After 30 years, Script Debugger is being retired
Mark Alldritt & Shane Stanley of Late Night Software:
We are announcing the retirement of Script Debugger as a product.
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.
I’ve been a Script Debugger user for years. It has made building AppleScript scripts so much more by giving script developers access to debugging tools that the built-in Script Editor lacks. While I’m obviously disappointed in the end of the product, it’s been a remarkable 30-year run!
Also, if I’m being honest, I don’t use Script Debugger as much as I used to, because I don’t use AppleScript as much as I used to. It’s still unparalleled in the control it gives over Mac apps themselves, but I tend to use it as a bridging tool for places that Shortcuts and Keyboard Maestro can’t reach. For most general-purpose automation that doesn’t involve Mac apps, I’m using Python these days, not AppleScript. I graduated, I guess.
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 involved, I also selfishly dread the loss of another indie Mac app I’ve relied on for years.
The good news: Late Night Software will continue updating the app for six months and then will post past versions back to 5.0 on its website with serial numbers attached, so that people who rely on Script Debugger for older installations will be able to use it forever. Unfortunately, the next time a macOS update breaks something in Script Debugger, that’ll mark its end as an actively usable product.