How to Install Notepad++ on Linux

However, one drawback of Notepad++ is that it is limited to Windows only. So, if you've been a Notepad++ user for a long time and recently switched your operating system to Linux, you'll probably feel really sorry for not being able to use this tool on your new operating system.

Fortunately, however, there are several ways to get Notepad++ to run on a Linux computer. In this tutorial, TipsMake will review these methods with you in detail.

Install Notepad++ on Linux Using Wine

One of the preferred methods for installing Notepad++ and other Windows programs on Linux is to use Wine. This method works fine on Debian and its derivatives. However, if you are using another Linux distribution, using Snap (illustrated below) is probably a better way to get Wine on your computer.

For starters, Wine (an acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator) is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows programs on a Unix-like operating system.

Download and set up Wine

First, open the Terminal application and add the WineHQ signing key with the command below:

wget -qo- https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -

If this command returns an error, you can split it in two. The result will look something like this:

wget -qo- https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/Release.key sudo apt-key add Release.key

Next, run the following command to add the official Wine repository to your system's list of repositories:

sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ bionic main'

Update the system package list by running:

sudo apt-get update

Finally, install Wine on the computer with the help of the following command:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends winehq-stable

When prompted, type y/yes and press Enter to continue.

After Wine is installed, you need to set up the architecture and prefix to indicate whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit system. For better compatibility the example will set both architecture and prefix to 32-bit.

To do this, in a command line window, run the following two commands:

export WINEARCH=win32 export WINEPREFIX=~/.wine32

Install Notepad++ with Wine

Now, you have Wine installed and set up. Time to download and install Notepad++ in Wine.

To do this, download the installer package from the official website.

Download Notepad++ here.

Once the download is complete, go to the Downloads folder (or the folder where you downloaded the program) on your computer. Right-click the Notepad++ setup file and select Open With Other Application > Wine Windows Program Loader to load it into Wine.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 1

Wine will now run Notepad++ Installer. And, the first thing it will ask you to do is choose your preferred language.

In the Installer Language prompt, select a language and press OK.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 2

You will now be welcomed to the initial setup screen. Click Next to continue.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 3

Accept the license terms by clicking the I Agree button on the License Agreement page.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 4

Now, choose a destination folder to install Notepad++ and click Next.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 5

On the component selection screen, choose between the Minimalist or Custom packages and click Next. Minimalist only gives you the basic components needed to run Notepad++, while with Custom you can choose the components you want to install (like plugins) individually.

If you want a shortcut for Notepad++ on the desktop for convenient access, check the box next to Create Shortcut on Desktop on the next screen.

How to Install Notepad++ on Linux Picture 6

Finally, click Install to install Notepad++ with the options selected.

Install Notepad++ on Linux Using Snap

Installing Notepad++ or any other program through Snap is the easiest way. You can use this method on pretty much any unofficial Linux distribution that has the package you want to install in the package manager.

Like the standalone Wine approach, installing Notepad++ via Snap also uses Wine. It is based on the embedded version of Wine but saves you the trouble of having to install Wine separately.

To install Notepad++ using Snap, first make sure that you have Snap installed on your Linux computer. To do this, open Terminal and run:

snap

If the command outputs a Snap description, this indicates that the Snap is present on the system. In the absence of information, you will need to have Snap installed on your system before proceeding.

Once Snap has been installed, install Notepad++ with the following command:

sudo snap install notepad-plus-plus

If at some point in the future you want to uninstall Notepad++ from your computer, you can do so with:

sudo snap remove notepad-plus-plus

Launch Notepad++

If you installed Notepad++ with Wine, you must have the option to create a shortcut for Notepad++ on the desktop.

In this case, you can now double-click the shortcut to run Notepad++. Otherwise, you can find Notepad++ in the Applications menu.

Alternatively, you can also run Notepad++ from the Terminal with:

wine start 'installationpathforNotepad++'

For example, if you installed Notepad++ in Program Files (x86), you would run:

wine start 'C:Program Files (x86)Notepad++⁠notepad++.exe'

Similarly, if you installed Notepad++ via Snap, you can launch the program by finding it in the Applications menu or running the notepad-plus-plus command in a Terminal window.

If you choose the second path and cannot run Notepad++, it may be because the PATH environment is not set up for it. In this case, you can set the PATH variable for Notepad++ on the system or run the program by prepending the installation path.

To do this, first run notepad-plus-plus in a Terminal window to find out the installation path for Notepad++. Next, copy this path and paste it on a new line, followed by notepad-plus-plus.

For example, if Notepad++ is installed in /snap/bin/, you can run it from any directory using:

/snap/bin/notepad-plus-plus

If you're a longtime Notepad++ user but have resorted to some other text editor after switching to Linux, this guide will help you install and set up Notepad++ on your Linux computer.

You are finally reunited with your favorite code editor. You can now use Notepad++ on Linux in much the same way you did on Windows. Since Notepad++ runs on Wine, you can also install Notepad++ Plugin Manager to extend its capabilities even further.

Marvin Fry

Update 17 November 2021