Retiring Script Debugger
Mark Alldritt and Shane Stanley (Mastodon):
January 2025 marks Script Debugger’s 30th anniversary. It’s been a very long run for a two-person effort. Script Debugger began as a Classic MacOS product, survived Apple’s near-death experience, transitioned to macOS X and migrated across 4 CPU processor types. We are so grateful for the support we’ve received over these years. This support allowed us to keep working on Script Debugger much longer than we ever imagined.
Shane and I are retiring and the effort and costs associated with continuing Script Debugger’s development are too great for us to bear any longer.
[…]
In June 2025, Script Debugger will no longer be offered for sale and all support and maintenance will cease.
At this time, Script Debugger will become a free download.
This is really sad news. Script Debugger is an excellent app that I use nearly every day, and there’s nothing else like it. Alldritt had hinted at retirement before, but I had hoped that they would sell the app or that, with AppleScript not changing very quickly these days, it wouldn’t be too much of a burden to maintain. But with a constant stream of new OS bugs, new privacy and security requirements, and deprecated APIs, it’s impossible for an app to stand still. You have to keep updating it or it will break over time.
In any case, I thank them for spending decades developing an app that belongs in the Mac hall of fame.
Previously:
- UI Browser to Be Retired
- Script Debugger 8
- Happy 25th Birthday, AppleScript
- Thank You, Sal
- Script Debugger’s 20th Anniversary
Update (2025-01-06): Uli Kusterer:
Pretty sure I used Script Debugger to do some extensive reworks of EyeTV’s AppleScript support, and it was so much more helpful than just waiting for Script Editor to abort with an error.
Sad to see Script Debugger going away, though I totally understand the decision. This tool has saved me sooooo many hours of time over the years, I very much do not look forward to whatever future macOS update that ultimately ends up breaking it. 😩
Update (2025-01-08): Jason Snell:
There are many great independent Mac apps out there that have been developed for decades by a single developer or a small team; I admit that I’ve been worried about the fate of those apps for a while now. Developers deserve to retire just like anyone else, but as happy as that moment can be for the people involve, I also selfishly dread the loss of another indie Mac app I’ve relied on for years.
Update (2025-02-11): Zsolt Benke:
I don’t know the current state of AppleScript inside Apple, but I know that the difference between Script Debugger and Script Editor is night and day. Script Debugger should be part of the system, which is why I feel sad that another great Mac app, especially one with such a long history, is getting retired.
See also: Mac Power Users Talk.
Update (2025-06-03): Mark Alldritt (forum):
The day has finally come. After 30 years of continuous development, Script Debugger has been retired and will no longer be available for sale.
I’m still really sad about this.
I still use Script Debugger to this day.
30 years of development is a long time, and Script Debugger is such a great app. Congrats Mark - you made something awesome.
30 years ago was 1995 — which was so solidly in the classic Mac era that the OS was still named “System 7”, not “Mac OS 7”. I forget when I first started using Script Debugger, but it was definitely in the classic Mac era.
[…]
Script Debugger isn’t just a spectacularly good Mac developer tool. (Indispensable, I would say. A lot of the problems many scripters have with AppleScript aren’t just mitigated by using Script Debugger instead of Apple’s free Script Editor — they go away.) It has also always come with spectacularly thorough and exceedingly well-written documentation — a good user manual describes what a product does, but a great one also explains how to use it.
But even better than that, the product always fostered a community of users. You could email tech support for help and get world-class expert personal assistance, or, you could participate in their (still vibrant!) user forum.
[…]
I haven’t really spent much time thinking about “apps” retiring, even while at the top of their game, but here we are.
5 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
Apple should seriously consider reaching out to Mark and Shane to discuss acquiring Script Debugger and maintaining it as an official tool. While AppleScript may not be front and center in Apple’s current priorities, it remains an essential part of automation workflows for a dedicated community of power users and developers. Script Debugger has been the gold standard for working with AppleScript, and letting it fade away would leave a significant void.
That said, let’s be real. This is likely another case where Apple lets a critical tool for its most loyal users slip through the cracks. Instead of bolstering automation and developer tools, Cook and co seem more focused on pushing subscriptions and services. Every time Apple sidelines a product like this, it chips away at the goodwill of its most dedicated users—people who have stuck with the platform for decades.
As one of the first Script Debugger users, I can declare that we've been blessed with a program that basically was Apple's original pie-in-the-sky version of the Script Editor, which had been code named Toy Surprise because of the feature cuts made to it. I will miss Script Debugger. Thank you Mark and Shane for providing immense value to the Mac ecosystem.
Wow, I just learned about the existence of that app and used it for the very first time *yesterday*! At least I don't have to ponder whether or not I want to buy it any longer.
Yes, I'd been in two minds about whether to get it myself. Guess the decision's been made for me. I'm no fan of AppleScript but I can appreciate that a tool like this probably makes a lot of sense for regular scripters.
