Are there existing tools that help debug compiler time properties (e.g. reference counting) easily? I know of many interactive debugging techniques for investigating runtime errors, but when I'm faced with a compiler error it seems like the best interface I have is just an error message and then meticulously reading the code. I'd find something like that really useful for type-related errors too.

Even something as simple as breakpoints and printlns let me inspect the intermediary state of these systems.