Best 5 Notepad++ alternatives for linux

Top Notepad ++ Alternatives for linux

Not many will disagree with me when I claim that Notepad++ as probably the best text editor for Windows today. Many will also agree with me, when I say Notepad++ is missed by many who use Linux. Therefore, we have searched annals of the internet to come up with 5 alternatives for Notepad++ on linux.

1.Notepadqq

Being a clone of Notepad++, its no surprise to many to see this at the top of the list. With the look and popular functionalities being exactly same, this is a definite recommendation. You can check it out for yourself here.

Installation Steps:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:notepadqq-team/notepadqq
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install notepadqq

2. Gedit ( Gnome Text Editor )

This is one such text editor that a few users must be familiar with already, since it comes in-built with Ubuntu. Do not be fooled by the ease of use of Gedit, its more powerful than it appears. With tools to edit source codes and structured text such as markup languages to complement syntax highlighting, auto indentation, text wrapping, line numbers, current line highlighting, bracket matching, spell checking, configurable fonts and colors and plugin support, we had to recommend this.

Installation Steps:

Debian/Ubuntu (DEB):

sudo apt-get install gedit

Fedora, OpenSUSE (RPM):

yum install gedit

3. Subime Text

And we hit our first paid and non open source editor in this list – Sublime Text.This is an extremely powerful cross-platform editor that not only looks great, but works great too. Feature filled, good GUI and a host of plugins has propelled it to a position of being the preferred choice of many programmers.  Its features include an instant project switch, multiple selections, split editing, command palette, distraction free mode,& of course. plugin support . You can try it out for free, but a license costs $70.

Installation Steps:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/sublime-text-2
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sublime-text

4. Lime Text

Frustrated with the slow pace development on the fore-mentioned editor, its creator decided to take things in his own hands leading to the creation of Lime Text. Being a replica of Sublime, this is pretty much the same in terms of features and functionality, not to mention the added advantage of being open source. On the flip side, there are no packages available – meaning you will have to install it from source.

Installation Steps:

Install dependencies & set the path to Golang:

sudo apt-get install python3.4 libonig2 libonig-dev git golang python3-dev libqt5qml-graphicaleffects libqt5opengl5-dev qtbase5-private-dev qtdeclarative5-dev qtdeclarative5-controls-plugin qtdeclarative5-quicklayouts-plugin
export GOPATH=~/golang

Download and run Termbox:

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/rubex
go get -u github.com/limetext/lime/frontend/termbox
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/lime
git submodule update –init
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/lime/frontend/termbox
go build
./termbox main.go

Install Lime Text with QML:

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/rubex
go get -u github.com/limetext/lime/frontend/qml
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/lime
git submodule update –init
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/limetext/lime/frontend/qml
go run main.go

5. Atom

This list cannot be complete with mentioning the one editor that has created a storm in its wake – Atom. This editor is cross-platform and open source available from GitHub. The statistic of 300,000 active monthly users is what I called a storm. Apart from having – what is touted – an uber cool GUI, it is also termed as a ” Hackable text editor for the 21st century”. Not hard to see why its become so popular among programmers.

Installation Steps:

# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/atom
# apt-get update
# apt-get install atom