GDB dashboard
A visual dashboard for GDB, the debugger, built as a single Python-based .gdbinit file.
- Stars
- 12.3k
- Forks
- 824
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 4 months ago
- Type
- Dev tool
What it is
GDB dashboard is a standalone .gdbinit file written with GDB's Python API. It shows a panel of useful program state, such as the current code and related information, every time the program being debugged stops. The stated goal is to cut down on the number of GDB commands needed to check status, so you can focus on the program's control flow.
- Step through a program and see the dashboard update automatically at each stop
- Check program state without typing separate GDB inspection commands
- Turn on syntax highlighting by installing Pygments
- Customize which panels appear using the main dashboard command
Great for
- Developers who debug C or C++ programs with GDB in a terminal
- People who find repeated GDB inspection commands tedious
- Users who want a configurable on-screen view during stepping
- Students learning how a program's state changes while it runs
Not ideal for
- People who prefer a graphical IDE debugger; this runs inside the terminal with GDB
- Users who need a debugger for languages GDB does not support
- Anyone unwilling to edit a home-directory config file, since setup is manual
How to get it
- 1
See the README
You'll need: GDB with Python support · Pygments (optional, for syntax highlighting)
Download the .gdbinit file into your home directory
wget -P ~ https://github.com/cyrus-and/gdb-dashboard/raw/master/.gdbinitOptionally install Pygments for syntax highlighting
pip install pygments - 2
Run it
- Place the .gdbinit file in your home directory using the wget command
- Optionally install Pygments with pip
- Start GDB on your program as you normally would
- The dashboard appears automatically each time the program stops
- Run help dashboard in GDB to see the available options
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Run help dashboard in GDB to explore all features
- Install Pygments to enable syntax highlighting
- Read the project wiki for the most important tasks and configuration
Downloads
Strengths
- Installs as a single file, with no separate application to set up
- Keeps GDB's normal commands working; features are added through a dashboard command
- Uses a modular design that can be configured through help dashboard
Trade-offs
- Runs only where GDB runs, so it is a terminal tool rather than a point-and-click interface
- The README is brief, so detailed usage depends on the external wiki
- Syntax highlighting needs an optional extra install of Pygments
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gdb-dashboard (this) | 12.3k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 months ago | Developers who debug C or C++ programs with GDB in a terminal |
| pwndbg | 11.1k | Dev tool | intermediate | 4 days ago | Reverse engineers working with Linux ELF binaries under GDB |
| tui-rs | 10.9k | Library | intermediate | 3.3 years ago | Rust developers who want to build a terminal dashboard and are willing to use existing code |
| .tmux | 25.5k | Dev tool | beginner | 16 days ago | Developers who already use tmux and want a better-looking, feature-rich starting config |
| spaceship-prompt | 20.6k | Dev tool | beginner | 10 days ago | Zsh users who want useful information in their prompt without much setup |
| pure | 14.5k | Dev tool | beginner | 30 days ago | Developers who use zsh and want a simple, readable prompt |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.