Code editor

Lapce

We always joke that the reason why there are so many programming text editors is because creating such a text editor is an ideal first project for programmers, especially when they're switching to a new language. Because Rust seems to be a popular new language, there are lots of new editors written in Rust. Rust also seems to be one of those languages that's often mentioned specifically by programmers when they use it, much like Arch users never failing to mention their favorite Linux distribution. All of this is true of Lapce, a new programmer's editor that proudly wears its Rust editing credentials on its sleeve. But it does this in such a way that makes it worth the installation effort. In particular, it's fast, simple, and uses edit and command modes like Vim.

Lapce is still in its early developmental stage, but its creator has been using it as their daily driver for a year. The main window is sparse, but it's also fast and functional. There are four main panels: the main editing pane, an embedded terminal, a view for commit messages, and another for showing changed files. These all work best when you're within a Git repository, but of course there's nothing stopping you from changing things around. The editor is modal, which means there's an edit mode and a command mode. Like Vim, the command palette is opened with the : key, but with Lapce, you see all the commands you can summon, including those for opening files, creating new tabs, changing the theme (both light and dark), and viewing the configuration. There's also a WASI plugin system that's yet to be fully developed but should allow developers to port or create their own add-ons. It's early days, but Lapce already does enough to make it a good option for fast desktop editing, and it's likely to only get better in the future.

Project Website

https://github.com/lapce/lapce

In the background, Lapce talks to its own proxy that manages file sync and saves – which is quite unique.

Terminal emulator