I've been using Atom for my coding because I love its UI and themes, but since it's no longer supported, I'm on the lookout for a simpler alternative. I work on Windows with WSL, mainly coding in C and Assembly, and I need something minimalistic—like the default text editor found in Ubuntu. I've tried Notepad++ and Codeblocks in the past, but their interfaces don't appeal to me. VSCode feels too complex with all its features, and I'm avoiding IDEs or advanced text editors. I want an experience similar to taking an exam, with no autocomplete and compiling/debugging directly in the Linux terminal. I've heard of Zed text editor but it's not available for Windows yet. Can anyone suggest a lightweight, free text editor that fits these needs?
5 Answers
I'd say NeoVim is the way to go, dude! It checks all the boxes for a lightweight editor.
neovim is a great pick if you don't mind a command-line editor. I switched to it after years of using VSCode, and it's perfect. You can make it as light or as feature-rich as you like, and it can be styled however you want.
You can definitely use WSL with Ubuntu, and the default editor there is nano. Just run it directly from the terminal. If you want a GUI, you could install gedit for Gnome or Kate for KDE in WSL. Personally, I use vim; it's super lightweight, but be ready for a bit of a learning curve!
If you're comfortable with the terminal, give Helix Editor a try. It's a solid choice for simplicity.
I think dte is one of the best barebones text editors out there right now. I've been using it daily and it's been treating me well!
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