Microsoft Introduces Edit, an Open-Source Command Line Text Editor for Windows at Build 2025

Microsoft made a number of key bulletins at its annual Build developer convention on Monday. While the emphasis was on enhancing and including new options to agentic features and synthetic intelligence (AI) brokers and fashions, the corporate additionally launched a brand new open-source command line textual content editor for Windows. Dubbed Edit, it arrives as a modeless editor with a Text User Interface (TUI), enabling builders to edit information inside the command line.

Microsoft Edit and Its Features

As per Microsoft, Edit is an open supply textual content editor, which suggests you may construct its code your self or set up its newest model from GitHub. It is claimed to pay homage to the basic MS-DOS Editor however has a extra trendy interface and provides controls just like VS Code. Thus, the corporate says it’s extra accessible and can be utilized by editors who’re unfamiliar with terminals.

With Edit, the Redmond-based tech big goals to deal with the notorious “How do I exit vim?” meme which referenced the issue in exiting the Vim textual content editor, explains Christopher Nguyen, Product Manager II, Windows Terminal at Microsoft. Further, the corporate additionally wished to construct a devoted CLI editor for the 64-bit variations of Windows. While the 32-bit variations ship with MS-DOS Edit, there isn’t any command line textual content editor within the 64-bit variations.

To set up Edit:

1. Download the newest launch from Microsoft’s releases web page on GitHub
2. Extract the archive
3. Copy the edit binary to a listing within the system path
4. Delete some other information within the archive if they aren’t required

To construct directions:

1. Install RUST programming language
2. Install the nightly toolchain: rustup set up nightly or set the setting variable to RUSTC_BOOTSTRAP=1
3. Clone the repository

4, Run cargo construct --config .cargo/launch.toml --release for a launch construct

Microsoft says the command line (CLI) textual content editor is modeless, which eliminates the necessity for customers to recollect and recall completely different modes of operation. The menu choices in Edit have keybindings which permits for fast motion by way of keyboard as an alternative of navigating by means of the consumer interface (UI) with the mouse. Microsoft says it has a small footprint within the Windows 11 picture with a dimension lower than 250kB.

Users can open a number of information in Edits and change between them by clicking the file checklist on the lower-right of the display. It additionally allows them to search out and change textual content and toggle phrase wrapping by way of the TUI.

The firm says Edit can be rolling out to the registered Windows Insider Program builders within the coming months. It will begin delivery quickly on all Windows 11 gadgets.