Why Notepad Next Might Be the Best Notepad++ Alternative for Linux Users

Notepad++ is popular on Windows but not available on Linux. The article introduces Notepad Next, a cross‑platform C++ application built with Qt 6.5.1 that aims to replicate Notepad++’s UI and features on Linux, Windows and macOS.

Compared with Notepadqq, Notepad Next looks almost identical to Notepad++ without requiring a Chinese localization, and it supports a Chinese interface out of the box. However, it is still under active development (v0.6.3 at the time) and may lack some polish.

Key capabilities listed include workspace folders, syntax highlighting for many languages (C++, YAML, XML, LaTeX, PHP, Python, R, Rust, …), UI toggles, macro recording and playback, find/replace in files, line operations, an editor inspector, indentation guides, undo/redo, zoom, a Lua console, EOL conversion, and case conversion. The tool also offers cross‑platform packaging via Flatpak and AppImage.

Installation on Linux is straightforward: download the AppImage, make it executable, and run it, or install via Flatpak using the command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.github.dail8859.NotepadNext.flatpa

The author tested the Flatpak version on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and reports it works well. The macOS build is currently experimental, but the application runs on all three major OSes, promising a truly cross‑platform open‑source text editor once remaining issues are resolved.