Xdebug alternative?

Only XDebug.

I have actually found that rather than debugging, using a good ide and the network tab is all I really need.

You will know pretty quickly if your requests and responses are what's expected relying on that Network tab.

Thanks @bugsysha

Thanks @jlrdw , I agree with you , I know debug in general, never used for php (till now). But my question is about 'profiling', I have a 'complex' job that I need to reduce duration as better as I can. Till now, microtime(true) and looking in the main loop(s) was enough but this time I have many different loops in several recursive functions. (including changing the language of the heart ... but it should be another question)

You can use ddless.com it's good way to debugger and more.

Use Blackfire its low-overhead agent, timeline view & Laravel integration beat Xdebug for profiling in production.