Bluefish

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

FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux
Official websitebluefish.openoffice.nlDownload pagebluefish.openoffice.nl

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About Bluefish

Bluefish is a desktop editor for writing websites, scripts and program code. It supports many programming and markup languages, with extra tools aimed at web development. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD and OpenBSD.

The project is actively maintained. Version 2.4.2, released in July 2026, detects the desktop's icon theme and includes Breeze and Breeze-dark icons for better KDE integration. It also uses less memory with 100 or more open files. The side-by-side view added in 2.4.0 is now stable.

Strengths

  • Light on resources, handles 100+ open files
  • Web development extras built in
  • Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and the BSDs
  • Regular maintenance releases

Limitations

  • Traditional desktop interface rather than a modern IDE layout
  • Fewer extensions than larger editors

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source under the GNU GPL.
License
GPL
Developer
The Bluefish contributors
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
How it runs
Downloadable app
Account
Not required
Works offline
Yes
Best suited for
Web developers who want a light, native desktop editor
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to Bluefish

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Software that can replace Bluefish for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • Geany

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

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    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

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    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++

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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 necessarily a direct replacement.

  • CodePen

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  • BBEdit

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  • StackBlitz

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  • Notepad3

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

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