NotepadXtreme
01// a serious text editor, everywhere

Your text.
Every device.
Never lost.

A fast, hand-built text editor with cross-device sync of even your unsaved buffers, infinite local history, and AI editing from any provider. macOS, Windows, Linux, Android — one codebase.

Download All platforms
Free to download · v0.2.16 · no account, no tracking
02// download

Get NotepadXtreme

Pick your platform. NotepadXtreme is free to download and use — no account, no trial, no paywall.

macOS

12+ · Apple Silicon & Intel
Download .dmg17.0 MB
.app.tar.gz 17.0 MB

Direct download — the build Pro unlocks.

Also on the Mac App Store

Or install with Homebrew

brew install --cask syedaqibm/tap/notepadxtreme

The App Store edition is the free tier — no AI features and no Pro extras. The download above is the full version.

Windows

10+ · x64
Download .exe7.7 MB
.msi installer 9.4 MB

Linux

x86_64
Download AppImage87 MB
.deb 9.4 MB .rpm 9.4 MB
macOS: signed with a Developer ID certificate and notarised by Apple — just drag NotepadXtreme to Applications and open it, no Terminal step, no warning. Windows: not yet signed, so SmartScreen may appear on first run — choose “More info” → Run anyway.
03// what makes it different

Everything a serious editor has, plus five things no editor combines

Everything you expect from a serious editor — plus the features that made this worth building.

cross-device sync

Your session follows you

Tabs, encodings, carets — and the full text of unsaved buffers — sync through any folder you already have (iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive). No account, no server. Close the lid on your Mac, keep typing on your phone.

infinite local history

Scrub to any past version

Every version of every file — even ones you never saved — kept in compact diff storage. Drag a timeline slider to any point and restore. Like Google Docs history, for any text file, fully local.

bring-your-own AI

Any model, any provider

Transform selections in plain English, build regexes from a description, explain or summarize a file. Works with Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, or a local Ollama — your key, on-device.

sketch & diagram

Draw right next to your notes

A full Excalidraw canvas built in: hand-drawn shapes, arrows, text and freehand. Open a drawing in its own tab, or pop the sketchpad beside your text. Export any drawing as PNG or SVG. Works entirely offline.

power text tooling

Beyond find & replace

Chain sort → dedupe → case → trim as one undo step. In-app clipboard history, side-by-side tab diff, multi-caret editing, live Markdown preview, and a big-file mode that stays smooth past 100 MB.

140+ languages Regex find/replace with $1 groups Session restore of unsaved work UTF-8 / UTF-16 / Latin-1 LF / CRLF / CR Folder sidebar Multiple windows Drawing canvas (Excalidraw) Column & multi-cursor Zoom & word-wrap Code folding
04// sketch beside your text

Draw it right where you wrote it

A full Excalidraw canvas lives inside the editor. Sketch the diagram your notes are describing — in its own tab, or on a sketchpad beside the text — then export it as a PNG or SVG. No second app, no account, no internet.

New in 0.2.2
  • Its own tabNew Drawing from the + menu opens a canvas as a real file, with tabs, unsaved-change tracking and session restore.
  • Or beside your textThe sketchpad panel docks next to the editor and stays where you left it — doodle while you write.
  • Export anywhereSave as PNG or SVG for slides, issues and docs. Files keep the editable .excalidraw scene.
  • Entirely offlineFonts and assets ship inside the app. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is fetched, no account needed.
Get it free Free forever · no account · macOS, Windows, Linux
05// six themes + System auto

Reads right in any light

Full editor themes that reskin the whole app — or set it to System and it follows your OS between light and dark, live.

Default Light
Default Dark
Monokai
Dracula
Solarized
Nord
07// the free, cross-platform text editor

A modern text editor for macOS, Windows & Linux

NotepadXtreme (formerly NotepadX) is a free text editor built for people who live in plain text — developers, writers, sysadmins, and anyone who keeps a scratch file open all day. If you have been looking for a serious editor that runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux (Android is on the way), this is it. It opens a 10 MB log file in under a second, handles 140+ programming languages with syntax highlighting, and never loses your work.

Most editors treat your unsaved scratch text as disposable. NotepadXtreme does the opposite. Its signature feature is session restore of unsaved buffers: quit with untitled, unsaved tabs open and they come back exactly as you left them on the next launch. Layered on top is cross-device sync that carries those same tabs, carets, and unsaved text between your computers and phone through any cloud folder you already use, with no account and no server to trust.

Everything a serious editor needs, and four things no other editor combines

On the fundamentals, NotepadXtreme has everything a serious editor needs: tabbed editing, a non-modal find & replace with regular expressions and $1 capture groups, encoding detection and conversion (UTF-8, UTF-16, Latin-1), line-ending control (LF, CRLF, CR), a resizable folder sidebar, code folding, multi-cursor and column selection, zoom, word wrap, and a full complement of line operations. Six editor themes — including Monokai, Dracula, Nord, and Solarized — reskin the entire app, and a System theme follows your operating system between light and dark automatically.

Where it pulls ahead is the combination of capabilities you would otherwise need several separate apps for. Infinite local history keeps every version of every file — even ones you never saved — in compact diff storage, so you can scrub a timeline slider to any past state and restore it. Bring-your-own AI lets you transform selections in plain English, generate regular expressions from a description, and summarize long files, using your own key with Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, xAI Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, or a fully offline local Ollama model. Power text tooling adds chainable text pipelines (sort → dedupe → trim as one undo step), an in-app clipboard history, side-by-side tab diffing, and live Markdown preview. A built-in drawing canvas (powered by Excalidraw) lets you sketch diagrams in their own tab or beside your notes and export them as PNG or SVG. And a big-file mode keeps typing smooth in documents past 100 MB where other editors stall.

A plain text editor — not a rich text editor — and why that matters

NotepadXtreme is deliberately a plain text editor. Unlike a rich text editor or a word processor, it never injects hidden formatting into your files: what you type is exactly what is saved, byte for byte. That makes it the right tool for source code, Markdown, configuration files, server logs, CSV exports, and quick notes that must stay portable. If you have ever pasted from a rich text editor into a terminal or a CMS and watched smart quotes break everything, you already know why writers and developers keep a plain text editor as their daily driver. You get the speed and predictability of raw text, with syntax colors, folding, and multi-cursor editing on top.

Better than an online text editor — and an AI text editor built in

Many people reach for an online text editor because there is nothing to install. The trade-off: a text editor online stops working without a connection, struggles with big files, and your text passes through someone else's server. NotepadXtreme installs in seconds, works fully offline, opens huge logs instantly, and keeps every byte on your machine — while still syncing between devices through your own cloud folder. It is also a true AI text editor: rephrase or refactor a selection, autocomplete as you type, summarize a document, or transform text with a plain-English instruction, using any AI provider you choose. A free text editor with no ads that combines editing, history, sync, and AI — that is what makes NotepadXtreme a serious contender for the best text editor for Mac, Windows, or Linux.

NotepadXtreme is free and ad-free, with no trial, no telemetry, and no lock-in — your files stay on your machine and your API keys stay on your device. Optional paid conveniences (managed AI and cloud sync) are coming for those who want them; the editor itself stays free. Download it for your platform above and start editing in seconds.

06// free, and a Pro tier if you want it

The editor is free. Pro adds the extras.

Everything you need to write and code is free forever, with no ads, no account and no time limit. Pro unlocks the parts that produce something to share or run in the background.

Free

£0 — forever

  • The full editor: tabs, split view, 140+ languages
  • Regex find & replace, encodings, huge files
  • Drawing canvas and sketchpad
  • Session restore and recent version history
  • AI rephrase, transform, explain — your own key
Download free

Happy on free? You can chip in to keep it built.

Pro

Pro

$29 — one-off

  • Export sketches, drawings and flow charts as PNG or SVG
  • AI diagrams: notes → diagram, diagram → notes
  • Cross-device sync of tabs and unsaved buffers
  • Unlimited version history
  • Macros and External Tools
Get Pro

You get a licence key — it activates offline and works on all your machines.

Pro applies to the download from this site, not the Mac App Store edition.

// support & what's next

Free forever. Backed by people who love it.

The editor itself is free forever, with no ads — Pro is optional. If the free version saves you time, you can chip in to keep it built.

Support development

Every contribution funds new features and keeps the core app free for everyone.

NotepadXtreme Pro

Image export, AI diagrams, cross-device sync, unlimited history and automation. One-off payment, licence key, no subscription — the editor itself stays free.

08// frequently asked questions

NotepadXtreme FAQ

Is NotepadXtreme free?
Yes. The editor is free to download and use, with no ads, no account, no trial limit and no subscription — tabs, split view, 140+ languages, search, the drawing canvas and AI text actions are all included. An optional one-off Pro purchase adds image export, AI diagrams, cross-device sync, unlimited history and automation.
Which platforms does NotepadXtreme support?
NotepadXtreme runs on macOS 12+, Windows 10+, and Linux (x86_64). Android and iOS builds are in the works. All platforms are built from one codebase, so features stay in sync.
Does NotepadXtreme work well on Mac and Linux?
Yes. NotepadXtreme runs natively on macOS, Linux, and Windows from one codebase, with tabs, regex find & replace, encoding and line-ending control, syntax highlighting, and session restore of unsaved files — plus cross-device sync, local history, and AI.
How does cross-device sync work without an account?
You pick any folder that is already synced by a service you use — iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or similar. NotepadXtreme writes a small session snapshot there, and your other devices offer to resume it. There is no NotepadXtreme account and no NotepadXtreme server; your data flows through your own cloud storage.
Does NotepadXtreme need an internet connection?
No. The editor works fully offline. Internet is only used if you enable cross-device sync (through your cloud folder) or the optional AI features (which call the provider you choose). You can use a local Ollama model to keep AI offline too.
Is my data private?
Yes. Files stay on your device, local history is stored locally, and API keys are kept on-device and sent only to the AI provider you select. NotepadXtreme has no telemetry and does not collect your documents.
Which AI providers can I use?
Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, xAI Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter (any model it lists), and local Ollama. You enter your own API key in Settings; the model field is free text, so new models work the day they launch.
How do I install NotepadXtreme on macOS?
Download the .dmg above, open it, and drag NotepadXtreme to Applications. On first launch, it is signed and notarised by Apple, so it opens normally — no security prompt and no Terminal step.
How do I install on Windows?
Download the .exe installer and run it. If SmartScreen appears, click “More info” then “Run anyway.” A .msi is also provided for managed environments.
How do I install on Linux?
Use the portable .AppImage (make it executable and run it), or install the .deb on Debian/Ubuntu or the .rpm on Fedora/RHEL.
Can NotepadXtreme open large files?
Yes. It targets opening a 10 MB log in under a second, and a dedicated big-file mode keeps editing responsive well past 100 MB by disabling per-keystroke scanners that slow other editors down.
Will NotepadXtreme stay free?
Yes — the NotepadXtreme app stays free and ad-free, and every core editor feature stays free. Optional paid services (managed AI and cloud sync) are planned for people who want them. Questions? Reach the team on the contact page.
What is a text editor?
A text editor is a program for creating and editing text-based files such as .txt notes, source code, Markdown, and configuration files. Unlike a word processor, a text editor works with raw characters only — no fonts, no page layout — which is why developers, writers, and system administrators rely on one every day. NotepadXtreme is a free text editor for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
What is a plain text editor?
A plain text editor edits pure, unformatted text: what you type is exactly what is stored in the file, byte for byte. That makes plain text ideal for code, logs, CSV data, and notes that must stay portable across every app and operating system. NotepadXtreme is a plain text editor with syntax highlighting, multi-cursor editing, and regex find & replace on top.
What is a rich text editor?
A rich text editor lets you apply formatting to text — bold, italics, colors, headings, embedded images — and stores that styling in the file, like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or the WYSIWYG editors used in web CMSs. A plain text editor such as NotepadXtreme stores no hidden formatting, which is exactly what you want for code and portable notes.
Is Notepad a text editor?
Yes. Windows Notepad is the classic example of a simple plain text editor. Modern alternatives like NotepadXtreme keep that simplicity but add tabs, syntax highlighting for 140+ languages, regex search, session restore of unsaved files, version history, cross-device sync, and AI editing — while staying free.
What is a text editor for coding?
A code-oriented text editor adds programmer features to plain text editing: syntax highlighting, line numbers, bracket matching, code folding, multi-cursor editing, and regular-expression find & replace. NotepadXtreme includes all of these for 140+ languages, plus AI-assisted refactoring, making it a lightweight coding editor for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
How do you open a text editor in Linux?
From the terminal you can run nano filename, vim filename, or gedit filename depending on what is installed. For a graphical editor, install NotepadXtreme for Linux: download the AppImage, make it executable (chmod +x), and run it — or install the .deb on Debian/Ubuntu or the .rpm on Fedora/RHEL, then launch it from your applications menu.
Is there a free online text editor?
Yes. NotepadXtreme offers a free online text editor that runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up needed, with syntax highlighting, word count, autosave in your browser, and file open/save. For bigger work, the free NotepadXtreme desktop app adds sync, history, and AI.
Where can I download a free text editor for Windows PC?
You can download NotepadXtreme for Windows free — a .exe installer and a .msi package for Windows 10 and 11. macOS (.dmg) and Linux (AppImage, .deb, .rpm) downloads are on the same page. It is completely free: no trial, no account, and no ads.
Is there a text editor app for desktop?
Yes. NotepadXtreme is a free text editor app for macOS, Windows, and Linux built from one codebase, with tabs, themes, syntax highlighting, cross-device sync of unsaved files, infinite local history, and optional AI editing.
Can a text editor edit text inside an image?
No — a text editor works on text files, and text inside an image is just pixels. To edit it you first need OCR (optical character recognition) software to extract the text from the image; you can then paste the result into a text editor like NotepadXtreme to clean it up, or use an image editor to redraw the picture itself.
Can NotepadXtreme draw diagrams or sketches?
Yes. NotepadXtreme includes a built-in drawing canvas powered by Excalidraw. Create a drawing in its own tab (New Drawing from the + menu), or open the sketchpad panel to doodle beside your notes. You get hand-drawn shapes, arrows, text, freehand drawing and a shape library — and you can export any drawing as a PNG image or SVG vector. Drawings save as .excalidraw files, and it all works offline.
What is the best free text editor for Mac?
macOS ships with TextEdit, but it is a rich text editor at heart and lacks tabs, syntax highlighting, and regex search. For a genuinely free text editor for Mac, NotepadXtreme is a strong choice: it is a native Apple Silicon app with tabs, 140+ language syntax highlighting, regex find & replace, session restore of unsaved files, version history, cross-device sync, and AI editing — completely free, with no ads or trial. Download it for macOS here.
Is there a simple text editor for Mac?
Yes. NotepadXtreme is a simple text editor for Mac: download the .dmg, drag it to Applications, and you are editing in seconds. It opens instantly to a blank untitled tab like classic Notepad, stays out of your way, and everything you type is kept safe automatically — even if you quit without saving.
What is a good text editor for Mac for coding?
For coding on a Mac you want syntax highlighting, bracket matching, code folding, multi-cursor editing, and regex search — NotepadXtreme includes all of these for 140+ languages, plus AI-assisted refactoring and a big-file mode for huge logs. It is lighter than a full IDE, free, and also runs on Windows and Linux with the same features.