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vis vs GNU nano: catalog facts
vis	GNU nano
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Vi-style modal editing with sam structural regular expressions Multiple selections for editing several places at once	Shortcuts shown on screen, so there is nothing to memorise Installed or one package away on practically every Unix system
Not fully compatible with Vim commands or plugins Smaller ecosystem than Vim or Neovim	No plugins, projects or language intelligence Not designed for editing large codebases
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	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 September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

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