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TextMate

Open-source Mac text editor known for bundles, snippets and multiple carets.

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About TextMate

TextMate is a text editor for macOS from MacroMates that was hugely influential in the late 2000s: its bundle format for language grammars, snippets and commands was adopted by Sublime Text, Atom and VS Code, whose syntax highlighting still uses TextMate grammars. TextMate 2 is open source under the GPL 3.0 and free to download. It offers multiple carets, project-wide search with previews of replacements, version control indicators and diffs, scoped settings that change behaviour by language or project, snippets with placeholders, macros, clipboard history, live HTML and Markdown previews and custom commands written in any language that uses standard input and output. It runs on macOS 10.12 or later. Development has slowed considerably and the last significant updates are years old, so it lacks language server support and modern features found in newer editors. It still has loyal users who value its simplicity and Mac-like feel.

Best for: Mac users who like a simple, scriptable editor and don't need modern IDE features.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Free and open source under GPL 3.0
  • Powerful bundles, snippets and macros
  • Lightweight and Mac-like

Why people leave

  • Development has slowed for years
  • No built-in language server support
  • macOS only

Top TextMate alternatives

See all 5
  1. 1Sublime Text logo
    Sublime Text

    Uses the same grammar ideas, actively developed and cross-platform.

    83.8
  2. 2Nova logo
    Nova

    A modern native Mac editor with language servers and Git built in.

    62.6
  3. 3CotEditor logo
    CotEditor

    Free, open source and actively maintained for plain-text work on the Mac.

    59.6
  4. 4Visual Studio Code logo
    Visual Studio Code

    Free, actively developed, and still reads TextMate grammars.

    57.5
  5. 5Bb
    BBEdit

    A long-running, actively developed Mac editor with a free mode.

    57.2

Why people left TextMate

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TextMate: common questions

Is TextMate free?

Yes. TextMate is free, open-source software.

Is TextMate open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at textmate/textmate.

What platforms does TextMate run on?

TextMate is available for macOS.

What are the best alternatives to TextMate?

The highest-ranked TextMate alternatives right now are Sublime Text, Nova and CotEditor. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 TextMate alternatives