List of the Top 3 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Tools for Modern MERN in 2025

VSCode represents a groundbreaking shift in the realm of code editing, being entirely free, open-source, and available across multiple operating systems. Beyond basic syntax highlighting and autocomplete features, it incorporates IntelliSense, which offers smart suggestions tailored to the types of variables, function definitions, and imported modules you are using. The editor also allows you to debug your code seamlessly, enabling you to either launch or connect to your running applications while utilizing breakpoints, call stacks, and an interactive console for a more thorough analysis. Integrating with Git and other source control management (SCM) systems has never been easier; you can inspect differences, stage files, and commit changes directly from the editor interface. Effortlessly pushing and pulling changes from any hosted SCM service adds to the convenience. If you're seeking more features, you can enhance your VSCode experience with extensions that bring in new programming languages, themes, debuggers, and connections to a wide array of services. These extensions function in separate processes, ensuring that they do not compromise the performance of your editor. The potential for customization through extensions is virtually limitless. Additionally, with the support of Microsoft Azure, you can effectively deploy and host diverse websites developed using frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, and Node, while having the capability to manage both relational and document-based data seamlessly, enabling effortless scalability through serverless computing options. This robust integration not only optimizes your development workflow but also significantly boosts your overall productivity, making VSCode an indispensable tool for developers.

GitHub remains the foremost platform for developers around the world, celebrated for its robust security, impressive scalability, and strong community engagement. By becoming part of the vast network of millions of developers and organizations, you can play a role in creating the software that propels society forward. Engage and collaborate with some of the most innovative communities while taking advantage of our exceptional tools, support, and services. If you are managing multiple contributors, consider utilizing our complimentary GitHub Team for Open Source feature. Furthermore, GitHub Sponsors is designed to help finance your initiatives and projects effectively. We are excited to bring back The Pack, a program that offers students and educators free access to top-notch developer tools throughout the academic year and beyond. In addition, if you are affiliated with a recognized nonprofit, association, or a 501(c)(3) organization, we provide a discounted Organization account to help further your mission. Through these initiatives, GitHub continues to empower a diverse range of users in their software development endeavors, fostering a more inclusive tech community. With ongoing support and resources, GitHub is dedicated to enhancing the development experience for everyone involved.

ESLint is a static analysis tool that helps identify problematic patterns in JavaScript code. It allows developers to establish rules and create their own, effectively addressing issues related to code quality and style. The tool is aligned with the latest ECMAScript standards and can also accommodate experimental syntax from future drafts. Furthermore, ESLint supports code written in JSX or TypeScript, as long as the necessary plugins or transpilers are used. This tool integrates effortlessly with most text editors and can be included in continuous integration workflows to automatically identify and fix issues. Its popularity is underscored by its status as the leading JavaScript linter based on npm downloads, with major companies like Microsoft, Airbnb, Netflix, and Facebook relying on it. Developers have the option to preprocess their code, use custom parsers, and create their own rules that work alongside ESLint's default settings. Customizing ESLint to align with project requirements is a simple process, ensuring it functions exactly as needed. A notable feature of ESLint is its ability to automatically resolve a significant portion of identified issues, and these fixes are syntax-aware, minimizing the risk of introducing new errors during the resolution process. This combination of customization and automation makes ESLint an essential asset in contemporary JavaScript development, enabling teams to maintain high standards in their codebases. As a result, developers can focus more on building features while reducing the time spent on debugging and code maintenance.