Project: edit – The Simplest Terminal Text Editor

Status: Functional – Actively Optimized (P0 Achieved)

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Vision

edit is a minimalist, cross-platform, terminal-based text editor designed to solve one practical problem: “I just want to open a file, make quick edits, and exit – without fighting with modes, commands, or keybindings.”

It's a tool meant for people who:

• Get stuck in Vim trying to edit config files during installation.
• Just want to quickly open and tweak a .conf, .txt, .sh, or .py file.
• Work in constrained environments like SSH, Docker, WSL, or minimal Linux distros.
• Need a fast, predictable, and autosaving editor that just works.

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Core Philosophy

Simple. Small. Safe.

• No Plugins
• No Language Features
• No Formatting
• No Learning Curve
• No Distractions

It’s like opening Notepad in the terminal — type, auto-save, exit. Nothing more.

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Key Goals for P0 Version

1. Launch with one command edit file.txt — opens or creates the file.

2. Type and edit directly Starts in editable mode. No need to press any key to begin.

3. Autosave All changes are saved instantly on every keystroke (tab-safe and crash-safe).

4. Exit easily Press Ctrl + Q or ESC to exit — clean and obvious.

5. Cross-platform Support Works on:

   • Ubuntu / Linux (first-class focus)
   • macOS (Terminal)
   • WSL / minimal CLI shells

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Demo Screenshots

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Planned Features

Feature	Status
Open & create file	Completed
Fullscreen editor (C + ncurses)	Completed
Autosave	Completed
Tab character handling	Completed
Basic navigation (arrow keys)	Completed
Backspace & new line support	Completed
Escape key exits	Completed
Safe line loading (long lines, tabs, invalid chars)	Completed
Help screen (Ctrl + H)	Optional
Scrollable buffer	Completed (viewport scrolling)
Undo / Redo	Not planned
Syntax highlight	Never

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Why It Matters

• One less barrier for beginners.
• One simple tool you can rely on inside broken servers, SSH sessions, and minimalist containers.
• Frictionless editing experience — no panic, no lock-ins, no bloated IDEs.

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Future Scope (Optional)

• Submit to official Debian/Ubuntu repos (via apt install edit)
• Could act as fallback editor in broken vim/nano systems
• Bundled with recovery consoles or embedded distros
• Could offer read-only or headless viewing mode (log viewer)

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Development Notes

This is a personal, utility-focused project built to solve a repeated pain experienced during Linux sysadmin, devops, and low-level work. Built in C with ncurses, optimized for performance, stability, and clarity.

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Current Work

• Full working edit.c completed
• Handles tabs, long lines, cursor alignment, scroll
• Uses atomic save with temp+rename
• Cross-platform tested (macOS and Ubuntu)
• Makefile added for build/install/uninstall
• Global install + one-liner documented
• Final output tested inside /usr/local/bin
• Global TERM/env bugs fixed with hardcoded fallback

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One-line Installer

git clone https://github.com/rahuldangeofficial/edit.git && cd edit && make install

One-line Uninstaller

cd edit && make uninstall

If you’ve already deleted the repo:

sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/edit

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Usage

edit file.txt           # Open or create file.txt in fullscreen mode

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Final Thoughts

There’s power in simplicity. Sometimes, the best tool is the one that stays out of your way and never asks for attention. edit is that tool.

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