Nowadays, Javascript is getting more and more popular in front-end development. You can write JavaScript code in a regular "Notepad" - save the result with the .js extension, and it will not only connect to the site but even work. However, using such a limited editor would greatly slow down development. Therefore, it is better to take something specialized. Our list of the best Javascript IDEs should help you to decide. Show
Many editors meet all the necessary requirements and are suitable for working with JavaScript. Writing code is everyone's business, but many have problems with choosing the right program. That is why I have compiled a collection of 21 best Javascript IDEs with their pros and cons. Let's make a reservation right away that this is not the top list, but the simple list. The first does not mean the best; the last does not mean the worst. Therefore, you can choose any tool based on your needs and preferences. But first, let me make it clear for you what IDE is and what the difference with a simple code editor. What is an IDE?The term IDE (Integrated Development Environment) means an editor extended with a lot of "bells and whistles" and knows how to work with auxiliary systems such as a bug tracker, version control, and much more. As a rule, the IDE loads the entire project to provide autocompletion for the whole project's functions, convenient navigation through its files, etc. If you haven't thought about choosing an IDE yet, look at the following options below. Please, make a choice according to your taste and other technologies that you need to use in conjunction with JavaScript. Most IDEs are paid, with the ability to download and use for free for a while. But their cost, compared to a web developer's salary, is not high, so that you can focus on convenience. What Is the Difference Between IDEs and Editors?An IDE is a software application that provides a developer with all the development process capabilities. It contains:
Many IDEs provide you also with class or object browsers, the ability to generate a class diagramfrom the project structure (in object-oriented programming), and run test cases(like Visual Studio). Having all these features, that's why it is called an integrated development environment. A code editor is a separate application that is required to write or edit source code. The source editor checks the syntax while the user is writing code and immediately warns of syntax errors. What to Look for When Choosing the Right Development Environment?Development requires a good editor. The editor you choose should have in your arsenal:
Let's have a look at the most popular IDE, according to Github statistics. Of course, not all of them use Javascript, so I'll just skip unsuitable and add some user's favorites. Free Best Javascript IDEVisual Studio CodeVisual Studio CodePlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: free Visual Studio Code is a free HTML IDE from Microsoft. This editor supports Typescript, C ++, Java, Javascript, PHP, Python, and others. With Visual Studio Code, the Redmond-based company has a serious product that has developed a fan base within a very short time that almost makes you forget everybody's favorite Sublime text. Visual Studio Code is not only available for Windows but also macOS and even Linux. This allows you to work across platforms with the same comfort and functionality. VS Code can easily be functionally expanded with extensions. You can bring about visual changes using themes, of which there is also a wide variety. VS Code works directly with Github and offers extremely good syntax highlighting for various languages and an advanced variant of code completion. VS Code is subject to a four-week update cycle. The changelogs are an extensive month after month. The product is being massively developed, with the user community's wishes being seriously taken into account. In addition to the optical and functional expansion options, this Javascript editor does not neglect user support. Comprehensive documentation is available and tutorial videos for beginners. Pros:
Cons:
EclipseEclipsePlatforms: Windows / Linux / macOS / Solaris Price: free It is a free open source development environment that is well suited for both novice and experienced developers. Eclipse IDE works with C, C ++, Fortran, Javascript, PHP, Python, Ruby, and others. Besides debugging tools and Git/CVS support, Eclipse comes with Java and a plugin tool. Initially, Eclipse was used only for Java, but now, its functions have expanded thanks to plugins and extensions significantly. Because of the ability to extend Eclipse with its modules, this platform has gained its popularity among developers. Eclipse's functionality is not as large as IntelliJ IDEA, but this development environment is distributed open-source. Pros:
Cons:
NetBeansNetBeansPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, Solaris Price: free Another IDE for Java, but like Eclipse, you can extend it for additional languages. It supports Java, HTML5, JavaScript, PHP, Python, C / C ++ and CSS3. Netbeans can speed up the desktop application development process with its drag and drop builder. The downside is performance. Netbeans can slow down on large projects. This code editor is also open source. Pros:
Cons:
AtomAtomPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: free Thanks to its deep integration with GitHub, Atom is now a particularly popular editor. If you develop web projects in GitHub, there is no way around Atom: The open-source editor was developed by GitHub and is therefore closely linked to the platform. Nevertheless, Atom is also a completely normal Javascript editor, with the help of which web projects can be implemented. Atom also has some practical features, such as a permanent display of all project files or the quick splitting of the code windows. So it allows you to edit particularly quick and clear. The editor also has a function for collaborative work on project files, making it suitable for teams. Pros:
Cons:
VimVimPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: free Vim is a free and highly customizable code editor. It was the first text editor developed for Unix, and it was called Vi. Later, its functionality was significantly expanded. This is how Vim appeared. This Javascript editor is available on most Linux distributions. Vim has search and syntax highlighting features and is super lightweight. Thus, it can handle even very large files well. But it will take some time to set up and prepare for work. Vim also has a graphical interface, but not by default. Even enabling mouse support requires some manipulation. By default, Vim is controlled by keyboard and keyboard shortcuts. Vim can be a great IDE if you customize it and become familiar with it inside and out. But if time is tight, this is probably not the best choice.Pros:
Cons:
Light TableLight TablePlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: Free /Open Source Light Table started as a Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 and has raised over $ 300,000. It works on all major operating systems. However, the installation process currently requires some additional steps for OS X users. Light Table has a sleek and streamlined user interface that saves clutter but still provides you with a command palette and fuzzy search. It is written in ClojureScript and currently supports HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Clojure, and ClojureScript. With Light Table, you can easily do an inline evaluation in your code. This means you don't need to use the console when you want to view your results. The Light Table also allows you to embed whatever your project needs, such as graphics, games, and visualizations. The Light Table has a built-in plugin manager (accessible from the View> Plugin Manager menu), as well as a pretty good selection of additional plugins. Pros:
Cons:
Aptana StudioAptana StudioPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: free Aptana Studio is a complete IDE for web development that combines powerful development tools with a suite of online hosting and collaboration services. It will help you and your team get more done. This IDE includes support for PHP, CSS, FTP, and more. It positions itself as the best IDE for web development. The editor works on all major operating systems. Special features:
Aptana includes standard functions for applications from this area, such as auto-completion, error checking, et. Pros:
Cons:
AWS Cloud9AWS Cloud9Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price:free for AWS Free Tier, for pricing use calculator on the website. Usually, it starts from $29/month AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based IDE from Amazon that supports over 40 languages , including Javascript, C, C ++, CoffeeScript, Go, Java, PHP, Python (2 & 3), and Ruby. This online Javascript IDE includes defaulting all the SDKs, libraries, and plugins required to build serverless applications. Cloud9 has its terminal that provides sudo access to the managed Amazon EC2 instance hosting the development environment and an AWS CLI with pre-configured authentication. This makes it easy to quickly launch various commands and provides direct access to AWS services. There is support for multiple parallel development environments to isolate project resources. The free version includes 1 Gb RAM + 1 vCPU, Amazon Linux or Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS, chat, SSH connection.Pros:
Cons:
BracketsBracketsPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: free Brackets is Adobe's answer to Atom and the many paid HTML and JS editors. The editor prides itself on being particularly modern, and the interface is very elegant, with no unnecessary controls. Functionally, Brackets is still powerful. Thanks to numerous extensions, Brackets supports a large number of languages and additional functions that can be installed with just a few clicks. Brackets from Adobe can score among other things with a plugin for WordPress development. Pros:
Cons:
RJ TextEdRJ TextEdPlatforms: Windows Price: free, donation is welcome RJ TextEd is a free text editor with source code editing and Unicode support. The program will also be useful for web developers, thanks to the ability to carry out HTML/CSS editing and work with standard commands and functions in JavaScript and PHP. Besides, it includes lots of useful features such as:
Pros:
Cons:
CodeLiteCodeLitePlatforms: Windows, Ubuntu, macOS Price: free and open source CodeLite is an open source development environment with full support for C, C ++, Node.js, and PHP. There are versions for Linux, Mac, as well as for Windows 32 and 64-bit operating systems. Because CodeLite is an IDE, it provides a more sophisticated built-in development environment for the languages it supports, flexibly expanding its scope with custom plugins. Despite its complexity, it is lightweight and easy to use. The IDE also has general compiler support, interactive debuggers, integrators, and code completion. While CodeLite has advanced features that can be a bit overwhelming for beginners, getting started with its superficial functionality is easy. Pros:
Cons:
CodeplyCodeplyPlatforms: Online editor in web browser Price: free Codeply is another tool JavaScript IDE for quickly editing online. This product was launched back in 2014, and the 2nd version was released in 2019. The team behind Codeply claims that their product is suitable for rapid prototyping, mock-up, learning, and exploring popular new libraries, APIs, plugins, and frameworks. The standard set of functionality includes layout settings, a preview of results, ready-made templates, and social network elements. Compared to other tools, Codeply is fast. Pros:
Cons:
Best Premium Javascript IDEVisual StudioVisual StudioPlatforms:Windows, Linux, macOS Price: from $45/month Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE from Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs for Microsoft Windows and websites, web applications, and web services. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platforms such as Windows API, Windows Forms, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Store, and Microsoft Silverlight. It can create both native codes and managed code. Visual Studio includes a code editor that supports IntelliSense as well as code refactoring. The integrated debugger works as a source-level debugger and a machine-level debugger. Other built-in tools include a form designer for building GUI applications, a web designer, a class designer, and a database schema designer. It accepts plugins that extend functionality at almost every level, including adding support for version control systems (such as Subversion) and adding new toolkits editors and visual designers for domain-specific languages or toolkits for others. Visual Studio supports various programming languages and allows the code editor and debugger to support virtually any programming language as long as a dedicated language service exists. Embedded languages include XML / XSLT, HTML / XHTML, JavaScript and CSS, C, C ++ and C ++ / CLI, VB.NET, C #, and F #. Support for other languages such as M, Python and Ruby, and others is available through language services installed separately. Pros:
Cons:
WebStormWebStormPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: $0-$129/year WebStorm stands out because it is a fully-featured JavaScript IDE. The developer of this IDE is JetBrains. This JS editor is great for various platforms such as React, Angular, Vue.js, and more. It can be used to debug node scripts and run tests on an embedded server. You can also run and debug npm scripts (using the tree-like interface). And you don't need any plugins for all this. However, plugins are available for some more specific functionality not built into the IDE itself. But in most cases, everything you might need is already in the IDE. The best part about this is that you can discover new features you never knew before and appreciate how great they are. By default, WebStorm is configured to autosave files as you work on them. When you switch to some other Javascript editor without such functionality, you begin to feel how much it lacks after this IDE. However, this is not a unique feature of WebStorm. It's just that the implementation here is a little nicer. Some people don't always trust ctrl-z to undo, but WebStorm has a built-in version control system that commits every time a file is saved. It's purely internal, completely separate from your Git commits. So if you haven't made a commit in Git in a while, and you need to go back and see the previous state after the last commit, you can do it without any problems. Despite some disadvantages, the project is constantly evolving and improving. Pros:
Cons:
IntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEAPlatforms: Windows / Linux / macOS Price: from $15/month, $150 -$499/year. The free version only works with Java and Android.IntelliJ IDEA is the next premium IDE developed by JetBrains on our list. You can also use the free Community Edition, and the paid version has a 30-day trial period. IntelliJ IDEA was created as a development environment for Java. Still, now the developers define this IDE as "the smartest and most user-friendly development environment for Java, including support for all the latest technologies and frameworks." Using plugins, this IDE can be used to work with other languages. Pros:
Cons:
PyCharmPyCharmPlatforms:Windows / Linux / macOS Price:from $9/month and $90/year. If you are doing Python development too, take a look at PyCharm, another IDE from JetBrains. Also, it supports CoffeeScript in the free version. Like IntelliJ, it is supported by all three major operating systems. The professional license includes support for HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Besides, you can always extend the functionality with plugins.With PyCharm, you will have access to:
Like IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm has an open-source Community version, but with limited functionality. It lacks many web development tools, no Python profiler, and no database support. The Professional license costs $ 89 per year for individuals and $ 199 per year for organizations (per user).Pros:
Cons:
Sublime TextSublime TextPlatforms:Windows, Linux, macOS Price:from $0 - $70 Sublime Text is a powerful text editor and PHP IDE. It's lightweight, feature-rich, and supported on popular platforms. Users only need one license to use Sublime Text on any computer. The functionality of the Sublime text editor can be expanded and adapted using plugins. In practice, many JS plugins help turn Sublime Text into an elegant Javascript IDE. Some of the most popular JS plugins are Babel, SublimeLiner, and SideBar Enhancements. Sublime Text consists of custom components and is very responsive. Projects in Sublime Text capture all of the contents of the workspace, including modified and unsaved files. Sublime Text uses a custom UI toolkit optimized for speed and beauty, taking advantage of native functionality on each platform. Pros:
Cons:
PhpstormPhpstormPlatforms: Windows / Linux / macOS Price: from $19/month and $99- $199/ year. PhpStorm is a premium IDE that provides code analysis and error prevention for programming languages such as PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and more. It works well with modern content management systems like Drupal, WordPress, Magento, and Joomla. This editor offers version control, remote deployment, command-line tools, and advanced debugging. The development environment deeply analyzes the code structure, helps avoid errors, and supports databases and SQL. Pros:
Cons:
Komodo EditKomodo EditPlatforms: Windows, macOS, Linux. Price: free for the community and $84 for a coder Komodo Edit is a free code editor from the Canadian company ActiveState, the developer of versions of the programming languages Active Javascript and Active Python. There is also a version with a smaller set of features - without built-in support for unit tests and debuggers. Komodo IDE provides syntax highlighting, auto-completion, the ability to work with different line ends and encodings. It is convenient to edit files in other programming languages and hypertext markup here. For Javascript, PHP, Python, Ruby, TCL, there is also a syntax checker. You don't need any third-party tools. The package includes debuggers and profilers, a client for version control systems, tools for creating regular expressions, and checking HTTP Inspector requests. You can also install add-ons because the community is actively working on them.Pros:
Cons:
RubyMineRubyMinePlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS Price: $199.00/year and 30 days free trial JetBrains RubyMine software is an IDE for building applications based on popular Ruby and Ruby on Rails technologies. The product can develop web applications in the IntelliJ IDEA environment and includes new unique tools for creating web projects based on the Ruby and Rails platforms. RubyMine provides powerful development tools that match the Ruby platform's language and take into account the dynamic nature of the Ruby language and its standard working methods. RubyMine enables comprehensive code analysis of a project, offering developers a code overview and unique auto-completion features for language constructs. RubyMine provides a wide range of refactoring algorithms tailored to the Rails platform, which greatly simplifies code editing and speeds up the product development process. The IDE includes the ability to transform HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code easily. Pros:
Cons:
CodelobsterCodelobsterPlatforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian. Price: $0-$80, future updates for $19,99/year CodeLobster provides simple and powerful functionality for a web programmer. It is suitable for all Windows OS versions: 10, 8, 7. It is famous for its flexible working environment customization, function tooltips, debugging, and todo list. This Javascript editor is recommended specifically for a web developer. It is easily extensible to work with various frameworks: CakePHP, CI, Drupal, JQuery, Yii, Smarty, Symfony, WP, Facebook. A lightweight version of the editor is available for free with a set of tools $ 40, in a full set of plugins and extensions over $ 100. CodeLobster IDE is designed for editing PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. It highlights the code depending on the syntax, shows hints for tags, functions, and parameters. This editor works very well with the mixed code.If you insert PHP code into any HTML template, the editor will highlight HTML and PHP parts correctly. The same will happen with inserting CSS and JavaScript code. The IDE has an intelligent code completion system for functions, tags, attributes, etc., which significantly speeds up work and protects against possible errors. The Professional Edition has several additional features. For example, you can work with projects on a remote server through the built-in FTP / SFTP client. Simultaneously, you can easily select files for editing, view results, and synchronize files on the hosting. Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: Best JavaScript IDEMany developers pay a lot of attention to their Javascript editors and IDEs, however even the coolest tools will not make you a good specialist. This requires a lot of work and immersion in the peculiarities of the chosen language. So, if you need some help with your project or just get it to be done, our Fulcrum Rocks team will be very pleased to help you. We are proud to cooperate with top-rated companies worldwide. Please take a look yourself at our latest Javascript products, such as the SYNC.AI productivity toolkit of apps and Kör cross-platform educational app. Write in the comments which Javascript editor you are using. What do you like and what do you lack about them? Have you tried other solutions?Share what useful selections you would like to see on the blog in the future. We will certainly take into account your wishes FAQ: Best Javascript IDEWhat Is the Best IDE for JavaScript?It isn't easy to say. It would be best if you weighed all pros and cons. If you're a beginner JavaScript programmer and want to get started with a ready-to-go environment, VSCode is the obvious choice. It is easy to use and has rich built-in functionality.For more experienced developers who know exactly what they need, Sublime Text and Atom might be the best choice, as they give you complete control over the development environment. You can install additionally any of the thousands of packages, selecting only those that you need. This increases download speed and reduces resource consumption.Users who prefer to use only the keyboard when working on projects can choose Vim. It will save you the time it usually takes to move your hand from keyboard to mouse. True, it will take additional time to learn to do without the latter.Finally, if you agree to pay for a subscription, and your technology allows you not to think about memory or CPU usage, WebStormis your best choice. With it, you will get a very convenient development environment. Which Jetbrains IDE for JavaScript Is Best?There is no doubt that the best Jetbrains IDE for JSis Webstorm. It is a powerful IDE for JavaScript development with code completion and refactorings for JavaScript, TypeScript, and the most popular web frameworks. Which Is the Best IDE for HTML?Any Javascript editor from our list will suit for working with HTML. That is why the smart decision will be to use the free IDE. For example, Atom, Visual Studio Code, or even Notepad++. If you need extra features, we would recommend Sublime Text as an HTML IDE. Which Is the Best IDE for Web Development?As we mentioned above, first, you need to specify your needs and expectations. Because if someone suits one IDE, it doesn't mean that it is perfect for you too. Check all advantages and disadvantages, compare prices, and then pick the right IDE for you. We could recommend from free segment Sublime Text, Atom, Brackets, and VSC. For more valuable features, consider Webstorm and Phpstorm. Is Notepad ++ Good for JavaScript?Yes! Notepad ++ is a simple and easy to use open-source editor. It has syntax highlighting for several languages, including JS, auto-formatting, and auto-completion. There is navigation in the form of tabs, a file manager, and a code map.You can work with different encodings, connect compilers, use plugins, and other useful functions. For example, adding QuickText will improve built-in auto-completion.Notepad ++ is regularly updated, so it quickly fixes bugs and adds new features. Unfortunately, it only works on Windows. |