Debugging is a crucial skill in programming education and software development, yet it is often overlooked in CS curricula. To address this, we introduce an AI-powered debugging assistant integrated into an IDE. It offers real-time support by analyzing code, suggesting breakpoints, and providing contextual hints. Using RAG with LLMs, program slicing, and custom heuristics, it enhances efficiency by minimizing LLM calls and improving accuracy. A three-level evaluation - technical analysis, UX study, and classroom tests - highlights its potential for teaching debugging.
@article{arxiv.2601.02504,
title = {Enhancing Debugging Skills with AI-Powered Assistance: A Real-Time Tool for Debugging Support},
author = {Elizaveta Artser and Daniil Karol and Anna Potriasaeva and Aleksei Rostovskii and Katsiaryna Dzialets and Ekaterina Koshchenko and Xiaotian Su and April Yi Wang and Anastasiia Birillo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.02504},
year = {2026}
}