Native Mac text editor · macOS 26+

Make room for
your next idea.

Code, notes, and the files between them. AlpacaEdit gives your text a focused workspace, with powerful search and tools that stay close at hand.

Explore the editor Read the guide

In development for Apple silicon Macs. App Store availability will be announced here.

A familiar place to work

Your files.
A clearer view.

Open a document or bring a project folder together. Move between tabs, split your editor, follow the document outline, or hide distractions with Focus Mode.

Highlight Python, JavaScript, Swift, C++, Rust, Go, SQL, HTML, CSS, PHP, Markdown, and more. File extensions select the language automatically.

welcome.php · PHP · UTF-8

<?php
// A little space to think.
function welcome($name) {
    return "Hello, " . $name;
}

echo welcome("AlpacaEdit");

Less repetition. More progress.

Tools for the work around the words.

Search across your project

Find text in unopened files with literal or PCRE regular-expression search. Preview replacements before applying them, with backups of the originals.

Build a text recipe

Combine sorting, deduplication, whitespace cleanup, case changes, and JSON formatting into reusable workflows.

Keep your place

Use bookmarks, document symbols, quick file opening, multiple selections, and reusable text snippets.

Shape your workspace

Adjust fonts, colors, indentation, wrapping, autosave, keyboard commands, and the stylesheet used for HTML preview.

Review before replacing

Compare files side by side. Open a saved document backup as a new draft. Recover unsaved text when you reopen the app.

Preview HTML on demand

Show or hide a dedicated HTML preview. Preview starts off and blocks scripts and external resources.

Optional AI, on your terms

Choose the help.
Choose what you share.

Connect OpenAI or Claude with your own API key. Choose no document context, a selection, or the current file, then confirm before sending.

Read a streamed response, open it as a draft, or review a proposed replacement before applying it. API usage is handled by your provider.

How AlpacaEdit handles your data

A focused first release.

AlpacaEdit is a text editor with built-in word completion and document symbol navigation. It does not bundle a compiler or external language servers. Direct FTP/SFTP connections and shell-command execution are not included in this edition.

Open files on Finder-mounted volumes through the normal file picker. Files above 64 MB use a read-only paged viewer. See the guide for search, comparison, and preview limits.

Explore the guide and current limits →