Micro: A Modern and Intuitive Terminal-Based Text Editor

Micro: A Modern and Intuitive Terminal-Based Text Editor

Summary

Micro is a modern, intuitive, and feature-rich terminal-based text editor designed for ease of use and modern terminal capabilities. It comes as a single, static binary with no dependencies, making it incredibly easy to install and use right away. Aiming to be a successor to editors like Nano, Micro is ideal for anyone who prefers working in the terminal or editing files over SSH.

Repository Info

Updated on May 7, 2026
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Tags

microtext-editorterminalcommand-linegocross-platformeditordevelopment

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Introduction

Micro is a powerful yet simple terminal-based text editor that combines ease of use with the advanced features expected from modern editors. Written in Go, Micro is distributed as a single, self-contained binary, ensuring a straightforward installation process without external dependencies. It's designed to be a highly intuitive and enjoyable full-time editor for developers and users who frequently work within the command line environment.

Installation

Getting started with Micro is remarkably simple, thanks to its self-contained nature.

You can download a pre-built binary from the releases page.

Alternatively, a convenient third-party script can quickly install Micro:

curl https://getmic.ro | bash

After downloading, you might want to move the micro binary to a directory in your system's PATH, for example: sudo mv micro /usr/bin.

Micro is also available via various package managers:

  • macOS: brew install micro (Homebrew) or sudo port install micro (MacPorts)
  • Linux: snap install micro --classic (Snap), dnf install micro (Fedora), apt install micro (Ubuntu/Debian), pacman -S micro (Arch Linux)
  • Windows: choco install micro (Chocolatey), scoop install micro (Scoop), winget install zyedidia.micro (WinGet)

For those who prefer to build from source, ensure you have Go version 1.19 or greater:

git clone https://github.com/micro-editor/micro
cd micro
make build
sudo mv micro /usr/local/bin # optional

Examples

Using Micro is straightforward. To open a file, simply type:

micro path/to/file.txt

To open an empty buffer:

micro

Micro also supports piping input directly into a new buffer:

ip a | micro

Once inside the editor, you can navigate with arrow keys or the mouse, which supports dragging for selection, double-clicking for word selection, and triple-clicking for line selection.

Why Use Micro?

Micro stands out with a rich set of features that enhance the terminal editing experience:

  • Ease of Use: Intuitive interface with common keybindings (Ctrl-S, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-Z).
  • No Dependencies: A single binary makes installation and portability effortless.
  • Modern Features: Includes multiple cursors, splits and tabs, a plugin system (Lua), built-in diff gutter, simple autocompletion, and persistent undo.
  • Excellent Mouse Support: Dragging, double-click for word, triple-click for line selection.
  • Cross-Platform: Works on all platforms Go supports, including robust support for macOS and Windows (with recommended terminal emulators).
  • Extensive Customization: Keybindings are rebindable, sane defaults, and easy configuration.
  • Syntax Highlighting: Supports over 130 languages with true color and color scheme options.
  • System Clipboard Integration: Seamless copy and paste with the system clipboard.

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