Developer tools · ide
JetBrains CLion
Hacker Approved
Recommended for C++ work, where people find its debugging, analysis and out-of-the-box setup better than VS Code with plugins. Critics say it performs slowly and is only tolerable for many.
Summarized from 30 comments.
Recommended for C++ work, where people find its debugging, analysis and out-of-the-box setup better than VS Code with plugins. Critics say it performs slowly and is only tolerable for many.
- recommend
- 18
- criticize
- 7
- months recommended
- 9 of 13
Why people love it
Better C++ support than VS Code · 3
For C++ development for example CLion vs VS Code (needed plugins installed) is night and day and not to the benefit of VS Code.
Apr 2026 · commentOther people actually made CLion work reasonably well with C++ too.
May 2026 · commentI would try Clion for C++ if you can't use VS.
Feb 2026 · commentExcellent developer experience · 2
All in all dev experience is excellent
Apr 2026 · commentdev experience is excellent
Apr 2026 · commentStrong debugging for projects · 2
I am satisfied with their debugging for all the projects I worked on in that IDE.
Feb 2026 · commentHas tools to let the models access proper debugging too(my experience is Clion)
Oct 2026 · commentFull-featured IDE out of the box · 2
In terms of full batteries included IDEs they're still probably the best
Dec 2025 · commentCLion, Visual Studio Proper, and RustRover are better for me
Jan 2026 · comment
What people warn about
Tolerable rather than loved · 3
I could not get the bindings quite how I wanted in either VS Code or CLion, but I made it tolerable eventually.
Jul 2026 · commentthe best experience appears to be with Clion, but I can live with it
Jul 2026 · commentnot hating it as much as I did last time
Nov 2025 · commentCore product seen as declining · 3
they've completely neglected the core product
Oct 2026 · commentnow they all feel outdated and unnecessary
Oct 2026 · commentthe core product is eroding fast
May 2026 · commentSeen as mediocre or abysmal · 2
CLion in particular is abysmal, yeah.
May 2026 · commentI've heard CLion is a meh.
May 2026 · comment
What hackers pick instead
- JetBrains IDEsLong-time developers praise JetBrains IDEs for deep code intelligence, refactoring, navigation and debugging, but critics cite heavy resource use, buggy recent updates and clumsy AI integration.233recommend
- IntelliJ IDEAThe go-to IDE for Java and Kotlin, praised for built-in refactoring, code navigation and JVM debugging; the common complaint is heavy memory and resource use.206recommend
- Microsoft Visual StudioA full Windows IDE praised for its powerful C++ and C# debugger, code navigation and productive WinForms tooling, though many find it slow, bloated and pushy with Copilot.165recommend
- DelphiRecommended for building native Windows desktop apps very quickly with a visual drag-and-drop designer, though critics complain about aggressive licensing and a company that lost its way.126recommend
- XcodeApple's free IDE, praised by long-time users for strong debugging tools and steadily improving AI agent support, though many find it buggy and tied to recent Macs and macOS.100recommend
Every quote
The 29 most detailed of 30 comments. Each links to the original.
For C++ development for example CLion vs VS Code (needed plugins installed) is night and day and not to the benefit of VS Code.
Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “SpaceX and Cursor partnership. Right to acquire Cursor later this year”
I could not get the bindings quite how I wanted in either VS Code or CLion, but I made it tolerable eventually.
Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “The Productivity Mirage”
I am satisfied with their debugging for all the projects I worked on in that IDE.
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Xcode 26.3 unlocks the power of agentic coding”
Has tools to let the models access proper debugging too(my experience is Clion)
Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “JetBrains reports revenue growth, net financial loss for 2025”
In terms of full batteries included IDEs they're still probably the best
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “JetBrains cancels Fleet”
the best experience appears to be with Clion, but I can live with it
Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “The PImpl idiom and the C++26 std:indirect type”
Other people actually made CLion work reasonably well with C++ too.
Recommends · May 2026 · in “A History of IDEs at Google”
CLion, Visual Studio Proper, and RustRover are better for me
Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Threat Actors Expand Abuse of Microsoft Visual Studio Code”
I would try Clion for C++ if you can't use VS.
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Xcode 26.3 unlocks the power of agentic coding”
not hating it as much as I did last time
Mixed · Nov 2025
All in all dev experience is excellent
Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “SpaceX and Cursor partnership. Right to acquire Cursor later this year”
dev experience is excellent
Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “SpaceX and Cursor partnership. Right to acquire Cursor later this year”
they've completely neglected the core product
Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “JetBrains reports revenue growth, net financial loss for 2025”
now they all feel outdated and unnecessary
Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “JetBrains Thinkrail”
CLion in particular is abysmal, yeah.
Criticizes · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
the core product is eroding fast
Criticizes · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
I've heard CLion is a meh.
Criticizes · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
It helped me deliver a bank-exchange-grade connector in a tight schedule with very little knowledge of C
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Writing a blatant Telegram clone using Qt, QML and Rust. And C++”
No major complains. It takes some time to get going but after that it is mostly smooth sailing.
Recommends · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
I've had no issues running CLion on a 2020 M1 Macbook Air
Recommends · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
it loses really badly in terms of performance
Mixed · May 2026 · in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
I am not using Clion, Visual Studio or XCode
Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Giving C a superpower: custom header file (safe_c.h)”
Clion (comparable with VS in many options)
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Rust Is Just a Tool”
CLion does not suffer from this problem.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Beginner-friendly, unofficial documentation for Helix text editor”
Clion has better support on that regard.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Precompiled headers and why Squid won't be using them (2023)”
the analysis is quite competitive tbh
Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “An Incoherent Rust”
until increasing the garbage collector maximum heap size all I had was a blank screen, after it was just unusably slow
Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “A curmudgeon tries a language server”
found the UX to be completely foreign (not at all Mac-like) and overall frustrating to use
Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “I Ported Mac OS X to the Nintendo Wii”
Makefiles aren't supported well by clion or visual studio.
Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “Giving C a superpower: custom header file (safe_c.h)”
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