Questions about Shortbug

Not yet. Shortbug is in development and has no download or purchase link until the first version ships. When it does, the download and the license will be on this site.

No. Shortbug is an independent app from a different developer. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Late Night Software, and it is not a continuation of Script Debugger. It is made for people who used Script Debugger and need a debugger for their AppleScript now that it has been retired.

Shortbug opens and saves .scpt, .scptd and .applescript files. If a compiled script is damaged, it recovers what it can as text instead of discarding it.

Your file is not changed. To debug, Shortbug runs a separate copy with a small check before each statement, and the debug run is built to give the same result as a normal run, only slower. If part of a script cannot be stepped through safely, Shortbug runs that part as one step and tells you. If a whole script cannot be, it runs normally with a note.

Each statement as it runs, with its line, its result or error, and how long it took. Selecting an entry highlights its line in the script, and entries can be copied.

Shortbug keeps working as a free editor. You can still open, edit, compile, run and save scripts, with syntax highlighting and basic completion. The debugger, the event log, the dictionary browser and dictionary-aware completion need a license.

The price has not been set yet. It will be a one-time purchase for a lifetime license, with no subscription.

macOS asks before any app controls another app, once for each app a script talks to. Shortbug explains the prompt before it appears. If permission was refused, the error (number -1743) comes with the exact place in System Settings to turn it back on.

macOS 15 or later.