Rust debugging survey 2026 results

The 2026 Rust Debugging Survey results reveal that subpar debugging experiences are one of the biggest challenges faced by Rust developers. Over 2,300 responses were collected, with 80% of respondents reporting advanced or intermediate Rust expertise. However, only 46% currently use or have used debuggers in Rust, leaving a significant portion of developers without a reliable debugging tool.

The survey found that beginners are less likely to use debuggers, with nearly half of them having never used one. On the other hand, advanced users are more inclined to use debuggers, with nearly half of them currently utilizing them. Among those who previously used Rust but no longer do, debugging support challenges were cited by 3% as the primary reason for stopping.

The survey also examined the debugging approaches used by developers. Print debugging and the dbg! macro were the most popular choices, but other methods like lldb within an IDE and gdb on the command line were also used. The operating system plays a role in the choice of debugger, with lldb in an IDE being the most popular choice on Linux, while gdb on the command line was preferred on Windows.

When it comes to using debuggers for specific tasks, 87% of users employ debuggers for stepping through programs line-by-line, while half use them to obtain stack traces from crashed processes. However, only a quarter use debuggers for debugging async code. This could be due to the clumsy and incomplete async Rust debugging experience or the limited use of async code by developers.

Interestingly, 44% of respondents work with Rust alongside other programming languages. C dominates the scene, followed by C++ and Python. Debuggers are primarily used for stepping line-by-line and obtaining stack traces, with only a quarter of respondents using debuggers for async code debugging. The most common reason developers avoid debuggers is that logs or print debugging are easier or faster in solving problems, with over 81% of respondents agreeing with this sentiment.