What are some good barebones text editors for Windows and WSL?
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TechNinja42
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?
Answers
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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If you're comfortable with the terminal, give Helix Editor a try. It's a solid choice for simplicity.
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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!
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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.
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I'd say NeoVim is the way to go, dude! It checks all the boxes for a lightweight editor.
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