Show HN: NotepadJs – A cross-platform love letter to Notepad
14 comments
·January 22, 2025hliyan
For some reason, I opened this hoping to see a JS version of JPad Pro, if anyone can remember that from 25 years ago: https://archive.org/details/tucows_296665_JPad_Pro
Didn't have autocomplete, but was incredibly fast compared to Eclipse or NetBeans or other IDEs back in the day, and I used to swear by it. It also had a basic scripting language with which you could automate your work. But yes, off-topic.
markatkinson
Wow, I am in exactly the same position. I grew up in the 90's using all the versions of Windows. Notepad became such an essential part of my workflows that even after 10 years of being on a Mac, I still mentally "reach for" Notepad. I have yet to find a suitable replacement.
Thanks for this, will take a look. (One thing that comes close is Stickies on MacOS)
JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B
What's wrong with TextEdit on macOS?
It's good that you made an alternative but it's not serious. I need to run Firefox, enable JS, reload the page, there is no "top menu" or install button, the open/save button does nothing, I can't choose my own fonts, and I guess it doesn't work if I don't have an internet connection.
dspillett
(Not OP, but I did read the information they wrote.)
> What's wrong with TextEdit on macOS?
Nothing wrong as such, but does it match the “cross-platform” description?
> Firefox … the open/save button does nothing
As per the readme, it is using an API that is not yet supported in Firefox for local file access: https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api
> there is no "top menu" or install button
That is meaning the browser's menu. Perhaps there is better terminology that should be used here. The readme does show a screenshot of it, so it seems clear from that to me. The install option is found there.
> and I guess it doesn't work if I don't have an internet connection.
Also in the readme: “Installable as a PWA”, which I think implies offline support, given it doesn't have sync features so has no reason once installed that way to talk to the wider network.
crazygringo
> What's wrong with TextEdit on macOS?
I do most of my work in browser tabs. It's much more convenient for me to have a plaintext editor app as a tab I can position among my other tabs, rather than another window.
My email is a tab. My word processor is a tab. My files in the cloud are a tab. It makes sense that my plaintext editor should be a tab too.
lucideer
Other criticisms may be valid, but TextEdit is a terrible comparison. TextEdit is comparable to Windows WordPad (another terrible app - which is why Microsoft dropped it). Both are rich-text , not plaintext editors. They're more like Microsoft Word without the features.
Notepad is a plaintext editor, of which their is no equivalent built into Macs outside of terminal applications.
rpgbr
You can change TextEdit to handle plain text: Format > Convert to plain text, or Shift + Command + T.
I prefer TextEdit over Notepad. Its undo is way better, and it's overall a snappier app.
andsoitis
You can switch TextEdit between rich text and plaintext modes.
eviks
Mostly not a serious criticism:
> I need to run Firefox, enable JS, reload the page,
Or you can just open a tab, nothing to reload/enable/run
> there is no "top menu"
Of course there is, it's browser's top menu
> the open/save button does nothing
it opens/saves files in Chrome. Guess Firefox API limitations?
> I guess it doesn't work if I don't have an internet connection.
wrong guess, that's what "install" is for
Ghoelian
KDE's KWrite is also available on macOS if you don't like TextEdit, as well as Kate which is more of an alternative to Notepad++, practically an IDE. Kate is my personal favourite text editor.
stijnstijn
It is indeed not quite a drop-in replacement for the 'real' Notepad, but I do find the complaint that you need to enable JS for something that has 'JS' in its name a little strange. That's the platform it was made for, it may not be a platform you enjoy using, and it could perhaps have been made on another platform, but it wasn't. That's hardly a reason to call it "not serious".
crazygringo
This is really cool, I love this.
I do most of my work in browser tabs, but often need a "scratch pad" to paste or type things in, like snippets of code or a short todo list. And I use TextEdit on my Mac, but I'd prefer a browser tab so this is wonderful.
Three requests, from most to least important:
1) Let me choose the font and font size? For code snippets, I really want monospace. And make sure the preference persists
2) Keep current contents in local storage, so it survives a browser restart? (Or maybe you do already?)
3) Having tabs feels redundant with my browser tabs -- I'd rather get rid of the extra bar at the top and just have a 100% clean typing space, with just the (wonderfully unobtrusive) menu bar.
But this is a great idea. I'm surprised I've never come across something like it before, it seems so obvious in hindsight.
jansan
Nice. And just like the newer Notepad version on Windows it supports more than ONE undo step!
rpgbr
Nice! Where are you from, itkeman? I posted about your web app on my pt_BR blog: https://manualdousuario.net/notepadjs-bloco-de-notas-macos/
As a native Windows user who switched to macOS a few years back, one thing I never got over was the simplicity and usefulness of the old school Notepad app. This app aims to recreate that very same experience, cross-platform and easily installable as a PWA.
I've been using this for personal use for around 2 years and I figured it was time to share it with the world. Criticism, issues and PRs are welcome. Thanks!