Compare software

GNU nano vs vis: catalog facts
GNU nano	vis
Free Free and open source under the GPL.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Linux, Command line
Shortcuts shown on screen, so there is nothing to memorise Installed or one package away on practically every Unix system	Vi-style modal editing with sam structural regular expressions Multiple selections for editing several places at once
No plugins, projects or language intelligence Not designed for editing large codebases	Not fully compatible with Vim commands or plugins Smaller ecosystem than Vim or Neovim
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License not stated
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 24, 2026

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