Can you recommend me a fast, light text editor for Windows?

Sublime Text (https://www.sublimetext.com/) is fantastic. Startup time is instant. RAM usage is low. It'll do syntax highlighting out of the box. And with a few extensions (optional) it'll do almost everything that VS Code does (sublime-lsp is key for IDE-like functionality). It's also great for large files so long as they'll fit in RAM.

Bonus: it works cross platform (windows/mac/linux).

Vim has been already mentioned several times (in terminal context), but if you want you can use GVim (https://www.vim.org/download.php#pc).

IIRC, by default, you'll get behavior similar to Notepad (so, things like ctrl+c/v will work, you don't need to learn Vim stuff). At least that was the case when I tried a few years back. If not, you can explicitly use easy mode to get this behavior. But of course, I'd suggest to learn Vim to get the best out of this editor :)

I've been using Notepad++ for text editing for the past 10 years. It is simple, lightfast and simple. I recommend you give it a try and see if it works out for you.

I use neovim. The plugin system has really grown.

* I use Packer for plug-in managment: https://github.com/wbthomason/packer.nvim

* I use Mason to install LSPs, linters and formatters: https://github.com/williamboman/mason.nvim

* I use nvim-treesitter for better highlighting: https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter

I use Notepad++. It is pre installed on all systems at the workplace.

If you do not like it, there is http://www.pspad.com/en/

Unfortunately I am not sure if it is still in development.

Any discussion about editors on windows is incomplete without https://www.ultraedit.com/

No affiliation with the mentioned products.

Sublime Text. Hands down.

https://www.sublimetext.com

- Instant startup.

- Very fast.

- Well-built software.

- Handles everything I throw at it; a lot of which would render other editors unresponsive.

- Great plug-ins.

I've used Sublime Text and have been recommending it to others since the first version. I still recommend it above all other text editors; especially for folks working on a Windows machine.

If you want GUI and a working and extensive syntax highlighting, your options boil down to Scintilla-based editors, which means Notepad++, Geany[0], TextAdept[1] or Notepad3[2].

There's also lite-xl[3] and CudaText[4], which are not based on Scintilla. Lapce[5] also looks promising, although it's slightly stretching the "light" condition.

For years, AkelPad[6] was considered to be the best substitute for the bundled Notepad, but it hasn't been updated in a while, although it still works absolutely fine in that role.

For the console, Helix[7], Micro[8], Moe[9] are all possible options which will work in cmd.exe out-of-the box.

Regarding vim/nvim - I had some issues with plugin-heavy configs running on top of Cygwin, but YMMV.

0. https://www.geany.org/download/releases

1. https://github.com/orbitalquark/textadept/releases

2. https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3

3. https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl/releases

4. https://cudatext.github.io/download.html

5. https://github.com/lapce/lapce/releases

6. https://akelpad.sourceforge.net/en/download.php

7. https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/releases

8. https://github.com/zyedidia/micro

9. https://github.com/fox0430/moe/releases

Notepad3. Looks and behaves like Windows notepad but with syntax highlighting, regex search, optional dark theme, lightweight native-built code that launches instantly, and all the other modern features you expect.

https://www.rizonesoft.com/downloads/notepad3/

Notepad2-mod [0]:

Features:

- Code folding

- Support for bookmarks

- Option to mark all occurrences of a word

- Word auto-completion

- Syntax highlighting support for AutoHotkey, AutoIt3, AviSynth, Bash, CMake, Inno Setup, LaTeX, Lua, Markdown, NSIS, Ruby, Tcl and YAML scripts

- Improved support for NFO ANSI art

- Support for replacing Windows Notepad using a clean, unintrusive registry-based method

- Other various minor changes and tweaks

Bonus feature for myself: I can install it on any Windows computer and most non-tech users will not know the difference, but when I have to help them solve system problems, I get all those features!!

[0]: https://xhmikosr.github.io/notepad2-mod/

I used to use VS Code for this purpose, but it's becoming more and more like an IDE and doesn't quite have the startup time that I would want anymore.

VS Code on my Mac starts in about 2s, and that's with half a dozen plugins and a couple of language servers. That could be quicker but finding a new editor seems like overkill if it's similar for you. I suspect the startup time could be optimized if you really wanted Moar Speeds.

Plus, it's a bit annoying when I already have a project open as it'll open as a tab and look as if it's part of that project if that makes sense.

There's a setting called "Open Files In New Window" that's defaulted to Off that might solve this.

I used to use Notepad2, which is a bit like Notepad++ but I liked the interface better. It is no longer developed but there seem to be a couple of forks.

https://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/software/comments/nxpmis/notepad3_v...

I've used SciTE for years. I originally came across it looking for a lightweight, cross-platform editor that had a small footprint, regex replace, and find in files capabilities.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SciTE

EDIT: just noticed you mention syntax highlight. No love there, sorry.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned EditPad Pro:

https://www.editpadpro.com/

It’s old (and old fashioned) but still updated, very fast, and designed for convenience. It has syntax highlighting.

VS Code has long since replaced it for me, but if I were looking for something faster to go with VS Code in Windows, I’d put it on the list.

> ...Notepad almost fits my spec (startup time, simple, quick UI), but it doesn't have syntax highlighting or anything useful for text manipulation/navigation/etc.

There is Notepad2 (or rather Notepad2-mod). It supports syntax highlighting, it's based on Scintilla. Has most of the basic features needed for code editing, except perhaps for rectangular select, which is not often needed in routine code editing. It's very much a standalone exe with a config file, no plugins.

https://www.emeditor.com/ is fast and versatile but looks a tad outdated with many modal dialogs etc.

This has been my go-to editor on Windows for the past 20+ years. https://www.contexteditor.org/

You can also make your own pretty easily using lazarus/fpc and the free synedit component.

I use Emacs now but I used Textpad (https://www.textpad.com/home) for a long time. It's a very light editor with syntax highlighting and large file handling.

If you are familiar with vim[1] and like the command line, you could try either vim for windows or eventually helix[2]. There also is emacs[3]

If you prefer GUI, I think Notepad++[4] is the best editor you can get, but there is also Sublime[5] (like already mentioned), Visual Studio Code[6]. Some people like jEdit[7], but that's not my personal favourite.

[1]: https://www.vim.org/download.php

[2]: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/releases

[3]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

[4]: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/

[5]: https://www.sublimetext.com/

[6]: https://code.visualstudio.com/

[7]: http://www.jedit.org/

Notepads for a UWP/"modern" look - https://www.notepadsapp.com/

Notepad2 - Old, not developed anymore. But is a standalone exe and super fast. - https://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html

I have a bookmark done with below text. I use it more like whiteboard in Zoom calls than a note-taker. But it's fast and clean.

data:text/html,

EditPlus. Been using it for almost 20 years now. Hands down the best software for text editing I have ever used. It's lighter than Notepad++. Editplus along with Faststine viewer is the reason I am not moving to Mac as my primary OS.

I would recommend looking at the Fast Colored Text Box ( https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/161871/Fast-Colored-Tex... ) It is a .net control that has built in syntax coloring. Some of the sample code are full fledged editors.

If you are doing html and occasionally for other purposes foxe html editor is highly underrated. http://www.firstobject.com/dn_editor.htm

Here are a few lesser known editors/IDEs.

SciTE: https://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html

Kate: https://kate-editor.org/

Geany: https://www.geany.org/

Last one comes from my OS/2 memories, it has been ported to Windows and runs fine also on WINE.

MED: http://www.utopia-planitia.de/indexus.html

Wow, lots of responses, thank you everyone! I will have a look through this rather extensive list of options :D

I've been migrating my jEdit install for more than a decade now.. it's Java but the load time isn't terrible, I have a habit of leaving a window open anyway. It's rectangular editing mode is very useful, it has plugins, e.g. to diff 2 files, HyperSearch is like grep, you can even copy the list of search hits into the clipboard.

Maybe N++ has all these features, I use it too but haven't learned how to diff or do rectangular selection/editing.

Notepad2.exe. Easy installation. Download the .zip file which contains the .exe and .ini file. You might have to spend a little bit of time telling Windows to open .txt, .html, etc. files with Notepad2 rather than Notepad, but other than that, it just works. https://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html

Ultraedit32

Fast. Simple. Can also be a hex editor. Can open multi-GB files with no issues.

Sublime Text still rocks.

saw https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl a few days ago posted.

Seems pretty fast, and has some plugins that might also add additional functionality. seems great for the occasional file edit without the vscode startup times.

Multiple editors, depending on what I want to do:

- VSCode: JavaScript/Python dev - Notepad++: Fast copy/paste, JSON formatting, document viewing, or converting from a rich-text format to plain text for pasting in a web comment. Because it also saves tabs, it's helpful for temporary sticky note type text. I rarely ever code here. - textEdit: On Mac because it's easier to type here and then paste into HN comment. - Visual Studio: C# development

Use the venerable GNU Nano editor on the terminal.

You can get it easily via gitbash (https://gitforwindows.org), or WSL, or cygwin or ... dunno.

You can also try compiling it for windows directly. Nano provides some Win32-specific stuff on its website (https://www.nano-editor.org/dist/win32-support/), but I haven't tried them, since nano through gitbash worked fine whenever I've needed it.

I'm just using vim any time, works on any kind of machine, all configuration is just single copy-pasted file and everything works the same. Startup time is better than instant, also it is only around 20MB. Syntax highlighting and all cool features out of the box. Intellisense, LSP easy installable and work much faster than VSCode. Yeah the controls are a bit confusing at start, but interactive tutorial is perfect and you learn all basic features in 20 minutes

Bonus: opens 16.84 GiB files and processes billiards of lines in a matter of seconds

Notepad++ is too heavy for you? Try textpad :)

https://www.textpad.com/home

Used it alot at uni, it's notepad with tabs and syntax highlighting.

I use Notepad2. It’s a reasonably powerful editor like Notepad++ (in fact it uses the same text editing library), but all the extra features can be hidden or disabled until it looks just like stock Notepad.

I like SciTE (it's not as popular as Notepad++)-- https://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html

Big fan of https://github.com/lite-xl/lite-xl

Ticks all boxes: Small, Fast & Light.

Back when I was stuck with Windows (and also not the biggest fan of Notepad++) I used Gedit2 which I carried over when I started using Linux. It had syntax highlighting, plugins, a file browser. It was great!

There was some version where they absolutely neutered it (I think it was Gedit3) and I haven't looked at it since but maybe they've re-added the lost functionality (though I doubt it.)

Lapce. It's still early days but if you're looking for basic editing with syntax highlighting it's already there and is very fast.

I use Notepad++, but looks like you've tried.

For ornery files (usually 50+ MB XMLs), I've used an editor in WSL (like nano). Is WSL an option for you?

I haven't used it, but I've heard 4coder [0] is very good.

Edit: That points to the handmade network, where I first heard of 4Coder. The actual site is [1].

[0]: https://4coder.handmade.network/

[1]: https://4coder.itch.io/4coder

>I could never get along with Notepad++ - it's hard to explain why, because I can see it's a fantastic editor and is very popular, but it just doesn't fit into the way I work I suppose.

NPP is a very solid program once you get over a small learning curve. Try following along with a few YouTube videos on NPP before you dismiss it entirely.

Download git for windows (https://gitforwindows.org) since you are probably using git anyway. Then create a profile in Windows Terminal for the included bash.This includes vim which works beautifully out of the box with Windows Terminal (syntax highlighting, etc).

I use geany on windows too. It has tabs, syntax highlight, can be configured to run/build/etc on keystrokes, (open new terminal or use the output window), handles projects, can search in multiple files, etc.

Although its text manipulation could be better, it doesn't have multiple cursors for example.

If notepad++ doesn't work for you then you probably aren't really looking for a fast, light, text editor. But you really need to explain how it didn't work. It has syntax highlighting, it is easy to use. I can't imagine how you don't get along with it.

I mostly use Notepad++ on Windows but on Linux I really like TextAdept - https://orbitalquark.github.io/textadept/ (it has a windows version but I never tried it)

gvim is plenty fast but i guess for the majority of people notepad++ is the recommendation to make

Notepad++ would fit the bill, if it didn't pester me with an update every time I start it.

I use neovim when I need to just quickly edit files and IntelliJ for my full ide on Windows.

Some weeks ago, there was a post here about CUDAText. It is a fairly light weight editor.

Back in my windows days, I used Metapad for this(https://liquidninja.com/metapad/). I even changed the notepad.exe file to metapad.

I have the same feeling about Notepad++ (in part because it is Windows-only), and for years I have been using SciTE which I found to be no-nonsense editor that does everything I need an editor to do (and just a bit more).

Sublime Text is still my goto for large files and as a scratch-pad type text editor

I actually VS Code as my "general text editor", but not IDE which is relegated to VS still. Notepad++ is what I use for anything big enough for Code to croak on, which is not very big, tens of MB or so and more.

vim / Windows Terminal is what you want.

Vim and Sublime Text

Vim because it’s already on almost every Linux ditro, and if it’s not, it’s extremely easy to install.

And Sublime if I have a GUI and really need to write out a long script that’ll take me longer than a week.

Helix editor: A post-modern text editor.

https://helix-editor.com/

It looks great with an interesting UI and a powerful use of terminal.

I usually use vim on windows but if that is a hassle, there is KDE Kate. That is a very good editor. Definitely one of the best editors if you do not care about plugins that much.

Keep using VS Code, make files open in their own window via setting. Why would you not have VS Code open at all times anyway? (As you might with an emacs server).

SciTE, Textadept, Programmer's Notepad.

I keep text editor always open (for note taking), so maybe that's why it opens files faster than with a cold start.

GVim. Pops open in half a second flat, almost without fail.

https://neovide.dev is great and super fast. It's a wrapper for neovim.

Before Sublime Text I did use - PSPad http://www.pspad.com/en/

I've used EditPdPro forever, there is a free light version.

https://www.editpadpro.com

TED Notepad and Notepad2 (which has a number of more featureful forks) are two other Notepad-like options that aren't Notepad++.

Have you tried disabling extensions in VSC? It normally starts quickly so if you’re otherwise happy with it I would try that first.

Notepad++ for anything quick and relatively simple (though plugins extend it a lot). VSCode for any real code editing work.

I'm wondering if you could launch VSCode with flags like:

$ code --no-extensions --no-lang-server

And then alias that command to `litecode` or something

>> I could never get along with Notepad++ - it's hard to explain why

Many commenters: "use Notepad++" :)

Sublime maybe

EditPad Pro. I also never got along with everyone's standard choice Notepad++

sublimetext3 is what I use

Notepad2. It’s Notepad with all the missing features.

Sublime Text

Atom if you need something free.

Brackets for HTML/CSS (also free).

emacs FTW.

Atom - https://atom.io

TextPad - https://textpad.com

Notepad++

Very fast, lightweight. Been using for 15+ years

Notepad.exe ;)

No one mentioned Light Table?

editplus.com

Notepad ( from win 7).

Sublime text ofc

Try UltraEdit.

Sublime Text

I edit code in Microsoft Word myself.

emacs ftw

Neovim

You are looking for a code editor and not text editor!