Hed is a highly efficient modal text editor which uses keyboard-only actions to edit text.
Why another text editor? Hed has much going for it:
- Lightweight: ~230KB on x64 linux
- Mark editing: operate on regions defined by a mark
- Modal editing: like Vim you know and love
- Intuitive & sane default keybinds: based on finger positions and not on “first-letter-of-word”, etc.
- Just a single executable–no runtimes or external dependencies
Why you shouldn’t consider this editor: I made this editor to be as simple and lightweight as possible: if you need:
- An IDE-like editing experience,
- LSP-support,
- tree-sitter,
- Emacs-like customizability,
- GUI, etc
then this editor is not for you.
Keybindings (Normal mode)
| Key | Action | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
i |
switch to insert mode | , |
open line below cursor |
w |
delete character under cursor | d |
set mark |
<backtick> |
exit editor | f |
cut marked region |
U |
scroll page up | c |
paste from clipboard |
M |
scroll page down | b |
repeat search forward |
a |
goto beginning of line | B |
repeat search backward |
; |
goto end of line | <Alt-m> |
switch to command mode |
h |
left | <Alt-s> |
save file |
j |
down | / |
switch to search mode |
k |
up | gg |
goto first row |
l |
right | G |
goto last row |
o |
forward word | e |
undo |
n |
backward word | E |
redo |
Keybindings (Insert mode)
| Key | Action | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
<bksp> |
delete character to the left of cursor | <tab> |
indent |
<left> |
left | <right> |
right |
<up> |
up | <down> |
down |
esc |
switch to normal mode |