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Howl vs jEdit: catalog facts
Howl	jEdit
Free Free and open source under the MIT license.	Free Free and open source under the GPL 2.0.
Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Extensible with Lua or Moonscript Keyboard-driven interface	Hundreds of plugins installable from within the editor Built-in macro language
The last official release was in 2019 Developed for Linux, with FreeBSD and OpenBSD builds also expected	Requires a Java runtime Interface looks dated next to newer editors
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: GPL-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.