JavaScript is a high-level scripting language used by programmers worldwide to perform dynamic and interactive operations on websites. So, every high-level language needs to be converted into a computer understandable language before execution and for that purpose, compilers and interpreters are used.

A compiler and interpreter itself have no separate existence like other software but it comes integrated into the IDEs which write and edit the JavaScript code, then compile/interpret it. Before we proceed further, let us clear one thing first, JavaScript uses an interpreter to convert the source code into machine-understandable code.

Now the question is, how many great IDEs are there for JavaScript? The answer is there are numerous IDEs that are substantially expensive and free with powerful features. There are code editors that provide functionalities just like IDEs.

So, in this article, we are excited to tell you about our list of best 5 JavaScript IDEs which are:

• Visual Studio Code
• Web Strom
• Atom
• Brackets
• Eclipse

Visual Studio Code

The state of JS conducted research shows that visual studio code is the most commonly used code editor for JavaScript. Although it does not provide a full working environment or work planning features. However, it is lighter and more customizable. It has integrated Git support and a first-class debugger. So if you are looking for the best and free IDE to work with JavaScript’s big and complex projects then visual studio code might be the right choice.

WebStrom

WebStorm is the best supported and updated IDE available in the market right now. It has a functional integration with GitHub and other VCSs. This IDE is specially designed for JavaScript and typescript and has a lot of features. For example:

• Refactoring
• On the go editing
• Code Completion
• Excellent Navigation

However, this IDE is not free and comes with a price that starts from $649.00 USD per year for companies and $129.00 USD per year for an individual user.

Atom

Atom is a simplistic yet mighty code editor built by GitHub. It is a free open-source text editor and has the best GitHub integration. The best part is atom has the capabilities to browse projects and edit them easily in a single window. It is good for running huge and complex projects that can use all its modular features. However, it also has a drawback, that atom needs a lot of resources and even on powerful machines, it becomes slow especially if the packages are not managed appropriately.

Brackets

Brackets is a free open-source entry into the code editor market from adobe. This code editor is quick, light, and has a perceiving interface that makes it suitable for beginners. Brackets provide outstanding preprocessor support and is focused on making visual tools. This software has another great feature that allows a user to work on a code without opening multiple windows.

Eclipse

As we all know that the eclipse is a Java IDE but it is also commonly used for JavaScript development. However, to use a JavaScript code in eclipse installation of special plugins is needed. It is seen that eclipse has recently put a lot of effort to make this platform JavaScript friendly as much as possible and for that purpose it also supports some open-source solutions like:

• Docker UI
• Docker CLI

Conclusion

JavaScript is an interpreted language so it uses an interpreter instead of a compiler to convert the JavaScript code into machine-understandable code. This article explains the top picks for the JavaScript IDEs which are more compatible for writing, editing, and interpreting JavaScript code.