CudaText

CudaText is an open-source, programmable text editor, it is cross-platform and runs on Windows and Linux. The editor supports syntax highlighting for more than 200 programming languages. Its functionality can be extended through plugins written in Python. The user interface is tabbed and customizable. The editor handles large files without performance issues.

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• Syntax highlighting. The editor applies specific colors and styles to keywords, strings, comments, and other elements of over 200 programming languages and markup languages. The color assignment is defined by lexer scheme files. Users can change the schemes or create their own. Each lexer is activated automatically based on the file extension or initial content.
• Code tree. Displays a structural view of the source code in a side panel. The tree extracts functions, classes, methods, variables, and other constructs depending on the language. The information is obtained using language-specific parsers. Navigation via the tree allows quick movement to the desired section of the code.
• Code folding. Allows collapsing and expanding code blocks such as functions, conditional blocks, or comments. This helps to visualize and focus on specific sections of long files. Foldable regions are indicated by vertical lines in the margin. The folding state can be saved between sessions.
• Multiple cursors and selections. Allows placing several insertion points or making multiple simultaneous selections in the document. This facilitates editing multiple lines at once or modifying repetitive patterns. Cursors can be added with key combinations or mouse selection while holding down a modifier key.
• Search and replace with regular expressions. The search dialog supports standard regular expression patterns. Operations work on the current document or a set of files. Search results are displayed in a list for quick navigation. Replacement includes a confirmation mode for each match.
• JSON format settings. All editor settings, themes, keyboard shortcuts, and lexer-specific options are stored in JSON files. This format is readable and manually editable. Configuration files reside in the application's data directory and are synchronized between sessions.
• Tabbed interface and splitting. Open documents are organized in tabs within a panel. Each tab can be split horizontally or vertically to view two or more views of the same file or different files. The layout supports up to 6 simultaneous panels. The size of each panel can be adjusted by dragging the splitters.
• Simple autocompletion. Suggests words while typing based on the content of the current document or predefined lists for certain languages. Suggestions appear in a dropdown list. It is not an intelligent autocompletion engine based on semantic analysis, but an aid for frequent words.
• Command palette. An input box that allows executing any editor action by typing part of its name. It is activated with a keyboard shortcut. The list is filtered in real time. It includes internal actions, plugin commands, and system functions.
• Minimap and Micromap. The minimap is a miniature representation of the entire document, displayed in a vertical bar. It allows quick scrolling and an overview of the structure. The micromap is a thinner bar that shows color marks for errors, changes, or language-specific elements.
• Binary/hexadecimal viewer. Capable of opening files of any size in hex mode. Shows the hexadecimal values and ASCII representation of each byte. Includes an address bar and functions to search for byte patterns. It is useful for analyzing binary files without loading everything into memory.
• Functions for HTML/CSS. Contextual autocompletion for HTML tags and CSS properties. Underlining of color codes in hexadecimal and RGB formats. Display of embedded images in the editor area when hovering over the path. Automatic closing tag completion with the Tab key.
• Support for multiple encodings. Detects and allows changing the character encoding of the file. Supports UTF-8, UTF-16, ASCII, and many region-specific code page encodings. Conversion is done on the fly. The encoding is saved with the document.
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts. Each editor action can have a key combination assigned. Shortcuts are defined in a JSON file. Multiple shortcuts can be assigned to the same action. Includes default shortcuts for common operations. Conflicts are reported to the user.
• Whitespace and non-printable characters. Option to display characters like spaces, tabs, and line breaks with visible symbols. Helps identify formatting and alignment issues in code. The symbols and their color can be customized in the editor settings.
• Plugins in Python. The extension system allows adding new functions using Python 3 scripts. Plugins can interact with the editor's API, add interface elements, and process events. There are plugins for linting, integration with version control systems, and external tools.
• External code tree parsers. Mechanism to connect external code parsers written in Python or other languages. These parsers generate the code tree structure for languages not natively supported. They run in separate processes so as not to block the interface.
• Theme system. The colors of the interface and the editing area are defined by theme files. Themes include colors for syntax elements, background, text, and interface components. Custom themes can be created by modifying existing JSON files.
• Configurable external tools. Possibility to define operating system commands that can be executed from the editor. The output of the tools is captured in a special panel. Keyboard shortcuts can be assigned to each tool. Variable substitutions such as file path or directory are supported.
• Bookmarks and mark lines. Functionality to place marks on specific lines and navigate between them quickly. Lines can be marked with distinctive icons. Bookmarks persist during the session. Mark lines can also be displayed to indicate errors or warnings reported by linters.

CudaText began its development in 2011 as an open-source project. The main creator is Alexey Torgashin. The editor is written in Object Pascal using the Lazarus development environment and the Free Pascal compiler. The choice of Pascal allows for a native executable and good portability between operating systems. The editor's architecture was designed to be modular from the start. Version 1.0 was released after several years of incremental development.

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