Windows 11 is about to have a built-in text editor 'edit'

When it comes to word processing, Windows 11 already has Notepad or OneNote/Word (if you pay for Microsoft 365). But the reality is that these apps are getting bloated with a bunch of new features that many people don't even care about. If you just want to edit plain text, the good news is that Microsoft has just released an app called "Edit" - a command-line editor. According to Microsoft, this app will soon be integrated by default on Windows 11.

 

Edit is now available on GitHub for users to install themselves. Unlike a standalone editor, it runs in PowerShell or Command Prompt, supports file editing and content preview.

 

In a statement to Windows Latest , Microsoft confirmed plans to make "Edit" the default text editor, but only for the command line environment (Terminal). This doesn't mean that this new app will replace Notepad, but simply allows you to quickly access it by typing the edit command in Terminal.

(Currently, to use "Edit", you have to manually download it from GitHub )

Hands-on experience with Edit – a text editor (CLI-based) for Windows 11

The Windows Latest team tried to install and experience the latest version of Edit. The Winget command was used to download and install the CLI editor, the process was completed without any problems. The reason for choosing this method is because Winget modifies the file path directly and does not need to be added manually.

To get started, open a new Terminal window, type edit , and press Enter. This will take you to an editor interface that looks very familiar. But you can use both your mouse and keyboard to control it.

 

A file can be opened using the editor's Open option, or directly accessing the editing interface with the command edit [file_name].[extension] . A variety of system files such as .log and .ini … were opened and the editor had no problems.

The editor integrates all the essential text editing features, including Find and Replace – both of which are very useful for large files.

 

Likewise, you get a few extra features like the Document Picker, which lists all the files you have open in a particular session. This allows you to instantly switch between files if needed. Note that it only remembers them for a single session, and when you close the editor, everything is lost. Think of it as an alternative to the tab feature you use in Notepad.

 

Other features include Word wrap (automatically wrap text on the screen) and Go to line (jump to a specific line in the file).

Edit is still in development, so there are still many tweaks needed before it officially reaches users.