In search of a non-electron text editor that can fold | Are emacs and (neo)vim my only options? (discuss.online)

submitted 10 months ago by HayadSont@discuss.online to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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The following gif demonstrates folding:

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[-] anon5621@lemmy.ml 26 points 10 months ago

Kate,kdevelop,xed,mousepad,gnome builder.,notepad next(clone notepad++)

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 4 points 10 months ago

That's a lot of options! Thank you.

[-] Mwa 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Geany(Its a lightweight GTK Based IDE)

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[-] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

There's also Zed. And helix.

Amongst all the other great alts here

Also neovim is really dope! Just have to throw that there

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 5 points 10 months ago

There’s also Zed.

Noted. Thank you!

And helix.

I believe this doesn't have folding (yet). Unfortunately.

Also neovim is really dope! Just have to throw that there

xD , Neovim is definitely pretty cool.

[-] RageLtd@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I use Zed as my primary editor these days. It’s just about ready for prime time!

(Source: 12 years of web and Linux hacking)

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[-] mesitoispro@ttrpg.network 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

[removed by mod]

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 3 points 10 months ago

I have to agree with the positivism surrounding Kate. It has been the only one (together with KDevelop) out of the 5 text editors I've installed and tested since yesterday that actually did what I desired from it. Props to the devs! Let's see if it can dethrone Emacs 😜.

[-] callcc@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Emacs will always be abe to do things you can't do with other editors. It's a text based interface toolkit that happens to also have a good text editor and IDE capability. Buuut, you need to spend a lot of time to set things up. I use it since probably more than 20 years and I still often need to look up and learn stuff. If you want a tool and not a workshop, get a simpler editor.

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 2 points 10 months ago

I think you've done an excellent job at capturing my initial thoughts. It basically felt as if using Emacs was bound to be overkill as my (relatively simple) use case didn't seem to warrant its usage.

But, even if it is (possibly) overkill, I do prefer^[Granted, I haven't tried out Neovim for this yet.] how Emacs handles the folding. So, while there's the very real possibility that I'll not even utilize 1% of Emacs' potential, I feel most excited and (somehow) comfort while working with it 😅.

As for setting things up, I immediately started using Emacs through Spacemacs until the input lag became very noticeable on larger files. Then, I pivoted to Doom Emacs and I've been enjoying it so far. Perhaps I'll create my own config at some point in the future, But for now, Doom Emacs is all I need.

[-] flubba86@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

On windows: Notepad++. On Linux-based OS: Kate. And there's also JetBrains Fleet, that is jetbrains answer to vscode.

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 3 points 10 months ago

Thank you!

I tested Notepad Next, which seems to be Notepad++' cross-platform alternative. However, I wasn't able to get the folding functionality on a Markdown file. Am I doing something wrong?

I've tried Kate since yesterday, it has been one of the better ones for now.

JetBrains Fleet seems like a cool project. But I'll probably wait until it's open sourced. Thanks anyways!

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 3 points 10 months ago

Kate is for Windows and Mac as well

[-] mvirts@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Also notepad++ on wine on Linux ... Not my favorite but it's there

[-] flubba86@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

Yeah.. but why? Kate is better in about every way. And while we're on the topic, Kate is also available on the windows store, with a real Windows build.

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[-] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Will probably get airstriked for this, but Zed is also a option.

Also, if you're using GNOME, then try GNOME builder. And if you're using KDE, then try KDevelop or Kate.

[-] TerHu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 months ago

i’ve heard that some people love using kate because, with some plugins, it really can do all most people need. i’ve seen a dude make a video on it but would need some time to find it again if there was any interest.

[-] pbg@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

tbf, i love zed and using it for big stuff and neovim for basic scripts is the perfect balance for me

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[-] spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

If you don't want to go the Emacs or Vim routes, try Kate. Neovim is amazing but Kate is too from what I hear. Similar support for LSPs.

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[-] 0x01@lemmy.ml 7 points 10 months ago

SublimeText?

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 3 points 10 months ago

Looks cool. Thanks!

Uhmm..., did I understand correctly that it's not open source?

[-] mnmalst@lemmy.zip 6 points 10 months ago

Not op but no it's not.

[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 4 points 10 months ago

Thank you for the clarification!

While I didn't mention it explicitly in the post, I do intend to stick to open source.

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[-] barlog@lemmy.ml 7 points 10 months ago

Look at Helix and Zed.

[-] greywolf0x1@lemmy.ml 3 points 10 months ago

Zed is the goat

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[-] HayadSont@discuss.online 2 points 10 months ago

Thanks for the recommendations! Helix doesn't seem to offer this functionality (yet). Unfortunately...

As for Zed, it does seem to be capable of reproducing the functionality found in the gif (or at least to some extent). However, installing it on my distro isn't pretty. Therefore, I wish to install it at some point, but I'll wait it out for now.

[-] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Others have given you many options, but I would like to know why Nvim or Emacs are not good options for you?

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[-] the_wiz@feddit.org 3 points 10 months ago

ED IS THE STANDARD EDITOR

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[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 10 months ago

You might have a look at LEO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_(text_editor)

I used it extensively for some time to write big documentation. It is good.

But I'd guess that for most tasks, Emacs org-mode is the most powerful option.

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[-] IceVAN@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago

Textadept!.

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this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025

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