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GNU nano vs GNU Emacs: catalog facts
GNU nano	GNU Emacs
Free Free and open source under the GPL.	Free Free software under the GPL, part of the GNU Project.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Shortcuts shown on screen, so there is nothing to memorise Installed or one package away on practically every Unix system	Extensible in Emacs Lisp at runtime, so any behaviour can be changed without rebuilding Org mode is a genuinely excellent system for notes, tasks and literate documents
No plugins, projects or language intelligence Not designed for editing large codebases	A steep learning curve, with keybindings unlike any other editor A usable configuration takes substantial time, hence Doom and Spacemacs
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
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 September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

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