There are many text editors for Linux. There are full featured ones, simple ones, heavy duty ones, lightweight ones and even byobu style, text based editors.
The sheer number of choices can make your head spin!
Coda
Platforms: Mac
Designed for Mac users, Coda is an useful text editor that has a built-in file and SSH manager.
It has colourful syntax highlighting, CSS overriding and advanced syncing between devices. MacBook Pro users can also switch between editor and preview mode using their laptop touch bar.
Code Editor
Platforms: iOS
Designed for iPad and iPhone, Code Editor is a beautiful text editing solution from Panic, the same company behind Coda.
It features a dual file browser, SSH terminal support and unique editing modes for Shell, SQL, Swift and more.
Code Editor is available from the Apple app store for $24.99.
UltraEdit
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
UltraEdit is a multi-platform text editor that has built-in FTP, SSH and Telnet managers.
A host of themes are included with UltraEdit and it boasts multi-code select and advanced file searching. It supports large files too and the editor has been designed to work with high resolution displays.
A 30 day free trial is available for UltraEdit. Once the trial has expired, it costs $79.95 per year.
BBEdit
Platforms: Mac
Developed for Mac, BBEdit is a useful text editor that features an advanced search and replace engine and a built-in file manager and FTP manager.
A unix command-line tool is also available and there is integration support for Git, Subversion and AppleScript.
BBEdit retails at $49.99, however you can download it free of charge and test it for 30 days.
Notepad++
Platforms: Windows
Notepad++ is an open source Windows text editor that offers syntax highlighting, scripting, auto-complete, macro recording and split screen editing.
Over 140 plugin extensions are available that let you add functionality such as W3C validation, text sorting and quote handling.
The application is free to download.
WeBuilder
Platforms: Windows
Creators for Windows users, WeBuilder is a versatile code editing application that has syntax highlighting for many popular programming languages.
It features several themes, advanced search and replace, macro recording, split editing, shortcuts for code snippets and code templates, a built-in file upload manager and many code validation tools.
WeBuilder retails from $59.95. The developers are behind other text editors that are also worth checking out such as Rapid CSS Editor, HTMLPad and Rapid PHP Editor.
Spacemacs
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix
Despite its name, Spacemacs is not just for Apple users. It is a multi-platform text editing solution that brings Emacs and Vim tools together.
The application features graphical and command line user-interfaces and boasts key bindings. There are many community created plugin extensions too that add functionality.
As Spacemacs is open source, it is free to download.
PhpStorm
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
PhpStorm is a premium text editor that provides code analysis and error prevention for programming languages such as PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and other languages.
It works well with modern content management systems such as Drupal, WordPress, Magento and Joomla, and offers features such as version control, remote deployment, command line tools and advanced debugging.
PhpStorm retails at $199 for the first year, $159 for the second year and $119 for subsequent years. A 30 day free trial is available to help you test the application.
GNU Emacs
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
GNU Emacs is an open source multi-platform text editor that offers syntax highlighting and a customisable graphical user-interface.
A large number of plugin packages are available that add additional functionality such as code snippets, custom themes and HTML5 schemas.
You can download GNU Emacs free of charge.
Bluefish
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Our final recommendation is Bluefish. This lightweight editor offers search and replace, file uploads via FTP and SFTP, a snippets sidebar and code block folding.
An unlimited amount of undos and redos are permitted and Bluefish will show any mistakes you have in your code.
Bluefish is an open source application, so is free to download on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Visual Studio Code
A text editor from Microsoft
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REASONS TO BUY
+Customizable+Loads of integrations+Source control tools
Visual Studio Code (or VScode) has become popular among developers – the ones who aren’t put off by the fact that it’s a Microsoft product, anyway. Like Atom and Sublime Text, it offers a variety of packages and free extensions that can be downloaded from its marketplace to add additional features – and the code editor itself can be customized.
Visual Studio Code sports its own terminal and debugger, supports linting, and has integration with all manner of source control tools. We reckon it makes one of the best IDEs for Python developers, as it suggests completions and provides on-the-fly popups that show the documentation for classes and methods.
Espresso
A text editor that’s more productive than caffeine
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REASONS TO BUY
+Well-designed interface+Can drag-and-drop content
REASONS TO AVOID
-No Windows or Linux versions
Espresso is a gorgeous Mac-only code editor that’s powerful and smooth, like the caffeinated beverage it’s named after. This text editor has been credited with helping its users edit CSS in less time, and that’s partly down to its editing interface.
Built for real-time editing, it’s split into three columns comprising your files, code editor and navigator, which lets you see the various sections of code you’re working on. And anything that’s edited in the window is reflected in the browser – you can drag-and-drop content into Espresso’s interface to see it update in the back end in real-time.
Brackets
A text editor crafted for web designers and front-end developers
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REASONS TO BUY
+Adobe Photoshop integration+Real-time visualization+Free
Another free open source editor, Brackets is all about making it easy to design in a browser. Crafted from the ground up for web designers and front-end developers, it offers a wide range of coding tools including real-time visualization of the website you are working on, with changes reflected in real-time.
Brackets is developed by Adobe, and as such lets users extract information such as colors, gradients, fonts and measurements directly from PSD files as clean CSS. As such it’s a tool that any UI designer should have in their arsenal.
However, get it while you can, as Adobe has announced that it will withdraw support for Brackets at the start of September this year.
Notepadqq
Notepadqq is a Linux editor inspired by the Notepad++ application for Windows. Even though different developers manage the projects, Notepadqq is a fair replica of Notepad++.
Pros: Notepadqq supports tabbed projects, color-coded syntax, syntax highlighting, auto-tabbing, and a good search-and-replace feature. It has a smart-indent feature that remembers the indentation settings of the last line typed. Another strong point is how efficiently it converts files between various types of character encoding.
Cons: Notepadqq supports over 100 languages but if you compare it to other text editors, Notepadqq’s set of features might seems lacking. It opens any text file though it doesn’t do tag matching or auto-completion.
How to Install
Install Notepadqq with the following command:
sudo snap install --classic notepadqq
Note: Most modern Linux distributions support Snap. If you’re running CentOS (or another Linux distribution without Snap), you’ll need to install the Snap app first.
Brackets
Brackets is a Linux editor designed around HTML and web design. It’s a cross-platform editor so that you can run it on Windows, Mac, or Linux for a seamless editing experience.
Pros: Brackets is a great choice for web developers. It includes live-preview for testing the appearance of your HTML code, plus inline editors. Like many other editors, it supports many extensions to add functionalities.
Cons: Brackets may stutter on older computer systems. Natively, it only supports HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You can add more with extensions, though.
How to Install
Install Brackets with the following command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/bracketssudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install brackets
Bluefish Text Editor
The bluefish text editor is aimed at making coding more accessible. It works on most platforms so that you can use it on Linux, Mac, or Windows.
Pros: Bluefish can be enhanced with plugins and supports standard features like color-coded syntax, auto-indent, and auto-complete for tags and classes. It also features an auto-recover option, in case of a power outage or system crash. It organizes data and code in a way that’s intuitive and easy to read.
Cons: Bluefish is not updated regularly and is already getting a bit outdated. It is useful if you are new to writing code or editing configuration files. However, some advanced features are tough to find, and the UI is not optimized for advanced users.
How to Install
Install Bluefish by executing the following command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:klaus-vormweg/bluefishsudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install bluefish
Geany
Geany works as a text editor, but its primary function is as an Integrated Desktop Environment (IDE). It is a lightweight GUI text editor with basic IDE features. Its primary purpose is to be tight and compact with short load times and limited dependencies on separate packages or external libraries on Linux.
Pros: It is a compact cross-platform, flexible and powerful editor that supports most programming languages. It is customizable with plugins, and features a split window, colored syntax, line numbering, and autocomplete.
Cons: Not everyone will need IDE features, meaning that Geany is focused on coding from scratch and debugging issues. Use Geany if you need full programming functionality, including the editor, build automation, and debugging all accessible from a single interface.
Conclusion
A programmer without a text editor is pretty much like a chef without a kitchen. Sure you can still cook, but it’s going to be awfully hard and messy. A good text editor will be there for you anytime you need to write some code. Here are the best text editors available for Linux.