Micro vs NumenText

Micro is a free terminal-based text editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, intended for people who prefer terminal work or regularly edit files over SSH. It is distributed as a single static binary without dependencies. The editor provides syntax highlighting for over 130 languages and includes splits, tabs, a diff gutter, simple autocompletion, persistent undo, linting notifications, macros, soft wrapping, line numbers and Unicode support. It also offers multiple cursors, mouse selection and an interactive shell inside the editor. Options and keybindings can be changed with JSON, with further configuration through Lua. Its Lua plugin system includes a manager for installing, removing and updating plugins. Micro supports language servers and remote development, and themes can use 16, 256 or truecolor; seven colorschemes are included by default. On Linux desktops, external clipboard access requires xclip or xsel for X11, or wl-clipboard for Wayland. Vim emulation and Vi keybindings are not provided.

NumenText is a terminal-based IDE written in Go, with a non-modal, menu-driven editor for people who want an IDE in the terminal without learning Vim or modal editing. It has multiple tabs, familiar shortcuts, and syntax highlighting for more than 20 languages. Build and run shortcuts cover C, C++, Go, Rust, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, and Kotlin. Its LSP client provides autocomplete, go-to-definition, hover information, and diagnostics; its DAP client supports breakpoints and step-by-step debugging. A test runner handles output from go test, pytest, cargo test, Maven, and Gradle, alongside configurable formatters and linters. Other tools include an integrated PTY terminal, regex search and replace, Markdown preview, a hex viewer and editor, bookmarks, TODO/FIXME scanning, and Git diff markers. It runs on macOS and Linux and is available free under Apache License 2.0. The project describes it as a single binary without runtime dependencies; compiling from source requires Go 1.25 or later.