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Kate vs Geany: catalog facts
Kate	Geany
Free Free and open source, part of the KDE project.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Syntax highlighting for over 400 languages with bracket hierarchy navigation Embedded terminal plugin runs commands without leaving the editor	Starts almost instantly and uses very little memory Depends only on GTK, so it installs cleanly on minimal Linux systems
Pulls in KDE Frameworks, which is a large dependency outside a KDE desktop On Windows it is distributed through the Microsoft Store rather than a plain installer	No language server support in the core, so completion is simpler than a modern IDE's Debugging needs a plugin and is basic
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

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