I've been using Atom because I really liked its user interface, but now that it's no longer maintained, I'm in search of alternatives. I'm on Windows using WSL, doing most of my coding in C and Assembly. I'm looking for a text editor that is very minimal, similar to the default Ubuntu text editor. I've previously tried Notepad++ (which I find unappealing), Code::Blocks (which is slow to boot), and VSCode (way too complex for my needs). I want something without any fancy features like autocomplete—just a simple environment where I can compile and debug through the terminal in WSL. I heard about Zed Text Editor but it's not available for Windows yet. Can anyone suggest a lightweight editor that meets these criteria?
5 Answers
Definitely check out Neovim! It's a solid choice for minimal editing and has a great community around it.
If you're comfortable using the terminal, you might want to try Helix Editor. It's a solid choice and quite efficient for coding.
Have you tried neovim? It's command-based, but I've been using it with WSL after years on VSCode, and it's fantastic! You can customize it to be lightweight or packed with features, depending on your preference.
For a truly barebones experience, dte is a great option. I've been using it daily and it fits the minimalistic vibe you're looking for.
You can use any Linux distribution with WSL. Since it defaults to Ubuntu, you can just run `nano` for Ubuntu's default editor. If you're looking for GUI options like `gedit` or `Kate`, you can install those in WSL, too. Personally, I recommend `vim`; it's very lightweight and has versions for both Linux and Windows, but it does require a bit of a learning curve.
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