mle

Terminal text editor.

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Console’s review

· Reviewed by David Mytton

What we like

Minimalist approach - small codebase and focus on simplicity by calling out to shell commands for extra functionality e.g. grep. Supports fuzzy search, syntax highlighting, split views, auto intent. Can be scripted and run in headless mode to run edit commands and output the result. Runs on all platforms with official packages. Open source.

Tradeoffs

Default keybindings are somewhat intuitive e.g. Ctrl+S for save, but don’t take advantage of the muscle memory from other terminal editors. Help docs are limited.

Is mle a fit?

Based on Console’s review published on 2022-11-10. Summary updated .

Who it’s for

Developers who value simplicity and flexibility in a text editor should consider mle

Why consider it

mle supports fuzzy search and other useful features through its minimalist approach

Keep in mind

mle's default keybindings may not be intuitive for users of other terminal editors

Console is a free weekly newsletter with short reviews of developer tools, covering strengths and tradeoffs. This review reflects Console’s assessment at publication on 2022-11-10. Features and limitations may have changed since the review date. Read our selection criteria and learn about Console.

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