Atom is the newest text editor on the block.
For the past few months, it has been in an invite only beta. As of writing this, Github has released their new project as open source under the MIT license. Atom has stolen my heart as my favorite editor.
Here are some reasons why you might want to give it a shot.
What is Atom?
Atom is a desktop application based on web technologies. Like other desktop apps, it has its own icon in the dock, native menus and dialogs, and full access to the file system.
Basically, its a text editor with a ton of extra goodies available. It’s currently available to download for OSX. Windows/Linux versions are available if you download the source and compile it yourself.
Here are just a few features that might be useful for you.
- Markdown Preview: With Atom, you can toggle dual pane windows and experience your markdown editing in real time. I’m actually writing this post using it, and it is a pleasure to use.
- Developer Tools: Google Chrome’s Dev tools are built into this application. This is a really neat feature that is not available in any other editor. You can style your editor however you want.
- Command Palette: With a simple keyboard shortcut (cmd-shift-P) you can open up the command palette. All you have to do is remember that one shortcut and you can access all the actions available through Atom.
Why Should You Use Atom?
Well for starters, it’s a fully featured text editor that looks great. I would compare it to Sublime Text 3 in terms of usability. The difference with Atom is that it is open source. That means its completely free to use. Yes, I said free. If you are a church on a tight budget, or a digital tentmaker on an even tighter budget, and can’t afford a $70 license for Sublime, this is the way to go.
You can download the editor for free at Atom.io.
Chris Coppenbarger says
Brackets (another new Open Source editor) is also built with Chrome Dev Tools installed, In fact, it’s built on top of Chrome. Adobe developed it and uses a version of it in their Adobe Cloud.
You can find it at http://brackets.io/?lang=en
I’ve used it on Linux. It’s live preview is pretty nice.
Casey Dierking says
Sweet! I’ll definitely have to check this one out.
Andrew Fallows says
Atom definitely looks cool. I’ve played with it a bit, and I like where its head is at.
However, as an avid vim user, there’s nothing in it that’s compelling enough to make me switch. For better or for worse, vim really ruins other editors for you.
It’s definitely not for everyone, and it can be tough to get started, but anyone who’s going to be looking at code (or editing plain text of any kind) with any sort of regularity should at least give vim a try.
Justin Parton says
At first i liked atom, i’ve always used sublime text for coding methods, but until they fix/add some of the most basic features (open new scripts in same window, copy on right click, speed [that one might be on me]).
I do realize that Atom is still in beta, but its to soon for me to bring it to my production workflow
Eric Dye says
I’ll have to give this a test drive. Anxious to see if or how many features it will still need to use it in my regular workflow, or if it might work as a lightweight solution for quick stuff. Downloading now…
Casey Dierking says
Let me know what you think!
Michael Beil says
I’ve been testing Atom as well, but I haven’t had enough time with it to determine my thoughts.
What were using pre-Atom, Casey?
Casey Dierking says
I haven’t completely switched over to using Atom. I enjoy playing around with it and seeing how text editors are progressing. Before that, I was playing around with Sublime Text, but at heart I’m really a vim user. I finally made the jump with vim about a year ago, and I do find it hard to switch to anything else. Kinda the same as what Andrew said above in the comments.
I think for the vast majority of people, they will not want to pick up or learn vim. I think Atom is a great option for those types of people. However, if you’re willing to overcome the learning curve, vim is awesome! 🙂
Michael Beil says
Got ya. Personally I’m a huge Coda 2 fanboy.
Stas says
I use Codelobster already several years and I am not going to change it.