Programming, scripting, and markup languages
After more than a decade of steady growth, Python's adoption has accelerated significantly. It saw a 7 percentage point increase from 2024 to 2025; this speaks to its ability to be the go-to language for AI, data science, and back-end development.
Which programming, scripting, and markup languages have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the language and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Responses: 31,771(64.8%)
Responses: 24,759(50.5%)
Responses: 2,564(5.2%)
Responses: 20,810(42.5%)
Responses: 1,945(4%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| haskell | Have Used | 0.1% |
| julia | Have Used | 0% |
| clojure | Have Used | 0% |
| objectivec | Have Used | 0% |
| nix | Have Used | 0% |
| haskell | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| julia | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| clojure | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| nix | Want to Use | 0% |
| odin | Want to Use | 0% |
Databases
The significant growth in usage for Redis (+8%) highlights its growing importance. As applications become more complex, the need for high-speed, in-memory caching and data structures has made Redis an essential part of the modern tech stack.
Which database environments have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the database and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Responses: 26,083(53.2%)
Responses: 21,126(43.1%)
Responses: 1,690(3.4%)
Responses: 18,020(36.8%)
Responses: 1,356(2.8%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| firebird | Have Used | 0% |
| couchdb | Have Used | 0% |
| opensearch | Have Used | 0% |
| couchbase | Have Used | 0% |
| postgresql | Have Used | 0% |
| surrealdb | Want to Use | 0% |
| firebird | Want to Use | 0% |
| couchdb | Want to Use | 0% |
| spacetimedb | Want to Use | 0% |
| timescaledb | Want to Use | 0% |
Cloud development
Docker has moved from a popular tool to a near-universal one. After years of growth, it experienced a +17 point jump in usage from 2024 to 2025, the largest single-year increase of any technology surveyed. This is partially due to consolidating some technology sectors in this year's survey.
Which cloud platforms, containerization/orchestration tools, package managers, build tools, and infrastructure as code solutions have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the platform and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Web frameworks and technologies
The +5 point increase for FastAPI is one of the most significant shifts in the web framework space. This signals a strong trend towards using Python for building performant APIs and reflects the overall strength of the Python ecosystem.
Which web frameworks and web technologies have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the framework and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Responses: 23,678(48.3%)
Responses: 19,460(39.7%)
Responses: 1,722(3.5%)
Responses: 16,853(34.4%)
Responses: 1,410(2.9%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| htmx | Have Used | 0% |
| solidjs | Have Used | 0% |
| flutter | Have Used | 0% |
| quarkus | Have Used | 0% |
| hugo | Have Used | 0% |
| htmx | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| solidjs | Want to Use | 0% |
| flutter | Want to Use | 0% |
| leptos | Want to Use | 0% |
| quarkus | Want to Use | 0% |
Dev IDEs
Subscription-based, AI-enabled IDEs weren't able to topple the dominance of Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code this year. Both maintained their top spots for the fourth year while relying on extensions as optional, paid AI services.
Which development environments and AI-enabled code editing tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Responses: 26,143(53.3%)
Responses: 20,954(42.7%)
Responses: 1,960(4%)
Responses: 18,521(37.8%)
Responses: 1,626(3.3%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| emacs | Have Used | 0.1% |
| helix | Have Used | 0.1% |
| clion | Have Used | 0.1% |
| goland | Have Used | 0.1% |
| rubymine | Have Used | 0% |
| emacs | Want to Use | 0.2% |
| helix | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| clion | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| goland | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| rstudio | Want to Use | 0% |
Stack Overflow tags
Our new category for technology this year showcases some recently added (last 3 years) tags on Stack Overflow that have grown more than others in their weight class. AI tech tops the list with Google Gemini and large language models.
Which rising technology of the added as new tag or tag subject area on Stack Overflow in the last three years have you used regularly in the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Community platforms
Respondents learning to code use Youtube for community more than professional developers (70% vs. 60%).
Which community platforms have you utilized considerably or consistently in the past year, and which would you like to use next year? Select all that apply.
Responses: 30,190(61.6%)
Responses: 23,529(48%)
Responses: 2,423(4.9%)
Responses: 19,818(40.4%)
Responses: 1,863(3.8%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| mastodon | Have Used | 0.2% |
| lobste.rs | Have Used | 0% |
| matrix | Have Used | 0% |
| lemmy | Have Used | 0% |
| discourse | Have Used | 0% |
| mastodon | Want to Use | 0.2% |
| matrix | Want to Use | 0% |
| lobste.rs | Want to Use | 0% |
| lemmy | Want to Use | 0% |
| fediverse | Want to Use | 0% |
Large language models
OpenAI's GPT models top the large language model list with 82% of developers indicating they used them for development work in the past year. Anthropic's Claude Sonnet models are used more by professional developers (45%) than by those learning to code (30%).
Which LLM models for AI tools have you used for development work in the past year, and which would you like to use next year? Select all that apply.
Responses: 16,474(33.6%)
Responses: 13,271(27.1%)
Responses: 1,257(2.6%)
Responses: 13,104(26.7%)
Responses: 1,199(2.4%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| copilot | Have Used | 0.1% |
| github copilot | Have Used | 0.1% |
| gemma | Have Used | 0.1% |
| qwen | Have Used | 0% |
| microsoft copilot | Have Used | 0% |
| copilot | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| gemma | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| github copilot | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| qwen | Want to Use | 0% |
| ollama | Want to Use | 0% |
Code documentation and collaboration tools
Professional developers that use AI compared to all professional developers show a slight preference for Miro (17% vs. 16%) and Notion (19% vs. 17%) - could this be due to the AI integrations both tools have recently incorporated?
Which collaborative work management and/or code documentation tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Select all that apply
Responses: 30,065(61.3%)
Responses: 23,683(48.3%)
Responses: 2,342(4.8%)
Responses: 20,001(40.8%)
Responses: 1,824(3.7%)
| Response | Use Type | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| bitbucket | Have Used | 0.1% |
| gitea | Have Used | 0.1% |
| codeberg | Have Used | 0% |
| forgejo | Have Used | 0% |
| slack | Have Used | 0% |
| codeberg | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| gitea | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| forgejo | Want to Use | 0.1% |
| bitbucket | Want to Use | 0% |
| logseq | Want to Use | 0% |
Computer operating systems
We know developers prefer Android over iOS for personal use since we began measuring them both in 2023, and this year Android also surpasses Ubuntu for personal use (29% vs. 28%).
What is the primary operating system in which you work?
Programming, scripting, and markup languages
Rust is yet again the most admired programming language (72%), followed by Gleam (70%), Elixir (66%) and Zig (64%). Gleam is a new addition to the list, and for good reason - developers like it!
Which programming, scripting, and markup languages have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the language and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Databases
What is it like to be the most desired and the most admired technology in your category? The answer lies with PostgreSQL, ranked highest for both since 2023!
Which database environments have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the database and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Cloud development
Rust's growth is directly tied to the success of its build tool and package manager, Cargo, which is the most admired (71%) cloud development and infrastructure tool this year.
Which cloud platforms, containerization/orchestration tools, package managers, build tools, and infrastructure as code solutions have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the platform and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Web frameworks and technologies
While its overall usage is still smaller than almost all other web frameworks in the survey, Phoenix's key story is in its developer satisfaction. It is the most admired web framework in 2025 (79%), and has been since 2023.
Which web frameworks and web technologies have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the framework and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Dev IDEs
Not only is Visual Studio Code the most used IDE for five years in a row, it is also consistently ranked the most desired IDE. Developers that haven't used VS Code overwhelmingly want to use it in the next year.
Which development environments and AI-enabled code editing tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Stack Overflow tags
uv is a Python package manager built in Rust; need we say more about why this is the most admired (74%) SO tag technology this year?
Which rising technology of the added as new tag or tag subject area on Stack Overflow in the last three years have you used regularly in the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Community platforms
You like us, you really like us! Stack Overflow is the most used community platform this year but is also the most desirable community platform this year. GitHub is also making the top of the list this year as most admired community platform.
Which community platforms have you utilized considerably or consistently in the past year, and which would you like to use next year? Select all that apply.
Large language models
Anthropic's Claude Sonnet is the most admired LLM this year (behind Gemini Reasoning) and second most desired (33%).
Which LLM models for AI tools have you used for development work in the past year, and which would you like to use next year? Select all that apply.
Code documentation and collaboration tools
Jira steps down as the most desired tool for code documentation and collaboration and the new top desired tool is GitHub. Markdown continues to be the most admired sync tool for the third year.
Which collaborative work management and/or code documentation tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Select all that apply
Programming, scripting, and markup languages
Python developers aspire to use Rust and Go as the path to high-performance systems programming.
Which programming, scripting, and markup languages have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the language and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Databases
Developers using MongoDB or Redis show a strong desire to also work with PostgreSQL. They see the value in adding relational database skills to their toolkit.
Which database environments have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the database and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Cloud development
Users of all major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) show a very strong desire to learn both Docker, highlighting that containerization skills are essential for modern cloud development.
Which cloud platforms, containerization/orchestration tools, package managers, build tools, and infrastructure as code solutions have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the platform and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Web frameworks and technologies
Node.js users want to use React, Next.js and Vue.js. This indicates developers wishing to skill up into a role that can handle more aspects of the codebase.
Which web frameworks and web technologies have you done extensive development work in over the past year, and which do you want to work in over the next year? (If you both worked with the framework and want to continue to do so, please check both boxes in that row.)
Dev IDEs
The newer AI-enabled editors like Claude Code and Cursor are attracting interest from developers already using the industry standard IDE, VS Code.
Which development environments and AI-enabled code editing tools did you use regularly over the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Stack Overflow tags
Most professional developers who indicated they used Google Gemini last year, are interested in other AI-oriented subjects like "Large Language Model" or "RAG", and tools like "Ollama".
This pattern holds true for both Professional Developers and those Learning to Code, showing that developers at all levels are actively exploring the rapidly evolving AI landscape rather than committing to a single tool or platform.
Which rising technology of the added as new tag or tag subject area on Stack Overflow in the last three years have you used regularly in the past year, and which do you want to work with over the next year? Please check all that apply.
Community platforms
Developers who use community platforms also express a strong desire to use many other communities in the coming year. Most developers that have worked with other community platforms in the past year want to work with GitHub public repos. This shows the strong connection developers have with open source technologies and the abundance of technical documentation available on GitHub.
Which community platforms have you utilized considerably or consistently in the past year, and which would you like to use next year? Select all that apply.