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NotepadX
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 · v0.1.0 · no account, no tracking
02// download

Get NotepadX

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

macOS

12+ · Apple Silicon & Intel
Download .dmg9.9 MB
.app.tar.gz 9.8 MB

Windows

10+ · x64
Download .exe4.2 MB
.msi installer 5.9 MB

Linux

x86_64
Download AppImage83 MB
.deb 5.9 MB .rpm 5.9 MB
Downloads are unsigned by a paid certificate, so first launch may show an “unidentified developer” or Play Protect prompt — that’s expected for an app installed outside the app stores. On macOS: right-click the app → Open. On Windows: “More info” → Run anyway.
03// what makes it different

Everything a serious editor has, plus four 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.

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.

20+ 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 Column & multi-cursor Zoom & word-wrap Code folding
04// 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
05// the free, cross-platform text editor

A modern text editor for macOS, Windows & Linux

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 20+ programming languages with syntax highlighting, and never loses your work.

Most editors treat your unsaved scratch text as disposable. NotepadX 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, NotepadX 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 four capabilities you would otherwise need four 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. 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

NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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 NotepadX a serious contender for the best text editor for Mac, Windows, or Linux.

NotepadX 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.

// support & what's next

Free forever. Backed by people who love it.

The NotepadX app has no ads and no paywalled features. If it saves you time, you can chip in to keep it built — and be first to try the optional paid conveniences when they land.

Support development

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

NotepadX Pro — join the waitlist

Optional, coming soon: managed AI (no API key needed) and encrypted cross-device cloud sync. The editor stays 100% free — Pro is just for those who want the convenience.

No spam. One email when Pro launches, then you decide.

06// frequently asked questions

NotepadX FAQ

Is NotepadX free?
Yes. NotepadX is completely free to download and use, with no paid plan, no subscription, no trial limit, and no ads inside the app. Every feature, including sync, history, and AI, is available at no cost.
Which platforms does NotepadX support?
NotepadX 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 NotepadX work well on Mac and Linux?
Yes. NotepadX 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. NotepadX writes a small session snapshot there, and your other devices offer to resume it. There is no NotepadX account and no NotepadX server; your data flows through your own cloud storage.
Does NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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 NotepadX on macOS?
Download the .dmg above, open it, and drag NotepadX to Applications. On first launch, right-click the app and choose Open to bypass the unidentified-developer prompt.
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 NotepadX 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 NotepadX stay free?
Yes — the NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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 NotepadX 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 NotepadX keep that simplicity but add tabs, syntax highlighting for 20+ 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. NotepadX includes all of these for 20+ 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 NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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 NotepadX desktop app adds sync, history, and AI.
Where can I download a free text editor for Windows PC?
You can download NotepadX 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. NotepadX 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 NotepadX to clean it up, or use an image editor to redraw the picture itself.
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, NotepadX is a strong choice: it is a native Apple Silicon app with tabs, 20+ 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. NotepadX 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 — NotepadX includes all of these for 20+ 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.