Alternatives to Kakoune
A modal terminal code editor where multiple selections are the main way of editing. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Kakoune
A modal terminal code editor where multiple selections are the main way of editing.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Kakoune.
Helix
A modal terminal editor with language servers and multiple selections built in, and no plugins to install.
Helix keeps the selection-first modal model and adds language servers and tree-sitter with nothing to install, but it has no plugin system at all.
Neovim
A modern rewrite of Vim with a built-in language server client, Lua configuration and an embeddable API.
Neovim switches to Vim-style modal editing and adds a built-in LSP client, tree-sitter and Lua plugins, with builds for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Vim
The editor that is already on every server, with a graphical build for Windows and a licence that asks you to donate to Ugandan children.
Vim uses classic modal keybindings instead of selection-first commands, is already installed on nearly every server, and needs plugins for language server support.
vis
A modal, vi-like terminal text editor built around Plan 9's structural regular expressions.
vis keeps modal editing with multiple selections and adds sam-style structural regular expressions and Lua scripting, with a small C codebase and a smaller ecosystem.
micro
A terminal editor with the keybindings you already know: Ctrl-S to save, Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-Z to undo.
micro drops modal editing for common Ctrl-S and Ctrl-C shortcuts in the terminal and keeps multiple cursors, but has no language server support or project tooling.
GNU Emacs
An editor that is really a Lisp environment, extensible to the point where people run their email, calendar and shell inside it.
GNU Emacs replaces modal selection editing with its own keybindings and an Emacs Lisp environment that can be reshaped completely, running in a terminal or a window.
Lem
A general-purpose editor and IDE written in and extensible with Common Lisp, with Emacs and Vim keybindings.
Lem offers Emacs-like and Vim-like modes with built-in LSP support and is extensible in Common Lisp, though its GUI is moving from SDL2 to a webview.
Textadept
A fast, minimalist programmer's text editor that can be scripted and extended with Lua.
Textadept offers terminal and graphical interfaces with Lua scripting and no network connections, but uses conventional editing instead of multiple selections as the core model.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Kakoune as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
GNU nano
Small terminal text editor with the shortcuts printed on screen.
Kakoune is a modal terminal editor built around multiple selections with contextual help and as-you-type completion, with a learning curve nano does not have.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
