Windows 11’s Notepad continues to get Copilot-powered AI features – a handy addition to a tool whose main appeal has always been simplicity and minimalism. Not all users are happy, however, with some saying AI features are overkill.
Yet another reason I've made NotePad++ my go-to editor. Better for all the crashlogs and stuff I mess with.
Damn, notepad++... I remember feeling so sad that there wasn't a Linux version back when I ditched Windows.
Baffles me that this did not get a wildly successful native Linux version in all those years, but it's probably too late now with VSCode and all the NeoVim fans.
For Linux there's Notepadqq
~~Is there? Releases span between 2017 and 2019, the last of which is a beta, and it is largely unmaintained, with most of the contributions after that being "readme updates" and the odd typo/mistranslation.~~
~~Wouldn't call that a wildly successful Linux version of notepad++.~~
EDIT: reading this again, I don't know why I sound so needlessly angry, it wasn't my intention.
I meant to say this does not sound like a viable alternative from a glance. But if you used it and it's good I am happy to be proven wrong.
Geany might be your thing.
Or Kate, which funny enough now runs on windows
Many KDE apps run on Windows. Okular is the best PDF viewer for the entire platform.
Thanks for the recommendation. I did have a short stint with Geany back then, but this was nearly two decades ago now, I have since moved on.
From the Notepad++ home page:
Based on the powerful editing component Scintilla, Notepad++ is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API
Trying to port it to other platforms is thus nonsensical. It would have to be a ground-up rewrite without the Windows API dependency. And there are indeed various other projects for Linux and other platforms that pretty much replicate its functionality, but they're by definition not going to be Notepad++.
and all the NeoVim fans.
Yes. NeoVim has no business being as good as a drop-in replacement for Notepad, as it is (for people who want that, anyway.)
Even VSCode isn't half bad at a quick load, now - as long as it isn't loading too many plugins.
NotePad++ is still pretty great, by any measure, though. (Edit: But not good enough to load Windows for, to me.)
You can leave at any time. You don't have to be in an abusive relationship with your operating system.
Yeah, but how will I pirate games on Linux?
Oh yeah, it's really not hard. Or so I have heard. From a friend.
Haven't seen a single Linux game to download from torrents. All are for windows. Care to ask your friend how/where he pirates AAA games on Linux?
I had a dream where somebody pirated windows games on Linux and just played them through wine/proton. Just like... you know, legally purchased copies.
Of course, as an upstanding citizen I haven't tried this in real life.
So you still need to run Windows, but now with extra performance overhead
Neither Wine or Proton require running Windows. They're compatibility layers which allow Linux to operate software intended for Windows.
You may be thinking about when someone emulates a full virtual Windows machine within Linux, which is more resource-intensive. The overhead and performance impact of a compatibility layer like Wine or Proton is generally negligible compared to running such a VM.
Wine is not an emulator. It *translates* windows code to linux at runtime. Bazzite wouldn't beat windows at so many benchmarks if it was a virtual machine.
Also I wouldn't know but if you are looking for where to potentially find native linux binaries for games that support it, you should probably go ask that question on totally unrelated counter strike forums
Running most Windows games on Linux is easy nowadays, regardless of how you acquired them.
Idk if you got it from the source directly inatead of websites that just reupload with malware, you would see linux versions BEFORE windows.
It's easier
Yeah, but how will I pirate games on Linux?
If this is sarcasm, you might want to tag it as such, before half the Linux community shows up to give pointers.
I, myself, have never pirated anything, obviously.
But I heard from a friend that it can be pretty great, even on Linux.
Microsoft seem to have very tight grip on the corporate world. It's getting better, but still.
I left a company once because they started switching to Microsoft infrastructure and that just got miserable. But I'm a privileged in that regard, a lot of people can't do that
No user said, "Leave it alone." Not a single one. Universally from the office, to the classroom, to the monastery, every single person said, "Leave it the fuck alone."
a handy addition
[Citation needed]
Copilot has been in Notepad, though. It can be disabled in Settings. I also disabled Markdown — I don't need it. I just use Notepad as like a scratch pad, it's a bit more versatile than Sticky Notes (which I also use).
It was already ruined when they modernized it. Now they are just pissing on it's corpse.
Want a simple text editor with no AI nonsense on windows? Oddly Microsoft has you covered: https://github.com/microsoft/edit
I just decided to leave Microsoft alone 20 years ago.
Second best time is today!
Uninstall new notepad.
Install Notepad (classic).
Ezpz. Although i wonder how long that'll last. My manager got upset i wasnt using the new notepad because of its features.
I explained np++ is for things that last more than a day. Notepad classic is for thoughts i dont care about when i shut down.
My manager got upset i wasnt using the new notepad because of its features.
Dang. They sound un-fun.
I want Microsoft to add AI to my ass. Imagine what you could do with all the data coming out my butt MS. Hurry up and start working on it, openAI is already working on pushing AI to our balls.
I'm sure we will get some AI crammed into a toilet stool health camera, someday soon.
um...https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/03/end-to-end-encrypted-smart-toilet-camera-is-not-actually-end-to-end-encrypted/
If I am writing my thoughts down onto a notepad document why would I need an interloper?
Who else is going to helpfully delete your entire D drive for you?
I'm speechless. Notepad was essentially the last thing left pure.
Guess I'll just keep using old versions lol
Notepad ++
It's not an old Version but what windows notepad shouldve been twenty years ago
FAVORITE NOTEPAD++ PLUGIN - GO!
I like Compare and JSON Parser - use them everyday.
Quick! Someone tell me why I shouldn't be using Sublime!
Because it's proprietary.
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
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