Alternatives to jEdit

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

  • 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 no Java runtime needed, but it is closed source and paid.

  • Visual Studio Code

    Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Visual Studio Code has a far larger extension library plus Git, terminal and debugger, but it is Electron-based and not open source.

  • CudaText

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

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    CudaText is a free, open-source native editor with more than 300 lexers and Python add-ons, so it needs no Java runtime.

  • Notepad++

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

    FreeOpen sourceWindows

    Notepad++ is a free GPL-3.0 editor with macros, column editing and regex find across files, but it runs only on Windows.

  • 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 GTK-based IDE that starts almost instantly with a build command and plugin interface, though it lacks language server support in the core.

  • 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-2.0 editor with over 400 syntax definitions and an embedded terminal, depending on KDE Frameworks rather than Java, with no macOS build.

  • Pulsar

    Community-maintained continuation of the Atom text editor.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Pulsar continues the hackable Atom editor with its own package registry, but it is Electron-based with Atom's memory use and startup time.

  • VSCodium

    Visual Studio Code built from the same source without Microsoft’s branding, telemetry or licence.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    VSCodium is an MIT-licensed VS Code build with a modern interface and Open VSX extensions, heavier than jEdit but actively released.

Also worth comparing

These listings name jEdit as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Bluefish

    A lightweight open-source code and text editor for programmers and web developers.

    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.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.