Debugging an application is hard work for any developer. There are a number of debugging tools available for Android applications, but Pluto, a new tool developed by Prateek Srivastava, is open-source & free to use.
Pluto is an on-device debugging framework for Android Apps. The tool has a variety of plugins so that developers can select only what they need, & keep the debugging environment simple & lightweight. Plugins are classified by their main functionality & include:
- Network Plugin
- Exceptions & Crashes Plugin
- Logger Plugin
- Shared Preferences Plugin
- Rooms Database Plugin
- Datastore Preferences Plugin
These plugins assist with the inspection of HTTP requests & responses. Helping to detect crashes & ANRs (occurs if the UI thread of an Android App is blocked – “Application Not Responding”). They also track logs & user events & manipulate data on the go.
Developers are welcome to assist in the development of Pluto & encouraged to build their own plugins to expand the use cases & effectively of the tool.
The open-source code for Pluto is on a GitHub repo so that any developer can quickly, & easily include the framework in their apps or build onto the original code. Each plugin includes a Readme file which gives instructions on installation, usability & runtime application.
Pluto is distributed through mavenCentral. Developers need to add Gradle dependencies.
Image credit: Pluto
