I Built a Notepad++ Alternative for Mac — Here's What I Learned

#opensource #webdev #typescript #showdev

As a developer who spent years on Windows, switching to Mac meant leaving behind one tool I relied on daily: Notepad++. Sure, there's VS Code, Sublime Text, and others — but none of them felt quite like Notepad++. So I built my own.

Meet Notemac++

Notemac++ is a free, open-source text and source code editor for macOS and the web, inspired by Notepad++. It runs as a native desktop app (via Tauri) and as a web app you can try right now in your browser.

Try it instantly: Launch the web app

Why Another Editor?

I didn't set out to compete with VS Code. I wanted something that felt like Notepad++ on Mac — fast startup, lightweight, tabbed editing, and all those small features that make text editing pleasant: bookmarks, macro recording, column editing, line operations, encoding conversion.

But since I was building from scratch, I also added things I wished Notepad++ had:

Built-in Git integration — A full GUI for staging, committing, diffing, and managing branches. Not just a terminal shortcut.
AI coding assistant — Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, and Ollama (local models). Code completion, refactoring, and chat right in the editor.
Integrated terminal — No need to switch windows.
File comparison — Side-by-side diff view.
Web version — The same editor runs in any browser, no installation required.

The Tech Stack

TypeScript + React for the UI
Monaco Editor (the engine behind VS Code) for the editing experience
Tauri for the native macOS app — resulting in a binary that's ~75% smaller than Electron
Vite for the web build
2,651+ passing tests covering the codebase

I chose Tauri over Electron because the difference in bundle size and memory usage is significant. The Tauri app feels snappy and native.

Features at a Glance

Feature	Notemac++
Syntax Languages	70+
Git Integration	Built-in GUI
AI Assistant	Multi-provider
Terminal	Integrated
Themes	7 + custom
Split View	Yes
Macros	Yes
Bookmarks	Yes
Find/Replace	Regex, mark, bookmark
File Compare	Side-by-side diff
Platform	macOS + Web
License	MIT

What's Next

The roadmap includes plugin system support, collaborative editing, git blame view, merge conflict resolution tools, and more. Check the full roadmap on GitHub.