 encoding/decoding, timestamp conversion, and JWT debugging.

It is a paid, source-available app that works offline and requires a one-time purchase to support its development and maintenance.

15. marimo

marimo is a reactive Python notebook that ensures code and outputs remain consistent by automatically running dependent cells.

It supports interactive elements without callbacks, deterministic execution, and can be executed as Python scripts or deployed as interactive web apps. Marimo notebooks are stored as .py files, making them git-friendly.

16. Heynote

Heynote is a dedicated scratchpad for developers. It functions as a large persistent text buffer where you can write down anything you like. Works great for that Slack message you don't want to accidentally send, a JSON response from an API you're working with, notes from a meeting, your daily to-do list, etc.

The Heynote buffer is divided into blocks, and each block can have its own Language set (e.g. JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, etc.). This gives you syntax highlighting and lets you auto-format that JSON response.

Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Features

Persistent text buffer
Block-based
Syntax highlighting:C++, C#, Clojure, CSS, Erlang, Go, Groovy, HTML, Java, JavaScript, JSX, Kotlin, TypeScript, TOML, TSX, JSON, Lezer, Markdown, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Shell, SQL, Swift, XML, YAML
Language auto-detection
Auto-formatting
Math/Calculator mode
Currency conversion
Multi-cursor editing
Dark & Light themes
Option to set a global hotkey to show/hide the app
Default or Emacs-like key bindings

17. React-Proto

React-Proto is a prototyping tool for developers and designers to visualize and set up application architecture, which can be exported into existing or new projects. It supports macOS, Windows, and Linux, with Mac users needing to adjust security settings.

Developers can start projects by importing mockups or using a blank stage, add and arrange components, and utilize toolbar icons for various functions.

18- Dnote

Dnote is a simple command line notebook for programmers. It is to designed to keep you focused by providing a way of effortlessly capturing and retrieving information without leaving your terminal. It also offers a seamless multi-device sync.

19. wakapi

Wakapi is a minimalist, self-hosted, time-tracker WakaTime-compatible backend for coding statistics.

It offers features like project statistics, language and editor tracking, badges, weekly email reports, a REST API, Prometheus export support, and is lightning fast.

It is free, open-source, and built by developers for developers.

20. httpie desktop

HTTPie is a free and open-source tool for building and developing API headless solutions.

21. Palanteer

Palanteer is a set of efficient tools for improving C++ and Python software quality through simple code instrumentation. It offers features like atomic event collection, efficient logging, visual and interactive record observation, and remote command scripting.

For C++, it provides a lightweight, cross-platform instrumentation library with advanced logging and assertions. For Python, it supports automatic function instrumentation, multithreading, and multiple stream recording.

Palanteer enhances software development by making deep testing simpler and more efficient.

22. Portr

Portr is a tunnel solution that allows you to expose local http, tcp or websocket connections to the public internet. It utilizes SSH remote port forwarding under the hood to securely tunnel connections.

Portr is primarily designed for small teams looking to expose development servers on a public URL. It is not recommended for use alongside production servers.