CotEditor for Mac

CotEditor for Mac is an open-sourced, Cocoa-based plain-text editor for macOS. It supports syntax highlighting, powerful find-and-replace with OniGmo (regular expression engine), and other small goodies for coding. It can handle also CJK languages well.

CotEditor is exactly made for macOS. It looks and behaves just as macOS applications should. CotEditor for macOS launches so quickly that you can write your text immediately when you want to.

The app is developed as an open-source project that allows anyone to contribute.

Features and Highlights

Syntax Highlighting
Colorize more than 50 pre-installed major languages like HTML, PHP, Python, Ruby, or Markdown. You can also create your own settings.

Split Editor
Split a window into multiple panes to see different parts of your document at the same time.

Powerful Find & Replace
Super powerful find and replace using the ICU regular expression engine.

Character Inspector
Inspect Unicode character data of each selected character in your document and display them in a popover.

Setting via Click
There are no complex setting files that require geek knowledge. You can access all your settings including syntax definitions and themes from a normal preferences window.

Scriptable
Make your own macro in your favorite language, whether it is Python, Ruby, Perl, PHP, UNIX shell, AppleScript, or JavaScript.

Auto Backup
You don't need to lose your unsaved data anymore. Cot Editor for Mac backups your documents automatically while editing.

Incompatible Characters
Check and list-up the characters in your document that cannot be converted into the desired encoding.

Outline Menu
Extract specified lines with the predefined syntax and you can jump to the corresponding line.

CJK Language Friendly
Estimate various file encodings accurately, toggle to vertical text mode and keep its line-height correctly.

How to Use

• Open CotEditor from your Applications folder
• Create a new file or open an existing one
• Choose your preferred syntax style from the toolbar
• Customize appearance via Preferences
• Use search and replace for quick editing
• Enable auto-save or version control if needed
• Save your file in your desired format
• Use scripts for advanced automation
• Check updates regularly for new features

System Requirements

macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later

Intel or Apple Silicon (Universal app)

At least 50 MB of free disk space

4 GB RAM or more recommended

Internet connection for updates (optional)

PROS

• Lightweight and fast performance
• Native macOS look and feel
• Excellent syntax highlighting
• Supports scripting with AppleScript
• No ads, open-source, and free

CONS

• Limited advanced IDE features
• No built-in FTP or SSH support
• Few third-party plugins available
• Basic autocomplete functionality
• Mac-only, no cross-platform version

Note: Requires 64-bit processor.