Script Debugger Retired

Mark Alldritt, Late Night Software:

The day has finally come. After 30 years of continuous development, Script Debugger has been retired and will no longer be available for sale. Please see this post for more information.

Over the last few months we have received a wonderful outpouring of well wishes and stories from our customers describing how Script Debugger has helped them over the years, via email and on our forum. [...]

Script Debugger is now a free download. Links to all versions of Script Debugger from 8.0 to 4.0, along with registration numbers, are available on the Downloads page. These free versions of Script Debugger are provided AS-IS and without warranty, maintenance or support.

Those seeking a version of Script Debugger for the Classic MacOS should go here.

That last paragraph speaks to what an incredible run this has been. 30 years ago was 1995 — which was so solidly in the classic Mac era that the OS was still named “System 7”, not “Mac OS 7”. I forget when I first started using Script Debugger, but it was definitely in the classic Mac era. The oldest license number I still have is for Script Debugger 3.0 in 2005, but I’d been using it for years at that point.

Script Debugger isn’t just a spectacularly good Mac developer tool. (Indispensable, I would say. A lot of the problems many scripters have with AppleScript aren’t just mitigated by using Script Debugger instead of Apple’s free Script Editor — they go away.) It has also always come with spectacularly thorough and exceedingly well-written documentation — a good user manual describes what a product does, but a great one also explains how to use it.

But even better than that, the product always fostered a community of users. You could email tech support for help and get world-class expert personal assistance, or, you could participate in their (still vibrant!) user forum. Late Night Software always was a small team — Mark and Shane Stanley for the last decade or so, big contributions from Matt Neuburg, and, for a long (but not long enough) while prior to that, Mark’s late wife Gerry Tubin — whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Macworld Expos of yesteryear. Late Night Software never felt like a “company” per se. It always felt like a team. They exemplified all of the ideals of the indie Mac developer community and culture. At this point, it’s fair to say Late Night Software helped define those ideals.

But all good things come to an end. I haven’t really spent much time thinking about “apps” retiring, even while at the top of their game, but here we are. To Mark and Shane, I offer my profound thanks and sincere congratulations. What a run. Script Debugger is going out on top.

★ Monday, 2 June 2025