Delve vs GDB
Delve
github.com
GDB
sourceware.orgSide by side
| Figure | Delve | GDB |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Debuggers | 7.9 (#10) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Spec score · Debugging Software | 7.9 (#18) | 8.0 (#16) |
| License | The repository identifies its license as MIT. | GDB is free software protected by the GNU General Public License, which permits copying, adapting, and redistributing copies with source access. |
| Operating systems | The installation guide says its instructions are known to work on Linux, macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD. | GDB runs on popular UNIX and Microsoft Windows variants and on macOS. |
| Purpose | Delve is a debugger for the Go programming language, designed to be simple to invoke and use. | GDB lets users inspect what another program is doing while it executes or after it crashes. |
| Remote debugging | Delve supports remote debugging and recommends SSH tunnels or a VPN when connecting remotely. | The gdbserver control program connects programs to a remote GDB through target remote or target extended-remote. |
| Support | The project says its GitHub issue tracker is for bug reports and directs feature proposals and discussions to the developer mailing list. | The project provides mailing lists for announcements, discussion, patches, bug reports, and testing. |
Plans
In their own words
GDB
GDB is a free debugger for inspecting a program as it runs or after it crashes. It can launch programs, stop execution under specified conditions, examine the stopped state, and change program state for experimentation. A target can run on the same machine, remotely, or in a simulator. GDB runs on popular UNIX variants, Microsoft Windows, and macOS, and supports languages including C, C++, Rust, Go, Ada, Fortran, Assembly, and others. Debugging options include conditional and exception breakpoints, core dump debugging, and record-and-replay with forward and reverse execution on supported platforms. For remote debugging, gdbserver connects a program to GDB. The console interpreter and GDB/MI are available, while Python extensions and the Debugger Adapter Protocol require Python support at build time. GDB is part of the GNU Project and is free software under the GNU General Public License, which allows copying, adaptation, and redistribution with source access. Official releases are available from GNU and Sourceware, with signature verification through the GNU keyring. Version 18.1 was released on September 25, 2026.