Want to learn about best online code editor? Or about free online code editor for interviews? Code editors is commonly used by programmers. Professional coders often use paid software like Sublime Text, Dreamweaver etc. If you are looking for free online code editors you can find some awesome ones at Codeschool or try some awesome ones below!
Want to learn about best online code editor? Or maybe free online code editor for interviews? You’ve come to the right place. There is a plethora of great editors out there and we’ve tested many of them. In this article, I will walk you through different aspects of online editing and share with you our favorite editors. Let’s begin!
StackBlitz
StackBlitz claims to allow you to code the future in your browser. And after trying it, I’m confident you’ll agree that this web application is extremely useful for coders.
StackBlitz features 5 workspaces: React, AngularJS, JavaScript, Ignite UI and KendoReact. Once launched, you will notice a similarity between StackBlitz and the VSCode editor, which is a good thing if you’re used to Microsoft’s editor.
Another extremely cool StackBlitz feature is that all applications get deployed automatically on their servers, and hosted for free.
Features:
- Native support for Firebase (which is something I don’t personally use, but hey, it’s a boon for those not wanting to dive into the murky depths of the backend)
- Intellisense, Project Search
- Hot reloading as you type
- Import npm packages
- Edit offline when not connected!
PlayCode
PlayCode is a nice, all-purpose online code editor. With it, you can open multiple files that run together in a single project, just like you would with multiple files in a typical directory structure using Sublime Text or VS Code. PlayCode has premade templates for users, as well as real-time results and built-in console debugging right in the browser. Users can edit and work without being signed in for quick fixes and whatnot, but also sign in to save the work and use PlayCode across machines.
Codesandbox
You can start using templates for every popular frontend framework. React, Vue, Angular and pop like Gatsby, Next and others.
Codesandbox positions itself like a platform for development. There are a lot of templates made by the community. Additionally, you can create your own templates for your specific use-case with file structure and dependencies, like in IDE.
The tool is integrated with Github, you can easily create commits and open PRs. Out of the box you can deploy your application to ZEIT or Netlify.
And yes, for front-end ninjas there is NPM support in the online code editor (sic!). Additionally, there is a hot module reloading. And of course, every sandbox has a secure URL with HTTPS support for sharing and feedback.
As for the collaboration with code sandbox, you can work with your colleagues live, chat with them and control who can make the edits or watch the code.
There are also many pretty features like:
- Console;
- Test view;
- Built-in terminal;
- Autorun of Jest tests;
- Hot module reloading;
- Organization of project;
- Exporting the code as a zip;
- Built-in linter (ESlint).
As for the pricing, the Codesandbox charges $9 for the Pro version which includes private GitHub repos and unlimited private sandboxes.
Code Share
As its name suggests, CodeShare is an online code editor with an emphasis on sharing code. It is an extremely useful tool for developers to share code with others, troubleshoot code together, and for teachers to show students how to code in real time.
CodeShare supports syntax highlighting for 50+ languages, and features a video chat option which is incredibly useful when working remotely with a colleague.
Codepen
Probably the most popular online code editor. CodePen is fast, easy to use, and allows a web developer to write and share HTML/CSS/JS code online. CodePen is free and creating an account isn’t mandatory, so you can start writing code and create a new web application straight from your web browser quickly and efficiently.
CodePen editor allows you to use Vim Key Bindings which are command-line keyboard shortcuts. Both of these tools together can help to create a faster workflow.
Features:
- File system
- Autocomplete
- Private sandboxes
- Website deployment
- Collaboration mode
JSFiddle
JSFiddle is another top online code editor that works in many ways like PlayCode. Designed specifically for JavaScript coders, JSFiddle isn’t necessarily for working on entire projects, but as the information bar at the top of the editor itself says, it works best for “demos for docs, bug reporting for Github issues, presenting code answers on Stack overflow, live code collaboration, code snippet hosting” or just being a sandbox for you to play around in with your code.
Stackblitz
Stackblitz is very similar to the full IDE, especially if you can’t say goodbye to VS code, as the tool is built on VS code. The product has a wide range of features to start and continue developing a complete full-stack application. The tool is powered by Visual Studio, which is familiar to many developers.
It automatically takes care of installing dependencies, compiling, bundling and hot reloading as you type.
Importing libraries is crucial for web development, so StackBlitz includes an in-browser npm client that supports installing multiple packages at a time & specific versions
The killer feature of this project is offline editing. Stackblitz guys have developed an in-browser webserver to let this happen.
With Stackblitz you can preview and edit in a separate window, which is awesome in comparison with iframes or small windows on other projects.
The other notable features are connecting to Github to import/export projects, integration with Google Firebase for creating full-stack projects and downloading the project like a ZIP file.
JSBin
As you can guess, JSBin is an online text editor primarily focused on Javascript, with a fast and simple interface. Each of your code snippets can be tested through your web browser, and then exported into a text file.
Another good thing to note is that JSBin can import popular HTML/CSS/JS frameworks such as jQuery and Bootstrap, allowing you to easily create modern pages and web applications.
Gitpod
Gitpod is a refreshing take on cloud code editors (or IDEs, if you will) that aims to keep your code always tested and up to date. In other words, it’s deeply integrated with GitHub, and every time you add code, it runs your testing and CI/CD pipelines to make sure code is always at 100% health.
Worth checking out if you love the VSCode experience and want something that supports all major back-end/front-end languages and frameworks
Dev environments as code – Gitpod applies lessons learned from infrastructure-as-code. Spinning up dev environments is easily repeatable and reproducible empowering you to automate, version-control and share dev environments across your team.
Features:
- Prebuilt dev environments
- Integrated Docker build
- GitLab, GitHub, and Bitbucket integration
- Integrated code reviews
- Collaboration
AWS Cloud9
As an early adopter of Cloud9 years ago when it was an open-source project on c9.io, we highly recommend this product. In fact, it provides a very similar experience to StackBlitz above. When Amazon acquired C9, they connected it to their cloud as part of their AWS suite of services. AWS Cloud9 is definitely a solid, full-featured online IDE, and the informational blurb on their website does a great job of breaking down exactly why it’s worth a look.
AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser. It includes a code editor, debugger, and terminal. Cloud9 comes prepackaged with essential tools for popular programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, PHP, and more, so you don’t need to install files or configure your development machine to start new projects. Since your Cloud9 IDE is cloud-based, you can work on your projects from your office, home, or anywhere using an internet-connected machine. Cloud9 also provides a seamless experience for developing serverless applications enabling you to easily define resources, debug, and switch between local and remote execution of serverless applications. With Cloud9, you can quickly share your development environment with your team, enabling you to pair program and track each other’s inputs in real-time.
Conclusion:
For the developer, nothing is more preferable than making use of an online code editor for code writing. Online code editor are available for free or you can even use it through your browser. The only drawback about few good free online code editors is that, they are not really reliable. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t find a great online code editor without spending anything at all.