Fresh - The Terminal Text Editor

The Terminal Text Editor

[GitHub]

Easy To Use | TypeScript Extensible | Light And Fast | Huge File Support

Installation Methods

Via npm (recommended):
npm install -g @fresh-editor/fresh-editor

Via npx (for a quick test):
npx @fresh-editor/fresh-editor

From source with Cargo:
cargo install fresh-editor

Pre-built binaries:
Download from GitHub Releases.

Source code available on GitHub.

[Image Placeholder: The Fresh TUI Interface] Click to view full size.

Discovery & Ease of Use

Fresh is designed for discovery. It features native UIs, a full Menu system, and a powerful Command Palette. With full mouse support, transitioning from graphical editors is seamless.

Modern Extensibility

Extend Fresh easily using modern tools. Plugins are written in TypeScript and run securely in a sandboxed Deno environment, providing access to a modern JavaScript ecosystem without compromising stability.

Zero-Latency Performance

Fresh is engineered for speed. It delivers a near zero-latency experience, with text appearing instantly. The editor is designed to be light and fast, reliably opening and editing huge files up to multi-gigabyte sizes without slowdown.

Comprehensive Feature Set

File Management: open/save/new/close, file explorer, tabs, auto-revert, git file finder |
Editing: undo/redo, multi-cursor, block selection, smart indent, comments, clipboard |
Search & Replace: incremental search, find in selection, query replace, git grep |
Navigation: go to line/bracket, word movement, position history, bookmarks, error navigation |
Views & Layout: split panes, line numbers, line wrap, backgrounds, markdown preview |
Language Server (LSP): go to definition, references, hover, code actions, rename, diagnostics, autocompletion |
Productivity: command palette, menu bar, keyboard macros, git log, diagnostics panel |
Plugins & Extensibility: TypeScript plugins, color highlighter, TODO highlighter, merge conflicts, path complete, keymaps

© Created by Noam Lewis.

Links: GitHub | Back to Top

Fresh, developed by Noam Lewis, represents a significant advancement in terminal-based text editing, offering a user experience designed for seamless transition from traditional graphical editors while leveraging the power and flexibility of the terminal environment. The core design philosophy centers around delivering a highly responsive and feature-rich editing experience, capable of handling large files and integrating with modern development workflows. The application’s primary strength lies in its intuitive interface and execution, facilitated through native UIs, a comprehensive menu system, and a robust command palette, allowing users to efficiently navigate and manipulate text within the terminal. The deployment options are varied, encompassing installation via npm, npx for quick testing, or installation from source using Cargo, catering to different technical preferences and environments.

A key differentiator of Fresh is its commitment to performance and responsiveness, achieved through an architecture engineered for near-zero latency. This allows for immediate text rendering, eliminating delays often associated with terminal-based editors. This speed is further amplified by the editor's lightweight design, allowing it to reliably handle multi-gigabyte files without experiencing noticeable slowdowns, a capability frequently lacking in comparable tools. The application's feature set is remarkably extensive, covering the full spectrum of needs for a modern developer. File management capabilities include standard functions like open, save, new, and close, alongside features like a file explorer, tabbed browsing, and automatic reversion to previous versions. Beyond basic file handling, Fresh supports integration with version control systems via the “git file finder,” streamlining development workflows.

The editing interface incorporates established functionalities such as undo/redo, multi-cursor support for simultaneous text manipulation, block selection for efficient area editing, and smart indentation for maintaining consistent code formatting. Comments and a clipboard manager further enhance productivity. Search and replace operations are incremental, providing real-time updates as changes are made, while “query replace” offers targeted searching. Furthermore, the integration with “git grep” allows developers to search for specific content within their codebase directly from the editor. Navigation features include "go to line/bracket," allowing precise pinpointing of text locations, alongside word movement and a position history for easy backtracking. The editor also supports bookmarks and error navigation, crucial for debugging.

The application’s layout functionality includes split panes for simultaneous viewing of multiple documents, line number display, flexible line wrapping, customizable backgrounds, and a markdown preview. A central component of Fresh is its integration with Language Server Protocol (LSP), providing advanced code intelligence. This integration enables features like “go to definition,” referencing code locations, hover information displays, code action suggestions, renaming capabilities, diagnostics for identifying errors and inconsistencies, and intelligent autocompletion suggestions. Finally, Fresh supports a diverse range of plugins written in TypeScript, running within a sandboxed Deno environment. These plugins extend the editor’s functionality, offering customizable color highlighters, TODO highlighting tools, merge conflict resolution, path completion, keymap customization, and a diagnostics panel. The use of Deno offers both enhanced security and access to a modern JavaScript ecosystem, solidifying Fresh as a forward-thinking tool for developers.