GNU nano

What GNU nano is

GNU nano is a free text editor made as an alternative to Pico, with additional editing functions while aiming to remain compatible with it. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and supports extensions and macro recording. Editing tools include undo and redo, syntax coloring, auto-indentation, line numbers, word completion, file locking, and backup files. Search and replace can use regular expressions, with options for case-sensitive or backward searches. Nano can handle several files in sequence or keep them in separate buffers. Users can set options such as syntax highlighting and line wrapping in nanorc files. It can read, enter, and save Unicode text when the terminal encoding and locale use UTF-8. Restricted mode limits file access and disables actions such as shell commands, spell checking, suspending, and making backups. The project offers source archives and links to Linux packages and Windows executables, with signature files for source archives. Documentation includes an online manual, FAQ, shortcut overview, PDF manual, and man pages.