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coteditor/CotEditor

A lightweight, macOS-native plain text editor written in Swift, aimed at everyday text editing with precise encoding handling.

Open-source alternative to:TextEdit

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What is it?

CotEditor is a plain text editor built specifically for macOS. It follows the system's native user interface conventions and behaviors, so it feels like a standard Mac app rather than a cross-platform editor with its own look.

The editor is written in Swift on Cocoa's document-based architecture and uses NSTextView and the macOS text system APIs. The project emphasizes accurate handling of many plain text formats, including encoding support and predictable editing behavior, while keeping options minimal to stay approachable for casual users.

The interface is localized into about twenty languages, and the app is distributed through the Mac App Store and the project website. Building from source requires Xcode, with separate ad-hoc and distribution signing configurations.

Key features

  • 01Native macOS interface that follows system conventions
  • 02Support for many plain text formats and character encodings
  • 03Localized into roughly twenty languages
  • 04Built with Swift on NSTextView and the macOS text system
  • 05Sandboxed with hardened runtime enabled

Use cases

  • Quickly editing notes, logs or config files on a Mac
  • Working with legacy or non-UTF-8 encoded text files
  • Using a lightweight editor instead of a heavy IDE for plain text

Quick start

  1. 1

    Open CotEditor.xcodeproj in Xcode

  2. 2

    For ad-hoc builds, uncomment the ad-hoc include in Configurations/CodeSigning.xcconfig

  3. 3

    Build the CotEditor scheme in Xcode

Things to know

  • Requires macOS Tahoe 26 or later and only runs on macOS.
  • Image resources are licensed for non-commercial, no-derivatives use, while the source is Apache-2.0.
  • Building from source requires Xcode.

In collections

Open-source Mac apps

Topics

#macos#text-editor#swift#cocoa#mac-app#coteditor#editor#macos-app#texteditor

FAQ

What is CotEditor?
A lightweight, macOS-native plain text editor written in Swift, aimed at everyday text editing with precise encoding handling. CotEditor is a plain text editor built specifically for macOS. It follows the system's native user interface conventions and behaviors, so it feels like a standard Mac app rather than a cross-platform editor with its own look.
Is CotEditor free to use? What license does it have?
CotEditor is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is CotEditor still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to CotEditor was on Nov 5, 2026.
What can I use CotEditor for?
Quickly editing notes, logs or config files on a Mac Working with legacy or non-UTF-8 encoded text files Using a lightweight editor instead of a heavy IDE for plain text
How do I install CotEditor?
Open CotEditor.xcodeproj in Xcode For ad-hoc builds, uncomment the ad-hoc include in Configurations/CodeSigning.xcconfig Build the CotEditor scheme in Xcode
Where can I get CotEditor?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/coteditor/CotEditor

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