A minimal, fast-launching macOS plain text editor built with SwiftUI and AppKit for distraction-free writing, native desktop interactions, and efficient multi-tab editing.

Languages: English | Simplified Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Spanish | French | German

NeatEditor is built around a simple goal: reduce interface noise and keep your attention on the text.

• Fast launch: avoid unnecessary blocking work on the app startup path.
• Space-first UI: keep the editor surface front and center instead of surrounding it with chrome.
• Native macOS behavior: preserve familiar title bar, menus, shortcuts, and window interactions.
• Plain-text focus: ideal for notes, drafts, scratch writing, and lightweight editing.

• Multi-tab plain text editing with a ready-to-use document on launch.
• Low-latency tab selection, closing, and in-place renaming.
• Open local text files through Finder, drag and drop, or pasted file URLs.
• Built-in line numbers, native find, undo, IME composition handling, and Command +/- zooming.
• Debounced autosave plus save-on-tab-switch and save-on-app-deactivation behavior.
• Pin-to-top window support and native title bar double-click zoom behavior.
• Disk-backed rename behavior that preserves editable file extensions.
• Blank content never overwrites existing files by design.

Standard macOS text shortcuts such as Command + Z, Command + X, Command + C, and Command + V also work through the native text system.

NeatEditor is ready to use as a lightweight macOS plain text editor and is now being published as 1.0.0.

• Platform target: macOS 15.0+
• Stack: Swift 6, SwiftUI, AppKit bridge, Observation, XcodeGen
• Validation today: build verification and manual testing
• Scope today: plain text workflow, no rich text, plugins, or cross-platform support

• macOS 15.0+
• Xcode 16.2+
• XcodeGen 2.44+

git clone <repo-url>
cd NeatEditor
xcodegen generate
open NeatEditor.xcodeproj

xcodebuild -project "NeatEditor.xcodeproj" \
  -scheme "NeatEditor" \
  -configuration Debug \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' \
  -derivedDataPath build/DerivedData \
  build

• project.yml is the source of truth for the project structure.
• Run xcodegen generate after adding or removing source files.
• The repository does not yet include a test target, so xcodebuild ... test is not configured.
• For behavior changes, prefer validating with the built app rather than relying on previews alone.

This repository includes a tag-driven GitHub Releases workflow.

• Push a tag like v1.0.0 and GitHub Actions will build the release automatically.
• The workflow produces a macOS universal zip.
• The release also includes SHA256SUMS.txt.

The simplest release flow is:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

See RELEASING.md for details.

NeatEditor/
├── docs/
│   └── images/
│       └── neateditor-main-window.png
├── project.yml
├── README.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
└── Sources/
    └── NeatEditor/
        ├── App/             # App entry point, commands, and external file opening
        ├── Features/
        │   ├── Editor/      # AppKit bridge editor, line numbers, and zoom
        │   └── Workspace/   # Tab strip, workspace state, and main UI
        ├── Services/        # Autosave and document persistence
        ├── SharedUI/        # Shared styling and title bar helper views
        ├── Resources/       # Localization resources
        └── Assets.xcassets  # Image assets

• README.ja.md: Japanese overview
• README.ko.md: Korean overview
• README.es.md: Spanish overview
• README.fr.md: French overview
• README.de.md: German overview
• README.zh-CN.md: Simplified Chinese overview
• CONTRIBUTING.md: development environment and contribution notes
• CHANGELOG.md: project release history
• RELEASING.md: tag-driven GitHub Release workflow
• TabStripGestures.md: design notes for tab click and rename interactions

These are reasonable next steps after the initial public release:

• Add a test target for save, rename, and state restoration flows.
• Add Apple code signing, notarization, and DMG packaging for smoother distribution.
• Add a general CI workflow for pushes and pull requests.

Issues, suggestions, and pull requests are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.

NeatEditor is released under the MIT License.