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

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