Helix is a free, open-source code editor written in Rust with Vim-style modal editing, built-in Language Server Protocol (LSP) support, Tree-sitter syntax highlighting, and multiple cursors, all without requiring a complex plugin setup.
It’s a great choice for developers looking for a fast, privacy-friendly editor that runs locally and works across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
GitHub: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
More details: https://digitalescapetools.com/tools/tool.html?id=helix
More privacy-friendly tools: https://digitalescapetools.com/
Helix is my go-to terminal editor. While I would describe the controls as being Vim-like (
:qto quit,ito insert), they refer to it as selection-based, similar to Kakoune.For instance, in Vim, you can replace a word with
c a wto “change all word”.In Helix, you would use
b e cto extend the selection to the beginning of the word, extend the selection to the end, and then change everything within the selection.It excels at multi-cursor editing and selecting things with regex, and I’ve heard they’re finally getting plugin support.