Notepad++ - Free Code Editor
Notepad++ is a free, open source text and code editor by Don Ho, licensed under GPL v3. It supports syntax highlighting for about 90 programming languages and is one of the most popular code editors on Windows. It has been actively developed since 2003.
It runs on Windows only. Portable versions are available.
Editing features
Open multiple files in tabs within a single window. The editor highlights syntax automatically for C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, and dozens more. Code folding collapses blocks so you can focus on specific sections. Find and Replace (Ctrl+H) supports regular expressions and searches across multiple files in a directory. Macros let you record a sequence of keystrokes and replay them.
Plugins and customization
The Plugin Manager gives access to 140 or more community plugins. Popular ones include Compare (highlights differences between two files), NppFTP (edit files on remote servers), and JSON Viewer. You can define custom languages with your own syntax highlighting rules if the built in ones do not cover your format. Character encoding support covers UTF-8, ASCII, UCS-2, and others.
Advantages
- Free and open source
- Starts instantly, even with large files
- Syntax highlighting for ~90 languages out of the box
- Regex find and replace across directories
Drawbacks
- Windows only
- No built in terminal, debugger, or Git integration
- VS Code offers more features (IntelliSense, extensions, integrated terminal) for free
- Sublime Text is faster for very large files
Who it is for
Notepad++ works best as a quick editor for config files, scripts, and small coding tasks. It opens faster than VS Code and uses less memory. If you need a full IDE experience with debugging and Git, VS Code is the better choice. If you want something even simpler for plain text, Windows Notepad has improved significantly in recent versions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Notepad++ free?
Is Notepad++ better than VS Code?
Does Notepad++ work on Mac?
Features & How-To Guide
| # | Feature | How to use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syntax highlighting for 90 languages | Open file › Notepad++ recognizes language by extension (.py/.js/.html). Manual change: Language › Select language from list › Code colors immediately. |
| 2 | Multiple file editing in cards | Ctrl+N opens new tab. Ctrl+Tab switches between tabs. Drag tab outside window › Opens in separate window. Right-click tab › Close All BUT This. |
| 3 | Search and replace with regex | Ctrl+H › Enter search text › Enter replacement › Check Regular expression › Replace All. In files on disk: Ctrl+Shift+F › Directory › Find All. |
| 4 | Collapse and expand code blocks | Click minus [-] next to line number beside code block (function/class/if) › Block collapses. Click plus [+] to expand. View › Fold All › Collapses all blocks. |
| 5 | Polish interface language installation | Plugins › Plugins Admin › Search list › Check plugin › Install › Restart. Popular: Compare (file comparison) and NppFTP (server editing). |
| 6 | Column and multi-cursor editing | Alt+Shift+arrows selects column of text (rectangular block). Alt+click anywhere › Cursor in multiple lines at once › Type text in all. |
| 7 | Macro recording and playback | Macro › Start Recording › Perform edit sequence › Macro › Stop Recording › Run a Macro Multiple Times › Enter repetitions or Until end of file. |
| 8 | Character encoding change | Menu Encoding › Select UTF-8/UTF-8-BOM/ANSI/UCS-2. Conversion: Encoding › Convert to UTF-8. Status bar at bottom shows current file encoding. |
| 9 | Custom language definition | Language › User Defined Language › Define your language › Set keywords/comments/operators/colors › Save › Assign file extension. |
| 10 | Document thumbnail preview | View › Document Map › Thumbnail of entire file appears on right side › Click to quickly jump to any location in long file. |
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