Best IDE for Javascript

Javascript is the client-side language of the Web, used to create interactive webpages. Writing Javascript code can be frustrating when dealing with syntax issues, browser inconsistencies, inadequate documentation, browser compatibility issues… … …etc.

To address these various problems, many programmers find it convenient to use an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for writing and editing Javascript. Here are some of the best IDE for JavaScript for your convenience.

Visual Studio: an industry-standard software

Arguably, one of the best IDE for frontend development is Microsoft Visual Studio. It also has a very popular free open source derivative Visual Studio Code, which can be considered a lite version. However, don’t let this cliche fool you – it’s a powerful JavaScript editor in its own right. The research, conducted by the State of JS, indicates that this was the most widely used text editor in 2018.

Followed by VS Code, SublimeText, Vim, WebStorm, and Atom, it has over 14k users out of 20k survey participants. Apart from JS, it supports 30 programming languages such as Ruby, Python, C#, etc. If you are interested in Ruby development, we have this article for you.

Microsoft visual studio is a powerful IDE that is very resource-intensive and mainly used for serious software development in C, C++, .NET, and C#. It has excellent features like simultaneous editing planning and scaffolding. It spots industries best Code Intel and has inbuilt debuggers. In other words, it is a proper industry-grade IDE. 

However, for applications like JavaScript, it is excessive to say the list, that is why its little brother exists. 

Visual Studio Code. A free version: lighter on the features; high in value

Visual Studio Code has neither a full work environment nor many work planning features. However, it is lighter and more customizable. Also, It does not require a powerful desktop to run it. It has a similar IntelliSense feature. It already has integrated Git-support, so one can quickly run pull, push, and commit operations directly from the application. 

This editor has a first-class debugger, which comes in very handy when dealing with Node.js and JS-based applications in general. The application starts in the debug mode that can also be activated at any time. The debugger also has some distinctive features as call steak, setting breakpoints and watch variables.  

It is widely used and has a dedicated community. This cross-platform has an integrated terminal and, despite being light, still takes a decent time to load a project. Especially if you try comparing it to Bash or PowerShell performance.  Like Microsoft, it has some buggy updates, so it’s better to exercise caution when updating it.

Lastly, UI is very customizable, and the editor has many themes, which is essential. If you are looking for the best free IDE for HTML, CSS, JavaScript for big and intricate projects, Visual studio code might be the right choice for you.

Webstorm. A premium JavaScript development environment

Webstorm is another excellent option when you need to develop something in JavaScript. It is made by a well known IDE developer JetBrains and is offered alongside other products, specialized for languages different than JavaScript.

This software is not free, and the price starts from 59 euros per year for an individual user and 129 euros per year for companies. However, don’t skip it because of a paywall yet. This software might be worth it, after all. Not in the least for its exceptional JavaScript IDE debugger functionality.

There are also discounts and free licenses for educational establishments and non-profit organizations. Webstorm is one of the best supported and updated offerings on the market at the moment. So new and vital features usually make its way to the Webstorm first. For instance, it was the only IDE with JSX support when it first came out in 2015.

It has functional integration with GitHub and other VCSs. It is a JavaScript and Typescript IDE at heart. It has excellent support for Cordova, Ionic, React, React Native, Angular, Node.js, Vue.js, and other popular JavaScript frameworks. By the way, we have already covered Vue.js in greater detail here. It also has necessary syntax support for over 20 other languages for the projects that include bits of code written in other languages.

Webstorm has many great features. For instance, on-the-go editing, refactoring, excellent navigation, and code completion. Many consider Webstorm’s auto debugging and code testing functionality best on the market. Webstorm also has an excellent smart template functionality.

Last but not least, it has a decent UI customization and themes. Yes, it is a seemingly unimportant feature if compared to other features. However, a software developer spends most of his life staring at the code in the editor, and there is nothing wrong with making his life more comfortable.

The IDE is customizable and allows you to keep the history of any changes done. So, you can go back and review the code at any time. It’s probably the best IDE for frontend development available at the moment.

Atom. A strong contender for the best free JavaScript IDE

• Atom
  The simple editor for writing the JavaScript program is one of the best IDEs to find customization for doing everything without modifying the configuration file. The free, open-source code editor has got the self-label of ‘a hackable text editor for the 21st century. This is the tool that will ensure the completion of the code automatically the way you type. The best possible part is that it comes with an integrated package manager.You can get the opportunity of finding previews and replacing the text that is typed in the file or across the entire project. The best part is that it is highly supportive of the command palette for running the available commands.With one of the most popular JavaScript front-end tools, you can just go on with easy browsing and opening the file or the project. It gives easy access to finding and replacing the text as you’re typing in the file. You can find the use of it with the help of Windows, Linux, and OS X.

After Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub, many people were concerned about the future of Atom. After all, it directly competes with Visual Studio Code! However, there is no indication that the Atom has suffered from it as of now.

Atom also lacks user support and help section, increasing a barrier to entry. It has a real-time collab feature, which is excellent for such a powerful tool and is even better if you take into account that it is free. It makes it a unique proposition on the market.

At the moment, Atom looks like a strong contender for the best IDE for frontend development title.

Komodo IDE. Another one of the top JavaScript IDEs

Komodo IDE Is a relatively minimalistic and quick IDE for multilingual use. It has a full set of IDE functionality, like debugging, unit testing, and custom workspaces. Komodo has syntax correction for most coding languages and a live preview, which are welcome features for the frontend development. 

Unfortunately, its Code Intel only works with Python, PHP, Perl, Tcl, Go, Ruby, Node.js, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Code Intel for C++ is also there, in a limited capacity. Another downside is pricing. It can range from $7 a month for personal use to $490 a month for an enterprise. However, if you need a multilingual work environment, that might be an option for you. 

The software comes with a 21-day free trial to make sure that’s what you need. Nevertheless, with the vast number of features, Komodo can contend for the best editor for JavaScript. 

Komodo Edit is a simplified open-source version of a paid Komodo IDE. It lacks some of the features of its paid version, like multilingual code intelligence, complex workplace integration, live preview, interactive shells, code refactoring, dependency detector, unit testing, and some others.

However, it still retains multiple selection feature, Comando navigation, Kopy.io pastebin, project manager, and multilingual syntax highlighting.

Overall a bit light on the features however, it’s an accessible toolkit for multilingual development. You can certainly do worse on the market for editors with polyglot syntax highlight. Its simplicity and ease of use come free of charge, making it very appealing. It is a good option to start learning its bigger brother, or for casual coding.

Sublime Text. Freemium entry into the text editor market

• Sublime Text
  The editor and IDE make sure about writing the JavaScript code. This is the tool that will ensure jumping to symbol line word with the utilization of the keyboard shortcut. What makes it better over the competitors is that it comes with the command palette for changing the syntax.Besides, it can make sure about highlighting the syntax API for the extension of the features. Finally, it makes sure about giving you the opportunity of several customizations. The third-most popular code editor, Sublime Text, found use by 28.9 percent of respondents in the 2018 by Stack Overflow.With one of the best JavaScript IDEs, you can just also go on with the addition of a definition of class or method. Sublime text is now giving you the command palette for holding frequently utilized functionalities. Besides, it is also supported by shortcuts for ease of access.

Eclipse. An IDE with a good work environment feature

Although Eclipse is mostly known for being a prominent Java IDE, it’s also commonly used for JavaScript development. However, in order to be able to utilize JavaScript code in Eclipse, special plugins need to be installed. But once you get those plugins installed, you will ultimately find Eclipse very rewarding. 

Eclipse team has recently put a lot of effort into making the platform as JavaScript-friendly as possible. As so, it supports open-source solutions like Docker UI and Docker CLI. 

Light Table. Powerful BOT-engines and keymaps

It is an open-source development environment for JavaScript projects. The IDE was developed by the MIT team and funded via Kickstarter, collecting more than $300,000. LightTable provides feedback and code execution, assisting developers in quick abstraction creation.

The main features of the IDE include Behavior-Object Tag engines and customizable keymaps. A user can set a value for a code tracking system and monitor code quality in real-time.

Light Table allows several users to work in the environment simultaneously, editing the same code file. The interface includes a command pane, file tree, and the navigation pane. Additionally, the environment doesn’t require users to print the console – instead, they can check the code real-time, line by line.

Codelobster. IDE for JavaScript and PHP development

Although this development environment is best known to assist in PHP development, it’s also quite popular among JavaScript developers. The solution currently supports JavaScript, PHP, HTML, and CSS. This versatility makes the software one of the most fitting solutions for web development. It’s also a nice solution for teams that use both PHP and JavaScript in their development processes.

Additionally, Codelobster supports dozens of plugins that allow it to support Joomla, Drupal, JQuery, WordPress, Yii, and others. The IDE has a 30-day free trial version; paid memberships are divided into two categories – “Lite”, with limited upgrades, and “Professional” – the most functional version that provides full access to all features.

The software provides automated auto-completion and syntax checking and highlighting. The software supports single-user and multi-user versions, although, for team support, members need to acquire the paid subscription. 

The development environment is supported by Windows, Mac, and Linux, and has 10 multilingual interfaces. 

RJ TextEd. A go-to option for web development

This JS IDE is known as a universal web development environment, as it supports not only JavaScript but also HTML, CSS, PHP, and ASP. IDE provides smooth autocompletion, Unicode integration, code folding, sorting, and column interface mode. Interface settings allow choosing between multi-edit and multi-select modes, turn on annotation bars, and advanced sorting.

The IDE highlights syntax in LESS, SASS, and CSS, and includes an advanced color editor with dozens of formats. You can explore other built-in tools too, most developers’ favorites are code explorer, file explorer, and project manager. 

RJ TextEd supports binary and ASCII files, as well as SFTP and FTP synchronization clients. It’s a versatile environment with HTML repair, validation, and format, and rich customization options – here, you have a chart map, color picker, and syntax editor. 

NetBeans. A powerful code monitoring tool

NetBeans is a versatile IDE for web, mobile, and desktop development that supports HTML, JavaScript, PHP, C, and C++. This IDE is best known for powerful code monitoring and editing features, earning it the reputation of one of the best JS editors on the market. NetBeans supports Knockout and Node.js, making it a top choice for backend development.

The main features of the IDE are code editor, debugger, syntax highlights, and project management tool. The main features are functionality management, user settings customization, Visual Library integration, storage monitoring, and step-by-step dialog support.

The IDE has multiple translated interface, including English, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and other languages.

CodeLite. An open-source IDE for JS, C, C++, and PHP

CodeLite is an open-source development environment that supports JavaScript, PHP, C++, and C. The IDE is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. The environment is integrated with Open Source compilers like GBD, MinGW, and FreeBSD.

The functionality of CodeLite is based on refactoring and code completion features, project management add-ons, syntax highlighting, and source browsing. Also, IDE allows UnitTest+++ integration, subversion and scope integration, and a source code editor. 

The development team regularly updates the platform via its GitHub repository. CodeLite was translated into several languages, and new versions are constantly being added by the community. 

AWS Cloud9. Cloud-based JavaScript IDE for web development

AWS Cloud9 is written specifically for JavaScript, but it also supports Perl, C, C++, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, and Node.js. This versatility makes it effectively one of the best IDE for JavaScript app development up to date.

Cloud9 refers to the cloud-based JavaScript editor that ensures enabling you to write, run, and debug the code with any of the browsers; this is one of the best JavaScript code editors that ensure working from anywhere with the utilization of the internet-connected machine.
Besides, the tool is also good enough for giving you keyboard shortcuts for easy access. You can adjust the panels in any of the directions by simply utilizing the drag and drop menu.

The integrated debugger for setting the breakpoint makes it stand out. The tool also comes with the built-in terminal that allows you to see the command output right from the server.

The variety of things you can get alongside the opportunity to share a developmental environment with the developmental team makes it stand out. You can get the inbuilt image editor for resizing, cropping, as well as rotating the images.

To get access to the IDE, developers should have an AWS account. Each user receives access to the MPM-terminal and simultaneous code editor with a team version. The software supports syntax refactoring, highlighting, and reformatting via CSS Lint, JS Beautify. The IDE also supports presets for Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text. 

Also, the platform is compatible with GitHub, Mercurial, and BitBucket, and other version control systems. The code can be deployed directly from the platform to Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine, Joyent, and Heroku.

Conclusion

I’ve been working with NodeJS and JavaScript for a long time now and over the years, I’ve experimented with a lot of different IDEs to see which one works best for me. In this article, I have shared my experience with you and now you decide which is the Best IDE for Javascript.