dnSpyEx vs PonyDebugger
dnSpyEx
github.comPonyDebugger
github.comSide by side
| Figure | dnSpyEx | PonyDebugger |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Debuggers | 7.9 (#11) | 8.2 (#7) |
| License | The repository states that dnSpy is licensed under GPLv3. | PonyDebugger and its gateway are licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. |
| Purpose | dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and .NET assembly editor for working with assemblies without source code. | PonyDebugger is a client library and gateway server that uses Chrome Developer Tools to debug an application's network traffic and managed object contexts. |
Plans
In their own words
dnSpyEx
dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and .NET assembly editor for working with assemblies without source code. It can debug .NET Framework, .NET, and Unity game assemblies, with breakpoints, tracepoints, conditional breakpoints, exception breakpoints, and multiple-process debugging. Editing covers metadata and methods or classes in C# and Visual Basic, plus low-level IL method bodies. The project lists C# and Visual Basic decompilers using the ILSpy engine, along with a BAML decompiler and disassembler. Assembly search, class and method usage analysis, caller finding, bookmarks, and project export are also included. A public API supports extensions, and the C# Interactive window can control or script dnSpyEx. The latest stable release listed is v6.6.0, which adds a .NET 10 distribution. It is free under GPLv3. Release notes describe Wine compatibility adjustments for Linux, not native Linux support. Dynamic methods cannot be debugged because of CLR limitations.
PonyDebugger
PonyDebugger is a free remote debugging toolset for native iOS apps. An app-side client connects to a gateway server, which presents debugging views through Chrome Developer Tools. Network traffic can be routed through a proxy for inspection in Chrome’s Network tools, including HTTPS; the client automatically proxies requests using NSURLConnection and NSURLSession. Developers can register managed object contexts and browse Core Data entities and objects, though these stores are read-only. The view hierarchy display can highlight matching views, edit displayed attributes, and remove nodes. Remote logging supports text and recursive inspection of object properties. Setup requires integrating the client and connecting it to the gateway; the quick start requires Xcode Command Line Tools. The gateway serves Chrome Developer Tools on localhost port 9000 by default, and can be configured for access from another device or computer. The iOS client requires iOS 5.0 or above. The project is Apache License 2.0; its README warns that automatic forwarding of all network traffic swizzles private API methods and should be limited to debug builds.