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What is devtools?

vuejs/devtools — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 2,838TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

In one sentence

A debugging tool for Vue applications that inspects component state, tracked as a browser extension, Vite plugin, or standalone desktop app.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Vue DevTools))
    What it does
      Inspect Vue state
      Track data changes
      Find bugs faster
    Install options
      Browser extension
      Vite plugin
      Desktop app
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Vue
      Vite
    Versioning
      Version 7 current
      Version 6 legacy
    Audience
      Vue developers

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Inspect the internal state of a running Vue application during development

USE CASE 2

Track how component data changes over time without adding console logs

USE CASE 3

Debug Vue apps directly inside a Vite dev server overlay

What is it built with?

TypeScriptVueVite

How does it compare?

vuejs/devtoolswaishnav/devspacethealgorithms/typescript
Stars2,8382,8462,826
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Last pushed—2026-07-03—
Maintenance—Active—
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/53/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

Vue DevTools is a debugging tool for developers who build web applications using Vue, a JavaScript framework for creating user interfaces. It lets developers inspect the internal state of a running Vue application, which is something a browser's built-in developer tools cannot do on their own. The tool is available in several forms. It can be installed as a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox, which adds a dedicated panel inside the browser's existing developer tools. It can also be added as a plugin directly into a Vite-based project, which means it appears as an overlay inside the application itself during development. A standalone desktop app version also exists for cases where the extension approach does not fit. The README for this repository is brief and mostly points to external documentation for setup details. It covers the four installation options and links to a contribution guide for anyone who wants to help improve the project. This is version 7 of Vue DevTools, which was previously called Vue DevTools Next during its development period. The older version 6 has been moved to a separate repository and is considered legacy. For a developer working with Vue, this tool makes it much easier to understand what a component is doing, track data changes, and find the source of unexpected behavior without adding console logs throughout the code.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me install Vue DevTools as a Vite plugin in my project
Prompt 2
Explain the difference between the Vue DevTools browser extension and the standalone app
Prompt 3
Show me how to use Vue DevTools to find why a component isn't re-rendering
Prompt 4
Walk me through migrating from Vue DevTools 6 to version 7

Frequently asked questions

What is devtools?

A debugging tool for Vue applications that inspects component state, tracked as a browser extension, Vite plugin, or standalone desktop app.

What language is devtools written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Vue, Vite.

How hard is devtools to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is devtools for?

Mainly developer.

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