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Comparison of JavaScript-based source code editors
open-in-new
<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> List of source code editors<table><tbody><tr><th>Editor</th><th>Site</th><th>Latest version</th><th>Style, clone of</th><th>Cost (<a href="/facts/United_States_dollar/naEEDUhC">US$</a>)</th><th><a href="/facts/Software_license/7enfIqhL">Software license</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Open-source_software/HzTaB8E9">Open source</a></th><th>Browser support</th><th>Activity</th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Ace_(editor)/e4r3sNEx">Ace</a></th><td><a href="https://ace.c9.io/">Home</a>, <a href="https://ace.c9.io/build/kitchen-sink.html">demo</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/ajaxorg/ace/tags">v1.4.12</a>, 2020-7</td><td>Sublime Text / Microsoft Visual Studio</td><td>Free</td><td><a href="/facts/BSD_licenses/XLtmLp5x">New BSD License</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/ajaxorg/ace">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 3.5+, Safari 4+, Chrome, IE 8+, Opera 11.5+</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Atom_(text_editor)/fHN07lHW">Atom</a></th><td><a href="https://atom.io/">Home</a></td><td><a href="https://atom.io/releases">v1.50.0-beta0</a>, 2020-07-14</td><td>Emacs, Vim and others</td><td>Free</td><td>Dual</td><td>Yes</td><td>Chrome</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/CodeMirror/Ae0C2Cyz">CodeMirror</a></th><td><a href="https://codemirror.net/">Home</a>, <a href="https://codemirror.net/mode/htmlmixed/">demo</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/codemirror/CodeMirror/tags">5.59.1</a>, 2020-12-31</td><td>plain textarea</td><td>Free</td><td><a href="/facts/MIT_License/8llAQtlk">MIT</a>-like</td><td><a href="https://github.com/marijnh/CodeMirror">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 3+, Chrome, Safari 3+, Internet Explorer 8+, Opera 9+<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="https://medv.io/codejar/">CodeJar</a></th><td><a href="https://medv.io/codejar/">Home</a>, <a href="https://medv.io/codejar/">demo</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/antonmedv/codejar/tags">1.0.2</a>, 2020-04-05</td><td>plain textarea</td><td>Free</td><td><a href="/facts/MIT_License/8llAQtlk">MIT</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/antonmedv/codejar">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 3+, Chrome, Safari 3+, Internet Explorer 8+, Opera 9+</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Codeanywhere/Cj9d1VAv">Codeanywhere</a></th><td><a href="https://www.codeanywhere.com">Home</a></td><td>6.0</td><td>SublimeText</td><td>-</td><td>Public Cloud</td><td>No</td><td>Firefox 3+, Chrome, Safari 3+, Internet Explorer 8+, Opera 9+</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Codenvy/zonemxyo">Codenvy</a> Editor</th><td><a href="http://www.codenvy.com">Home</a></td><td>2.10.17, 2014-01-17</td><td>Eclipse</td><td>-</td><td>Public Cloud</td><td>Yes</td><td>Firefox 3+, Chrome, Safari 3+, Internet Explorer 8+, Opera 9+</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/List_of_Eclipse_projects/8F9P2G56">Orion</a></th><td><a href="https://orionhub.org/">Home</a></td><td><a href="https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/ecd.orion">22.0</a>, 2020-04-03.</td><td>Eclipse SWT StyledText, regular textarea</td><td>Free</td><td>dual-licensed: <a href="/facts/BSD_licenses/XLtmLp5x">BSD 3-clause</a> and <a href="/facts/Eclipse_Public_License/jQvqgpN8">EPL</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/eclipse/orion.client">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 37+, Chrome 40+, Safari7+, Internet Explorer 11+<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>Monaco (<a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_Code/YsBDgKlK">Visual Studio Code</a>)</th><td><a href="https://microsoft.github.io/monaco-editor/">Home</a>, <a href="https://microsoft.github.io/monaco-editor/playground.html">demo</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/Microsoft/monaco-editor/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md">0.31.1</a>, 2021-12-14</td><td><a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_Code/YsBDgKlK">Visual Studio Code</a></td><td>Free</td><td>MIT</td><td><a href="https://github.com/Microsoft/monaco-editor/">Yes</a></td><td>IE8+, Firefox 4+, Chrome</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Markitup</th><td><a href="http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/home/">Home</a>, <a href="http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/examples/">demo</a></td><td>1.1.14, 2013-02-04</td><td><a href="/facts/Markup_language/WwhlNVIu">Markup</a> editor, no syntax highlight</td><td>Free</td><td>MIT, GPL</td><td>Yes</td><td>IE 6 & 7, Firefox 2 & 3, Safari 3.1, Opera 9+<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>LDT</th><td><a href="https://github.com/kueblc/LDT/">Home</a></td><td>2012-02-19</td><td>regular textarea</td><td>Free</td><td>MIT, GPL</td><td><a href="https://github.com/kueblc/LDT/">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 3.6+, IE8, Chromium 16, Midori 4.1, Opera 11, Epiphany</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>Ymacs</th><td><a href="http://www.ymacs.org/">Home</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110210134217/http://www.ymacs.org/">Archived</a> 2011-02-10 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a>, <a href="http://www.ymacs.org/demo/">demo</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110301145134/http://www.ymacs.org/demo/">Archived</a> 2011-03-01 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></td><td>0.5, 2012-03-28</td><td>Emacs</td><td>Free</td><td>BSD</td><td><a href="http://code.ymacs.org/hgwebdir.cgi/ymacs/">Yes</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Firefox/xez2zv8H">Firefox</a>, Chrome, Safari</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>CodePress</th><td><a href="http://codepress.sourceforge.net/">Home</a></td><td>0.9.6, 2007-09-26</td><td><a href="/facts/Microsoft_Visual_Studio/omNe6Lej">Microsoft Visual Studio</a></td><td>Free</td><td>LGPL</td><td>Yes</td><td>?</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>CodeTextArea</th><td><a href="https://code.google.com/p/codetextarea/">Home</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081017002536/http://www.nicolarizzo.com/gamesroom/experimental/CodeEditor.html">demo</a></td><td>2009-06</td><td>Microsoft Visual Studio</td><td>Free</td><td><a href="/facts/BSD_licenses/XLtmLp5x">BSD</a></td><td>Yes</td><td><a href="/facts/Dojo_Toolkit/mCK8Y7B5">Dojo</a> widget</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>EditArea</th><td><a href="http://www.cdolivet.com/index.php?page=editArea">Home</a>, <a href="http://www.cdolivet.com/editarea/editarea/exemples/exemple_full.html">demo</a></td><td>0.8.2, 2010-01-14</td><td>Microsoft Visual Studio</td><td>Free</td><td>LGPL</td><td>Yes</td><td>IE 6+, Firefox 1.5+, Safari 3+, Opera 9+, Chrome<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>Helene</th><td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071012025503/http://helene.muze.nl/">Home</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071012023712/http://helene.muze.nl/ariadne/loader.php/helene/demo/">demo</a></td><td>0.9, unknown release date</td><td>Microsoft Visual Studio</td><td>Free</td><td>GPL</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>9ne</th><td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071011031810/http://robrohan.com/projects/9ne/">Home</a></td><td>?</td><td>Emacs</td><td>Free</td><td>GPL</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>jsvi</th><td><a href="http://gpl.internetconnection.net/vi/">Home</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071011211101/http://gpl.internetconnection.net/vi/">Archived</a> 2007-10-11 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></td><td>?</td><td><a href="/facts/Vi_(text_editor)/d8G1PkDh">vi</a></td><td>Free</td><td>GPL</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>MDK-Editor</th><td><a href="http://www.mdk-photo.com/editor/">Home</a></td><td>2.10, 2008</td><td>Microsoft Visual Studio</td><td>Depends on use</td><td>Dual</td><td>Code is readable</td><td>tested to work on: IE 6, 7 - Firefox 2, 3 - Chrome</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>Micro</th><td><a href="http://micro.jcubic.pl">Home</a></td><td>2013</td><td>nano</td><td>Free</td><td>GPL</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>HirenJS Code Editor</th><td><a href="http://hiren.js.org/">Home</a><p><a href="https://hiren.js.org/HirenJS.html">Demo</a></p></td><td>2023-05</td><td>plain textarea</td><td>Free</td><td><a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/Hiren2001/hiren.js.org">Yes</a></td><td>Firefox 3.5+, Safari 4+, Chrome, IE 8+, Opera 11.5+</td><td>Yes</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="list-of-features">List of features</h2> <p>Feature testing was performed with Firefox 3.0.6 against the current demo version, and results may not match those in other browsers or downloadable versions. </p> List of source code editor features<table><tbody><tr><th>Feature</th><th><a href="/facts/Ace_(editor)/e4r3sNEx">Ace</a></th><th><a href="/facts/CodeMirror/Ae0C2Cyz">CodeMirror</a></th><th><a href="https://medv.io/codejar/">CodeJar</a></th><th><a href="/facts/List_of_Eclipse_projects/8F9P2G56">Orion</a></th><th>CodePress</th><th>CodeTextArea</th><th>EditArea</th><th>Helene</th><th>markItUp!</th><th>MDK-Editor</th><th>Monaco Editor (<a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_Code/YsBDgKlK">Visual Studio Code</a>)</th></tr><tr><th>Implementation</th><td></td><td>nestable full parsers</td><td></td><td>pattern-based parser</td><td>pattern-based parser</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>parsers</td><th></th></tr><tr><th>Syntax highlight</th><td>Over 110 languages</td><td><a href="http://codemirror.net/5/mode">129 languages</a></td><td>Yes</td><td>mixed mode: HTML + JavaScript and CSS, PHP, EJS; single mode: JavaScript, Java, JSON, CSS, Python, Ruby, XML, YAML (pluggable)</td><td>limited mixed mode: HTML + JavaScript (no CSS), PHP + HTML (no JavaScript or CSS), Java, Perl, SQL</td><td>only keywords</td><td><a href="http://www.cdolivet.com/index.php?page%3DeditArea">only one language at a time</a>: Perl, PHP, CSS, Javascript, Python, HTML, XML, VB, C, CPP, SQL, Pascal, Basic, Brainf*ck</td><td>PHP</td><td>No</td><td>mixed mode: PHP + HTML + JavaScript + CSS, single-mode: PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML; extensible</td><td>Hundreds of languages</td></tr><tr><th>Syntax checking</th><td>HTML, CSS, JavaScript (using JSHint)</td><td>Some</td><td>No</td><td>JavaScript (using JSLint)</td><td>No</td><td></td><td></td><td>No</td><td></td><td>HTML, JavaScript (using JSLint)</td><td>HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript</td></tr><tr><th>Tab support</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Some</td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Indent, new line keeps level</th><td>optional setting that is on by default</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>very limited</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>N/A (can't press Enter)</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Indent, syntax</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td></td><td>No</td><td></td><td></td><td>No</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><th>Indent, selected block</th><td>yes, including Shift+Tab</td><td>either automatically, or block-level indent/unindent</td><td>Yes</td><td>yes, including Shift+Tab</td><td>No</td><td></td><td>yes, including Shift+Tab</td><td></td><td></td><td>yes, including Shift+Tab and using context menu</td><td>yes, including Shift+Tab</td></tr><tr><th>Bracket matching</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>an implementation exists with mouse-hover bracket matching </td><td>Ctrl+B; no angle bracket matching</td><td></td><td></td><td>No</td><td>matching bracket ([{<>}]) always highlighted</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>XML matching tag highlight</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Code_folding/vQ0vqmmE">Code folding</a></th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></td><td>No</td><td>Some<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Code snippets</th><td>Yes</td><td>through API/add-on</td><td></td><td>Some</td><td>type 'for' or 'if' then Tab</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>JavaScript</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Code suggestion</th><td>Yes</td><td><a href="http://codemirror.net/demo/complete.html">example</a></td><td></td><td>Yes through <a href="http://contraptionsforprogramming.blogspot.ca/2012/02/better-javascript-content-assist-in.html">esprima content assist plugin</a></td><td>No</td><td></td><td>yes</td><td></td><td>No</td><td>CSS, HTML, JavaScript)</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Toggle syntax highlight on/off</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="http://www.cdolivet.com/editarea/editarea/exemples/exemple_full.html">last example in demo</a></td><td></td><td>N/A</td><td>textmode</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Keyboard shortcuts</th><td><a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Labs/Bespin/UserGuide#Keyboard_Shortcuts">All Common Shortcuts</a> & <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Labs/Bespin/Tips#Want_custom_keybindings.3F">Custom Keybindings</a></td><td>fully configurable</td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td></td><td>some common used: Ctrl+f, Ctrl+g,Ctrl+z,Ctrl+y</td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td>All key combos (except F1 in IE7) can be bound to shortcuts</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Line numbers</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>supports mouse selection</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Search & replace</th><td>regex supported</td><td><a href="http://codemirror.net/demo/search.html">via API</a></td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>No</td><td>toolbar button</td><td></td><td></td><td>has API for the studio</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Spell_checking/Dg3GUjUd">Spell checking</a></th><td>addon for context menu</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>browser-based</td><td>none</td><td>browser-based</td><td>none</td><td>browser-based</td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Toolbar</th><td>But command line console</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td></td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Visual styling</th><td><a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Labs/Bespin/UserGuide#Themes">Fully theme-able</a></td><td>CSS-based themes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>font-type and font-size</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>5 styles to choose from, having 2 font-sizes</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Undo/Redo</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td></td><td>Differential Undo</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><th>Multiple cursors / Block selection</th><td>Multiple cursors</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>IndentGuides</th><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Inline widgets</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Non US charset support</th><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>No</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Diff editor</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Yes</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_online_source_code_playgrounds/J7ydxWNB">Comparison of online source code playgrounds</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/HTML_editor/Tf82QUku">HTML editor</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>CodeMirror supported browsers <a href="http://codemirror.net/#supported" target="_blank">http://codemirror.net/#supported</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Orion supported browsers <a href="https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/eclipse.orion/releases/8.0/plan#target_environments" target="_blank">https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/eclipse.orion/releases/8.0/plan#target_environments</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"markItUp! Universal Markup jQuery Editor". Markitup.jaysalvat.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14. <a href="http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/home/" target="_blank">http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/home/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>EditArea compatibility chart <a href="http://www.cdolivet.com/editarea/editarea/docs/compatibility.html" target="_blank">http://www.cdolivet.com/editarea/editarea/docs/compatibility.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Code Folding Demo". CodeMirror. Retrieved 2013-06-14. <a href="http://codemirror.net/demo/folding.html" target="_blank">http://codemirror.net/demo/folding.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Orion 0.3 M2 – New and Noteworthy | Orion News". Planetorion.org. 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2013-06-14. <a href="http://planetorion.org/news/2011/09/orion-0-3-m2-new-and-noteworthy/#editor-folding" target="_blank">http://planetorion.org/news/2011/09/orion-0-3-m2-new-and-noteworthy/#editor-folding</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>