Notepad++ for Mac – Independent community port
notepad-plus-plus-mac.orgMy "Notepad++ for Mac" so far has been NotepadNext (https://github.com/dail8859/NotepadNext). I will give this one a try as well, and wish them best of luck. I hope they release the Linux version as well.
> This project is an independent open-source community port of Notepad++ to macOS
Import note.
Why? I get it’s popular on Windows. But it’s so incredibly Windows-y, not Mac like at all. And we already have BBEdit and Nova.
Perhaps the site answers past “you like it here it is”, but at the moment we appear to have slashdotted them.
New switcher on his brand new MacBook Neo who doesn't want to learn Mac apps and conventions? Guaranteed this person uses a Windows "Alt-tab" style switcher app too.
Can confirm, friend who moved to Mac after 30+ years on Win ecosystem and all of the discussions we have are basically "but on Windows..." They specifically have lamented the unavailability of Notepad++ because of a specific hanging indent behavior they are used to.
Most people do not have the cognitive flexibility to really adapt to a tool that is more or less domain equivalent but different in any way. These small differences create more friction than learning something that doesn't have any close mapping to what you knew before.
wants to use something familiar => does not have cognitive flexibility
It's amazing how people find ways to flaunt their 'superiority'.
Cuts both ways too. I am finding Windoews harder due to using the mac as daily driver. Haven't got the hang of finder yet. I use CLI as much as possible making use rare enough not to master.
Goes for Linux too.
I have the flexibility to adjust to platforms other than macOS but I’d rather not have to. My setup works for me and having to change it is annoying and drags down productivity.
In my case it’s more intense than usual because I’m a visual person and my productivity suffers for things like my desktop environment, theme, etc not looking “right”. When using Linux for anything more “serious” than studying with Anki I get pulled down a bottomless rabbit hole of trying to “fix” everything, which is futile because many of the problems can’t be fixed without a huge number of project forks.
Recent editions of MacOS look so bad that Windows might actually be better designed (if it weren't for all the windows ads and spam).
Gnome is starting to become the nicest desktop environment lol.
Granted I've only been using MacOS for a few years as my work machine, but am I missing something here? Is the Mac CMD+tab already not nearly identical to to windows alt+tab? Are you just referring to the switcher switching through apps vs windows?
Don't forget TextMate, CotEditor, Chocolat. There are so many mac-native text editors that it's a crowded space for a new entrant sporting a distinctively un-mac-like UX.
Why do anything?
Yeah this feels similar to PowerShell on Linux.
Is it possible? Sure.
Does it make sense? Not really.
First I've heard of Nova. I have used Transmit--also made by Panic--and was impressed with the UX there. I'll have to give Nova a spin.
It doesn’t have to be for everyone.
Lots of people use both operating systems, or stretched from one to the other.
Socrates is about choice, just because I might not see the understanding in something doesn’t mean there isn’t any understanding in it.
I use both operating systems. I hate using things that don’t follow platform standards. It makes them more confusing and causes extra cognitive load.
I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app. It’s pure MDI with buttons in a toolbar. It’s a perfect example of a 3.1/95 style app.
It’s not like it has special features missing from the great many editors on Mac. If you want a “same everywhere” experience I’d think you’d want something that sort of lives in its own world like VSCode. It’s not native style anywhere, exactly. But it’s very powerful and popular.
In many cases I get “I want the app I like over here”. I really do. Especially if there is something really special about its design or feature set. In my experience with Notepad++, I have never wished to have it on my Mac once.
>I simply see no benefit of a copy of very Windows-y app.
That's cool, sounds like it's not for you then.
There are plenty of people who would appreciate it though.
I've been using N++ for a long time. I have tried just about every editor out there and I always end up back in N++.
It's old. It is missing a lot of the bells and whistles of newer editors, but I'm still most productive in old faithful :)
Do you see that other people might no share your view and instead find this useful?
It's FREEEEEE!
There is a crippling lack of note on the fact this is unofficial
Same logo too is misleading.
I’ve been using Notepad Next on Mac: https://github.com/dail8859/NotepadNext
That's the "true"/original version; for Notepad++-like experience on macOS.
I know that the original Notepad++ is under GPLv2 so creating an open-source port is perfectly acceptable, but the Notepad++ name itself is trademarked by Don Ho, so calling itself "Notepad++" (for Mac) along with using an almost identical icon feels like it's crossing some boundaries.
>Notepad++ name itself is trademarked by Don Ho
Is it? I can't find a trademark registration on the USPTO site.
On closer look, I think you’re right. I also tried searching the USPTO trademark database by author and by product name and couldn’t find anything. I don’t know why I thought he had trademarked it. Maybe it could qualify as a common law trademark, but I’m really not sure as this is well outside my area of expertise.
From a quick glance Don Ho looks to be based in France, and a search of their trademark registry gives a current result for Notepad++: https://data.inpi.fr/marques/FR5133202
This was definitely vibe coded, even the landing page.
Oh for sure. Just look at the "Author" page. It says he started in March 2026 on this. Which means last month he pointed Claude to the Notepad++ repo and said "make a native port of this to macOS".
You can simply look at the GitHub repo where most of the commits say $Name and Claude
that's lazy commentary. prove it. and prove why that matters in this specific context. If you're going to shit on someone's work, have a good reason.
Wish there was a Linux port too
I used to use something called “notepadqq”. Not sure if it’s still around but it was a Linux port.
I thought it runs well in WINE? Not that a native port wouldn't be better, but that's pretty good.
After seeing how quickly those hooligans re-wrote Claude Code in Rust from the leaked sourcemap, I actually made a spec-driven Linux port using Claude Code, Kimi, and Codex just to see if it was possible.
Frankly, I thought I was the only human being on earth who used Arch but missed the comforting embrace of Notepad++, so I'm happy to share the fruits of my ~$200 worth of tokens if there's interest!
I like how it's a native Mac app and looks 0% like a Mac app whatsoever. Also the scaling is off on my Macbook Pro. Everything looks half as big as it should be. Tiny fonts, tiny tiny icon bar.
Wow.
I think there are like 4 or 5 apps like this but only 2 or 3 are using a fork
Not really understanding the negative trend of comments. As someone who accesses multiple Windows machines on a LAN via a MacBook Air, I'm glad to have as many common GUIs as possible. I found it a bit hard to get used to BBEdit when I started using a Mac again, and have been a Notepad++ lover for many years. So, thanks to the dev for this.
<meta>I've noticed this more recently on HN. Either the top comment has to be some negative sentiment even if seemingly good-faith, or a comment on something completely tangential (like the color of the website), or a comment on their own project that's related to the thing posted but it feels more like look-at-me advertising rather than earnestly engaging with the submission. Some of these go against the guidelines, but maybe my own comment here does as well.
As of writing, the top comment is "Why?" like the project has to defend itself, on a website that's notionally about curious, interesting, and insightful discussions.</meta>
I used Notepad++ way back when, sort of before I "graduated" to Emacs and the like. I don't know how it's evolved over the past two decades (I presume, intentionally, not much) or what attracts its fanbase anymore. I know I liked it because it felt like a substantial jump from notepad.exe without feeling bloated and slow. At the time, some of the competition felt sluggish while Notepad++ felt nimble.
What do people love about Notepad++ that still isn't really addressed by the "less humble" editors out there?
It is kind of ironic that the two Windows applications I missed the most in both Linux and Mac are good text editor and terminal emulator: Notepad++ and MobaXTerm
Love me some WinSCP too.
have you heard of TextEdit
the ui is fugly
Thaks I am glad you agree. I guess the port is done then. Is there anything else I can help you with? Marketing?
I guess it's a successful port then.
that's the point, people like it this way. Unless you're saying it looked better on the Windows version.
Those icons… I just, I can’t