Notepad++ is free and open source, first released in 2003 by Don Ho. It supports several programming languages and features syntax highlighting, syntax folding, PCRE (Perl Compatible Regular Expression) search/replace, auto-completion, multi-document editing, WYSIWYG printing, zoom in and zoom out, bookmarks, macro recording and playback, and more. Notepad++ is basically what would happen if you were to inject Notepad with steroids and forced it to work out. Naturally, many Mac users sooner or later look for an alternative, and they often stumble upon Notepad++. And if all else fails you can always try to run Notepad++ under emulation.TextEdit is the default text editor in macOS, and it’s just as barebones as the default text editor in Windows, Notepad. Each looks and feels slightly different so there is bound to be one here you like. While some cost money and are only really worth the investment if you live in text, others are free and well worth a try. If you are looking for an alternative to Notepad++ for Mac, there are quite a few. Since Wine is free, and Notepad++ is free, then it may be worth the effort to download Wine, download Notepad++, and see if you can get the editor to work under the emulator. Function keys weren’t supported, and automatic app updating was not testing, but the core functionality of Notepad++ worked fine. Reports from Wine users (who maintain an extensive database of application compatibility tests) indicate that Notepad++ version 6.1.2 works fairly well. Notepad++ has been tested in the past and found to work reasonably well with Wine. Most Mac users are familiar with Wine, the windows emulator that runs on top of macOS and permits Mac owners to run (some) Windows programs. Well, there is one way to achieve that goal. It may be that none of these alternatives will work for you because you just have to have Notepad++. Sublime is available for macOS 10.7 or higher and also runs on Windows and Linux.
The distraction-free mode works well too if you’re prone to procrastination.
It is another premium text editor at $80, although you can download an evaluation copy for free and use it without paying. Sublime is actively developed, is very customizable, works with all types of code, can batch edit, use symbols and all the neat things you would expect from a premium program. Sublime Text 3 is another alternative to Notepad++ that gets a lot of recommendations from whomever I ask.
At $59 for a full single-user license, it isn’t cheap but again, if you live in text, this app has everything you could possibly need whether coding, building web pages or writing your next novel. It requires macOS 10.9 or higher, but has search and replace, auto indent, auto pairing, a clipboard with history, column tools, multi-language support, CSS and HTML tools, foldable code blocks and a raft of other goodies. TextMate is a heavy hitter in terms of features. While the cost means you would only ever use this app if you’re a serious coder, what it does, it does very well.
(Upgrading from BBEdit 11 is $29.99, or $39.99 to upgrade from earlier versions.) At that price point, BBEdit 12 delivers a huge array of features and works with Git, HTML, FTP, AppleScript, Mac OS X Unix scripting and a whole host of other neat tricks. BBEdit12 is compatible with macOS 10.12.6 and higher, and costs $49.99.
TextWrangler is known to be compatible with macOS versions 10.9.5 through 10.12.6.īBEdit 12 is the premium alternative to Notepad++ for Mac and is intended for serious writers, software developers, and website coders. Unfortunately development on TextWrangler stopped in September of 2016, although the program is still available on the Mac App Store. TextWrangler is almost equal to Notepad++ in that it works well with code, highlights syntax, can work out languages, works seamlessly with files, plain text, Unicode and has a spellcheck too. It is essentially the free version of BBEdit which I’ll discuss next. TextWrangler is no longer developed but is so good that people still recommend its use.