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JOE (Joe's Own Editor) vs GNU nano: catalog facts
JOE (Joe's Own Editor)	GNU nano
Free Free software distributed under the GNU General Public License.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Familiar WordStar key layout with Emacs-like features Tiny binary with only libc as a dependency	Shortcuts shown on screen, so there is nothing to memorise Installed or one package away on practically every Unix system
The Windows build lags behind at version 4.6 Keyboard scheme differs from vi and modern GUI editors	No plugins, projects or language intelligence Not designed for editing large codebases
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

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