CotEditor
CotEditor is a free, open-source plain-text editor built exclusively for macOS.
Our verdict
Who it's for
A lightweight, neat, and powerful plain-text editor designed specifically for macOS.
Who should look elsewhere
Only available for macOS
Pros
- +Free and open-source
- +Lightweight and rapid launch time
- +Native macOS look and feel
- +No complex configuration files for settings
- +Supports a wide range of scripting languages
Cons
- −Only available for macOS
- −May lack advanced features found in larger IDEs
- −Community support dependent on open-source contributions
Key features
- ✓Syntax Highlighting for over 50 languages
- ✓Powerful Find & Replace with ICU regular expressions
- ✓Settings via Click (no complex configuration files)
- ✓Auto Backup of unsaved data
- ✓Outline Menu for quick navigation
- ✓Split Editor for viewing multiple document parts
- ✓Character Inspector for Unicode data
- ✓Scriptable with Python, Ruby, Perl, PHP, UNIX shell, AppleScript, JavaScript
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | — | month | Syntax Highlighting; Powerful Find & Replace; Setting via Click |