Alternatives to Bluefish

A lightweight open-source code and text editor for programmers and web developers. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Bluefish.

  • Geany

    A small, fast IDE built on GTK that starts instantly and does not depend on a heavy desktop environment.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Geany is a small GPL-licensed GTK IDE for Windows, macOS and Linux with a configurable build command and plugins, focused on general programming rather than Bluefish's web development extras.

  • Kate

    KDE's text editor: syntax highlighting for over 400 languages, split views, multi-cursor editing and an embedded terminal.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinux

    Kate is KDE's GPL editor for Windows and Linux with highlighting for over 400 languages, an embedded terminal and live HTML and Markdown preview, but it pulls in KDE Frameworks and has no macOS build.

  • Notepad++

    The fast Windows text and source code editor that replaced Notepad for a generation of users.

    FreeOpen sourceWindows

    Notepad++ is a fast GPL editor with regex find across files, macros and column editing, but it runs only on Windows, so Linux, macOS and BSD users lose it.

  • Sublime Text

    A fast native editor for code and prose, paid for but with an evaluation that never stops working.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Sublime Text is a fast native editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with multiple cursors and goto-anything, but it is paid, closed source software rather than GPL.

  • Phoenix Code

    An open-source code editor for web development that continues the Brackets project, with live preview.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxWeb

    Phoenix Code is an open-source web editor continuing Brackets, adding live preview with visual editing and Git on desktop or browser, with AI features requiring a paid Pro plan.

  • jEdit

    A mature, plugin-driven programmer's text editor written in Java for many operating systems.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    jEdit is a GPL programmer's editor with hundreds of plugins and a macro language that runs anywhere Java runs, so it needs a Java runtime unlike Bluefish.

  • CudaText

    A fast, cross-platform open-source code editor written in Object Pascal and extensible with Python.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    CudaText is an open-source cross-platform editor with over 300 syntax lexers and Python add-ons, configured through JSON files, with many features coming from plugins rather than built in.

  • Lite XL

    Edit text and code in a lightweight Lua-based editor.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Lite XL is an MIT-licensed lightweight editor for Windows, macOS and Linux extended through Lua plugins and themes, without Bluefish's built-in web development tools.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.

  • CodePen

    An online editor for writing HTML, CSS and JavaScript and previewing the result live.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

  • BBEdit

    A long-running macOS text and code editor for writers, web authors and software developers.

    FreemiumProprietarymacOS

  • StackBlitz

    A browser-based IDE that runs full-stack Node.js web projects entirely inside the browser tab.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

  • Notepad3

    A lightweight open-source Notepad replacement for Windows with syntax highlighting and code folding.

    FreeOpen sourceWindows