Zenpad is a keyboard-first text editor for developers who find traditional editors like gedit or mousepad too mouse-dependent. Built with Python and GTK+, it brings IDE-level keyboard navigation to a lightweight notepad—duplicate lines with Ctrl+D, delete lines instantly with Ctrl+Shift+K, jump between tabs without touching your mouse, and never lose your work with automatic session restore.
- Keyboard-First Editing: IDE shortcuts in a lightweight editor—
Ctrl+Dto duplicate lines,Ctrl+Shift+Kto delete lines,Ctrl+/to toggle comments. No reaching for the mouse. - Session Memory: Close Zenpad with 10 tabs open, reopen it tomorrow—all tabs restored exactly where you left off. gedit doesn't do this.
- Smart Auto-Pairing: Context-aware bracket and quote completion. Type
(after a word? Just inserts(. At end of line? Inserts()and places cursor inside. Select text and press"? Wraps it. - Binary File Safety: Open a
.exeor image by accident? Zenpad detects it, shows a hex preview, and prevents corruption. Other editors just show garbage. - Encoding Intelligence: Auto-detects UTF-8, Windows-1252, ISO-8859-1. Switch encodings on the fly without closing the file.
- Real-Time Search Stats: See "3 of 47 matches" as you type—incremental search with live occurrence counting.
- Syntax Highlighting: 100+ languages via GtkSourceView 4.
- Multi-Tab Interface: Manage multiple files with keyboard navigation (
Ctrl+Page Up/Down). - Distraction-Free: No toolbars if you don't want them. Toggle everything with keyboard shortcuts.
Zenpad requires a standard GNOME/GTK environment.
- Python 3.6+
- GTK+ 3.22+
- GtkSourceView 4
- PyGObject (python3-gi)
Install Zenpad from our official APT repository:
# Add GPG key
curl -fsSL https://zenpad-dev.github.io/apt/zenpad.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/zenpad.gpg
# Add repository
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/zenpad.gpg] https://zenpad-dev.github.io/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/zenpad.list
# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install zenpadUpdates: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade zenpad
Download the latest .deb from Releases:
sudo dpkg -i zenpad_1.5.0_all.deb
sudo apt-get install -fpip install . # for local development onlyZenpad can be launched from the application menu or via the terminal.
Command Line Arguments:
zenpad [filename]...Examples:
zenpad # Launch with empty buffer
zenpad README.md # Open specific file
zenpad file1.py file2.js # Open multiple filesWe actively invite the developer and cybersecurity communities to collaborate on Zenpad.
We believe that the best software is built through transparency and rigorous testing. Whether you are interested in auditing the codebase for security vulnerabilities, optimizing GTK rendering performance, or implementing new features, your expertise is welcome here.
Please read our Contributing Guide for detailed instructions on:
- Setting up the development environment
- Making changes and testing
- Commit message guidelines
- Submitting pull requests
- Building the Debian package
To run Zenpad from source for development:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jagdishtripathy/zenpad.git
cd zenpad
# Run from source
python3 -m zenpad.mainInstall the required build dependencies:
sudo apt install build-essential fakeroot debhelper dh-python python3-all python3-gi gir1.2-gtksource-4Build the package:
dpkg-buildpackage -us -ucThe .deb file will be created in the parent directory.
See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes and version releases.
This project follows the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code.
Zenpad is open-source software licensed under the GPL-2.0. See the LICENSE file for more details.
Copyright © 2025 Team Zenpad