edit

A VS Code for the CLI — a fast, keyboard-driven terminal text editor whose power comes from a VS Code-style plugin model. Run it with npx, no install.

Positioning. "VS Code for the CLI" here means VS Code's extensibility model, not its full feature set: a deliberately minimal headless core provides only mechanism, adapters render (a terminal UI today), and plugins provide every visible feature — the editor pane, the directory list, the keymap, and the command palette are all plugins. See SPECIFICATION.md for the vision and roadmap and docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-13-pluggable-editor-design.md for the architecture.

Try it

npx @fingerskier/edit                 # open in the current directory
npx @fingerskier/edit path/to/file    # open a file
npx @fingerskier/edit some/dir        # open a directory

The edit binary is also available after install (npm i -g @fingerskier/edit).

  -h, --help       Show this help and exit
  -v, --version    Print the version and exit
  --config <path>  Use the given config file
  --theme <path>   Reserved for the upcoming themes plugin
  --no-lsp         Reserved for the upcoming LSP plugin

Quit with Ctrl+Q.

What works today

• Terminal UI: nested multi-root directory tree (left), single editor pane (center) with an editor tab strip when multiple files are open, status bar (bottom), command-palette overlay, and a bottom panel region for plugins.
• Editing: insert/delete, caret movement (arrows, Home/End, vertical with a sticky goal column), and full undo/redo over reversible operations.
• Files: open from the tree (Enter expands folders / opens files), save (Ctrl+S) with optional autosave, and live file-watching that refreshes expanded branches.
• Command palette (Ctrl+P) with fuzzy matching over every registered command.
• Quick open (Ctrl+O) fuzzy-picks any file under the workspace roots.
• Dirty guards: closing a tab or quitting prompts before discarding unsaved buffers.
• Multi-contributor status bar: independent plugins each own status items.
• Customizable keybindings via JSON config.
• Plugin model: activate(ctx) lifecycle, disposable subscriptions, and contribution registries for commands, keybindings, views, and services — with multi-contributor view slots and a reusable fuzzy quickInput service. Drop .js/.mjs plugins into ~/.edit/plugins/ or list packages under plugins.load in config.

On the roadmap (each a plugin or a small core API)

Multiple cursors · clipboard history · syntax highlighting · themes · LSP (diagnostics, definition, hover, symbols) · git/SCM decorations · global search · diff view · integrated terminal & problems/output panels · settings UI · a plugin manifest with lazy activation · an install/enable/disable manager · TreeDataProvider abstraction. See TODO.md for the phased plan.

Hotkeys and config

Default keys (all rebindable):

| Key | Action | | --- | --- | | Arrow keys | Move the caret in the editor | | Home / End | Line start / end | | Alt+Left / Alt+Right | Focus the tree / the editor | | Up / Down (in tree) | Move selection | | Enter (in tree) | Open file, or expand/collapse folder | | Left / Right (in tree) | Collapse / expand folder | | Ctrl+S | Save the file | | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Undo / redo | | Ctrl+P | Command palette | | Ctrl+O | Quick open file | | Ctrl+PageDown / Ctrl+PageUp | Next / previous editor tab | | Ctrl+W | Close the active tab | | Ctrl+Q | Quit |

Keys resolve as <context>:<key> → command id, where context is the focused region (editor, tree, quickInput, …). Override bindings in ~/.edit/config.json (or edit --config <path>):

{
  "keymap": {
    "keybindings": { "global:ctrl+shift+p": "palette.open" }
  },
  "plugins": {
    "load": [],
    "disable": []
  },
  "save": { "autosaveMs": 0 }
}

• Per-plugin settings live under the plugin name key; each plugin receives its slice as ctx.config.
• plugins.load — npm package names or absolute module URLs to activate after the built-ins.
• plugins.disable — built-in plugin names to skip (e.g. "status-bar").
• Loose plugins: any default-exporting .js / .mjs file in ~/.edit/plugins/.

Develop

npm install
npm run build     # tsc -> dist/
npm test          # node --test (headless; no real TTY needed)
npm run dev        # run from source via tsx

CI runs npm test + npm run build on Node 20/22 (Ubuntu, macOS) and Node 22 (Windows). Publishing is via GitHub Release / workflow_dispatch once the NPM_TOKEN repository secret is set, or locally:

npm login
npm publish --access public

The core is UI-agnostic, so the whole stack (core + plugins + a headless adapter that captures rendered frames as data) is testable without a terminal. To write a plugin, export a default object with a name and activate(ctx); register commands/keybindings/views/services and push their disposers onto ctx.subscriptions.