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ParrotJS

See your JavaScript run — inline values, live comments, time travel, and assertions in VS Code.

ParrotJS is a VS Code extension that shows what your JavaScript and TypeScript is doing — right inside the editor, as you type. No more console.log → switch to terminal → read → switch back → remove logs. Values, errors, test results, and coverage appear next to the code that produced them, updating continuously.

Install from Marketplace · Quickstart · See pricing

What ParrotJS Does

  • Inline values — variables, function returns, and loop iterations show their live value next to the line. PRO.
  • Live comments — drop // ? after any expression to display its value, even inside deeply nested callbacks. Free.
  • Inline console output — console.log and friends appear right at the call site. Free.
  • Time travel — record execution and scrub through it like a video. Go forward, backward, step into/out/over functions. PRO.
  • Inline tests — write expect() assertions directly in your code. Green ✓ for pass, ✗ for fail. Free (full test results panel is PRO).
  • Code coverage — green/gray/red gutter dots show exactly which lines ran, which didn’t, and which errored. PRO.
  • Value Explorer — interactive tree view for objects, Maps, Sets, Promises, and circular references. PRO.
  • Watch expressions & hover inspection — track expressions across executions and hover any value for deep inspection. PRO.

Free vs PRO

ParrotJS has a free tier that’s free forever, and a one-time PRO upgrade.

Capability Free PRO
Live comments (// ?) ✅ ✅
Inline console output ✅ ✅
Inline expect() assertions ✅ ✅
Full inline runtime values — ✅
Time Travel debugging — ✅
Code coverage indicators — ✅
Value Explorer — ✅
Hover tooltips & watch expressions — ✅
Auto-log & line values — ✅
Test results panel — ✅

PRO is a one-time $20 (₹2,000) purchase, yours forever, with a full year of updates. A 30-day free trial is available from inside the extension. See Free vs PRO and Pricing for details.

Why ParrotJS?

  • Code never leaves your machine — every file executes in a sandboxed child process, fully local. No telemetry, no cloud processing.
  • Zero config — JS, TS, JSX, TSX work on open. Auto-detects project type from package.json.
  • Execution safety — each file runs in a forked Node.js child process with a configurable timeout. User code can’t crash the IDE.

How It Works

Once installed, ParrotJS auto-starts when you open a JavaScript or TypeScript file. Values appear inline as you type. You control when code executes with three run modes: auto (as you type), on save, or on demand.

# Install from VS Code marketplace
code --install-extension parrotdev.parrotjs

Next Steps