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Geany

geany.org

Free plan Open source WindowsmacOSLinux
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Spec score 8.7 #2 of 23 in PHP IDEs

What it is

Geany is a free, lightweight integrated development environment for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It provides syntax highlighting, code completion, call tips, and code folding for languages and file types including C, Java, PHP, HTML, Python, Perl, and Pascal. An embedded terminal emulator is included, and plugins can extend the editor. Geany supports macro recording and column editing, but not multi-cursor editing. The project distributes it under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. Linux, BSD, and similar systems are directed toward distribution packages, including packages named for Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu. Prebuilt Windows and macOS binaries are available from geany.org, along with links to additional third-party packages and a portable Windows version. Building from source requires GTK3 libraries and headers, dependency libraries, and C and C++ compilers. Geany has no free trial because the listed plan is free.

Spec sheet

What it does
Geany is a small, fast integrated development environment and text editor built with GTK and Scintilla.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Product
Geany describes itself as a small and lightweight integrated development environment.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Free plan
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
Support
The project directs users with build errors to its mailing list or one of the authors.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Additional packages
Geany’s third-party packages page lists packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, openSUSE, Arch Linux, and BSD variants.Read 4 Oct 2026 · geany.org
API maturity
The API documentation is marked as work in progress and warns that undocumented symbols may change.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Association
Geany e.V. is a registered association in Stendal, Germany created to represent the project and handle donated money.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Association board
The listed board consists of Enrico Tröger, Frank Lanitz and Silvio Knizek.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Association founding
The Geany e.V. association was founded on November 3, 2016.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Association governance
The association says development remains the responsibility of core developers and the community rather than the association itself.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Build requirements
Building from source requires GTK3 libraries and headers, dependency libraries, and C and C++ compilers.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Build system
Its build system can compile and execute code through external tools.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
Call tips
The editor offers call-tip assistance while coding.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Code completion
Geany includes symbol and code completion features.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Code folding
Geany supports folding sections of source files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Column editing
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
Construct completion
It can complete common constructs such as if, for and while statements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Desktop availability
Prebuilt packages are available for Windows and macOS, while packages are also available for many Linux distributions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Documentation
Official documentation includes a manual, FAQ, release notes, hacking guidance, wiki and plugin API reference.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Editing features
Its listed features include syntax highlighting, code completion, call tips, and code folding.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Extension support
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
File types
The project lists support for file types including C, Java, PHP, HTML, Python, Perl, and Pascal.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Licence
Geany is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 or any later version.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Licensing
The project says Geany is distributed under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: advanced IDE depth
An independent review says Geany lacks advanced debugger and refactoring capabilities found in heavier IDEs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scalarly.com
Limit: bidirectional text
Wikipedia reports that the Scintilla base has shortcomings with complex graphemes and bidirectional text.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
Limit: plugin ecosystem
An independent review characterizes Geany's plugin ecosystem as smaller than Visual Studio Code's.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scalarly.com
Limit: symbol navigation bug
A Reddit commenter reports that Geany sometimes failed to find symbol definitions and became buggy or slow after updates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Limit: version control
An independent review says Geany has no built-in Git integration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scalarly.com
Limit: Wayland
Wikipedia reports that as of August 2026 Geany lacked proper native Wayland support on Linux.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
Linux installation
Linux and BSD users are advised to install distribution packages, which can receive updates through the package manager.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Linux packages
The project recommends distribution packages for Linux, BSD, and similar systems, and names Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu among distributions with packages.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com
Macro recording
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
Manual-build requirement
Building documentation from a Git checkout normally requires rst2html from Docutils.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Markup completion
XML and HTML tags have dedicated auto-completion support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Multi-cursor editing
NoRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
Notable news
Geany-Plugins 2.0 was announced on October 19, 2023 with GeanyVC, ProjectOrganizer, file-manager and terminal actions, sidebar restoration and Vimmode improvements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Plugin API
The project publishes a C-oriented plugin API with how-to guides, signals, utility functions and documented header interfaces.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Plugins
Functionality can be extended through plugins.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Portable version
The third-party packages page links to a portable Windows version that can be carried on a USB stick.Read 4 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Praise: low resource use
The same review praises low resource consumption and suitability for older machines.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scalarly.com
Praise: responsiveness
Reddit users report very fast response with large files and many open documents.Read 15 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Praise: session handling
A Reddit user praises Geany for restoring cursor positions across many files and sessions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Praise: speed
An independent review describes Geany as fast, lightweight and suited to smaller projects and quick development tasks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scalarly.com
Project management
Geany includes simple project management rather than a large project model.Read 15 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
Release history
Geany 0.1 was released on October 19, 2005, and the project celebrated its 18th birthday with the 2.0 release announcement.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Source-build requirements
Building from source requires GTK3 development files, dependencies such as Pango, GLib and ATK, C and C++ compilers, and Make.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Support channels
Official support is organized around mailing lists, bug and feature tracking, and plugins.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geany.org
Supported languages
The project lists C, Java, PHP, HTML, Python, Perl and Pascal among its supported file types.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Supported platforms
Windows,macOS,LinuxRead 22 Sep 2026 · github.com
Symbol lists
A symbol list helps users inspect and navigate declarations in files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Syntax highlighting
The editor provides syntax highlighting for source-code and markup files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Terminal
Geany provides embedded terminal emulation, although the Windows port lacks an embedded terminal window.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Windows and macOS
The project says prebuilt binary packages for Mac OS and Windows are available from geany.org.Read 4 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

Geany Free No paid tier; distributed as free software GPL-2.0-or-later · desktop IDE/text editor Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Every Geany plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free plan under GPL version 2 or later
  • Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows
  • Syntax highlighting and code completion
  • Embedded terminal emulation
  • Supports plugins, macros, and column editing

Limits

  • No multi-cursor editing
  • Source builds require GTK3 and compiler dependencies
  • No free trial listed

Who it suits

Geany suits developers who want a free desktop IDE across Linux, macOS, or Windows. It fits work involving the listed programming and markup file types, with plugin and terminal support.

Verdict

Geany combines a small IDE footprint with core editing features, terminal access, and plugins.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to GeanyAll alternatives →

Zed From $10/mo · Free plan 8.3 Visit