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Free Plugin by Tonya Mork v2.0.2

Kint PHP Debugger

Kint is a modern and powerful PHP debugging helper, which requires zero-setup and replaces var_dump(), print_r() and debug_backtrace().

Kint PHP Debugger

The facts

Rating
5★ from 12
Active installs
90+
Price
Free
Last updated
11 Mar 2019
Added
Jul 2015
Requires WP
3.5
Tested up to
WP 5.1.24
Requires PHP
5.3
Downloads
13,549

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Kint PHP Debugger is a WordPress plugin that serves as a wrapper for the Kint PHP Debugger utility. It allows developers to use simplified debugging commands, such as 'd()' and 'ddd()', to display variable data in a user-friendly manner, replacing traditional methods like var_dump() and print_r().

This tool is particularly useful for PHP developers who need to debug their websites efficiently. It provides various output formats and includes a basic profiler to help analyse code performance, making it suitable for those who work with PHP code in WordPress.

Best for: This plugin is best for PHP developers looking to enhance their debugging process in WordPress.

What it does well

  • Simplifies debugging with user-friendly commands
  • Offers multiple output formats for variable data
  • Includes a basic profiler for performance analysis
  • Displays an active indicator in the WordPress admin bar

Where it falls short

  • Limited information on additional features or updates
  • Directory score indicates potential quality concerns

Verdict

Kint PHP Debugger provides useful tools for debugging, but the limited information and lower directory score may warrant caution for some users.

From the developer

Tonya Mork's own description of Kint PHP Debugger, lightly tidied.

This WordPress plugin is a wrapper for the Kint PHP Debugger utility version 1.x. Now instead of using var_dump() or print_r(), you simply use d() with zero, nadda, no formatting required.

Use this tool when you are debugging your website, in place of var_dump(), print_r() and debug_backtrace().

Handy Tools

Some handy tools just for the PHP Developer:

  • d( $var ); to render a collapsible UI container which displays your variable data in “the most informative way”
  • ddd( $var ); same as d() except that it also executes die() to halt execution.

Here are some variations of d() to give you the display you want:

  • ~d( $var ); outputs in plain text format.
  • +d( $var ); disregards depth level limits and outputs everything
  • !d( $var ); shows expanded rich output
  • -d( $var ); attempts to ob_clean() the previous output (dump something inside of HTML)

Profiler

Kint even includes a naïve profiler, which can help you analyze which blocks of code take longer than others:

Kint::dump( microtime() ); // just pass microtime()
sleep( 1 );
Kint::dump( microtime(), 'after sleep(1)' );
sleep( 2 );
ddd( microtime(), 'final call, after sleep(2)' );

See screenshot 2 for what is rendered out in your browser.

Admin Bar

“KINT ACTIVE” indicator displays in the WordPress admin bar to alert you when the plugin is active.

Read the full description on the official page →

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