GNU nano Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to GNU nano for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is Sublime Text, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to GNU nano and loads of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to GNU nano are VSCodium, Vim, Zed Editor and Kate.

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GNU nano alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Sublime Text icon
     2050 likes

    Powerful editor blending code, markup, and prose editing with enhanced features like multi-tab selection, side-by-side definition viewing, and multiple selection tools for swift code navigation.

    195 Sublime Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
     
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    1
    Sublime Text vs GNU nano Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Sublime Text is not a command line text editor.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Sublime Text is Freemium and ProprietaryGNU nano is Free and Open Source
    • Sublime Text is CustomizableGNU nano is not according to our users
  2. VSCodium icon
     411 likes

    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    200 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
     
  3. Vim icon
     1349 likes

    Vim ("Vi IMproved") is an advanced text editor that allows syntax highlighting, word completion and has a huge amount of contributed content. It also has a GUI version called GVim.

    216 Vim alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
     
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    1
    Vim vs GNU nano Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Even better editing/navigating experience, good memory footprint and minimal startup time.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Vim is Free and Open SourceGNU nano is also Free and Open Source
    • Vim is CustomizableGNU nano is not according to our users
  4. Zed Editor icon
     116 likes

    Blazing fast code editor offering real-time multi-user collaboration, language-aware syntax highlighting, integrated terminal, multi-buffers for tab-free editing, built-in Vim mode, searchable outline, AI coding assistance, advanced keyboard commands, and cross-platform support.

    92 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
  5. Kate icon
     314 likes

    The Kate project develops two main products: KatePart, the advanced editor component which is used in numerous KDE applications requiring a text editing component, and Kate, a MDI text editor application.

    146 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
     
  6. Geany icon
     578 likes

    Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.

    155 Geany alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
     
  7. Neovim icon
     188 likes

    Refactored version of Vim, simplifying maintenance, improving developer contributions, and enabling new user interfaces. Features extensible plugin architecture, lightweight resource usage, syntax highlighting, no registration, ad-free, and distraction-free mode.

    107 Neovim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
     
  8. gedit icon
     695 likes

    Extensible text editor with UTF-8 support, syntax highlighting for several programming and markup languages, remote editing, file reverting, print preview, clipboard operations, powerful search, customizable fonts and colors, line numbering, and plugin support.

    193 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
     
  9. GNU Emacs icon
     387 likes

    GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. The features of GNU Emacs include:

    182 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
     
  10. Micro icon
     83 likes

    Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
     
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    2
    Micro vs GNU nano Comments
    surehand53
    Positive
    4
    • beginner friendly
    • uses very sane keymap defaults (Ctrl-x, Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v)
    • short cut cheat sheet
    • excellent help build in
    • very capable text editor
    helgeph
    Positive
    0

    As simple as nano but more modern with syntax highlighting, modifiable keybindings, integrated help, etc.

    • Micro is Free and Open SourceGNU nano is also Free and Open Source
    • Micro is Privacy focused and CustomizableGNU nano is not according to our users
  11. Edit icon
     19 likes

    Open-source command-line text editor for Windows with a modern interface inspired by MS-DOS Editor, featuring key bindings, lightweight build under 250KB, multi-file handling with ctrl + P, keyboard-optimized navigation, and direct file editing for developers.

    62 Edit alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  12. Pulsar Editor icon
     48 likes

    A Community-led Hyper-Hackable Text Editor, built on Electron. and based on everything we love about our favorite editors.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Electron
     
12 of 85 GNU nano alternatives